Orban ready to support €50 billion from EU to Ukraine, but under condition
Photo: Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary (facebook.com/orbanviktor)
Hungary is ready to support the provision of assistance to Ukraine from the European Union budget, however, subject to an annual vote on the continuation of funding, according to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
"We decided to make a compromise proposal: okay, we don't agree with the amendments to the budget. We do not agree that we should give 50 billion euros (to Ukraine - ed.), which is a huge amount. We do not agree that we should give it for four years and so on. But let it be so, Hungary is ready to participate in the solution of twenty-seven if they guarantee that every year we will decide whether we will continue to send this money or not," Orban says.
At the same time, the Prime Minister notes that the annual decision to continue assistance to Ukraine should be unanimous. He also complained that his demand was interpreted by some EU member states as an attempt at blackmail.
€50 billion for Ukraine from EU
In June 2023, the European Commission proposed to create a special mechanism for Ukraine that would provide grants and loans of up to €50 billion for the period up to 2027. It is intended to replace the current support to Ukraine through the Macroeconomic Financial Assistance Program, which expires at the end of 2023.
At the EU leaders' summit, Hungary blocked the decision to allocate €50 billion to Ukraine for 2024-2027.
Against this background, the European Parliament initiated a petition to deprive Budapest of its voting rights in the EU Council, and the required number of signatures has already been collected. According to Bloomberg, meanwhile, the bloc's government is ready to take radical action if the Hungarian Prime Minister continues to block the aid package for Ukraine.
