War between Ukraine and RussiaDossierIf the Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister did not block the start of accession negotiations with Kiev, he decided on the night from Thursday to Friday to block the planned financial support of 50 billion euros for the country in the war with Putin.
European Union leaders failed on the night of Thursday to Friday, December 15, to persuade Hungary to lift its veto on new €50 billion in aid to Ukraine after it had previously succeeded in opening accession negotiations with this country, which was at war. “Summary of the evening: veto of additional funds for Ukraine” regarding the proposed revision of the European budget, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on X (ex-Twitter).
The 26 other EU countries that met with Hungary at a summit in Brussels had to bow to the stubbornness of the nationalist Orbán. “We will come back to the issue at the beginning of January,” promised EU Council President Charles Michel at a new summit in the middle of the night. “We are 26 countries that have given the green light. There is currently no agreement with Hungary, but I am confident that we will reach it next year,” added Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The EU had planned to provide Ukraine with aid worth 50 billion euros over a four-year period starting next year, including 33 billion euros in loans and 17 billion euros in grants. This new financial support is seen as crucial in Kyiv at a time when more than $60 billion in American aid remains blocked in Congress due to reluctance from Republican elected officials.
This Friday, December 15, the Hungarian Prime Minister finally proposed accepting this aid… provided that the EU releases all the funds that should go to his country. “I have always said that if we were to proceed with a change in the EU budget (…), Hungary would take the opportunity to clearly demand what it deserves. Not half, not a quarter, but everything,” said Viktor Orban in an interview on state radio. He pushed back the deadline to February, the date of a next extraordinary summit at which “we should then have a better idea of what is happening with the resources.”
Updated at 10:20 a.m.: Viktor Orban makes aid to Ukraine dependent on the release of funds to Hungary.