Hungary stopped €50 Billion EU Funding for Ukraine

• Hungary, known for its close ties with Russia, has consistently opposed Ukraine’s EU membership.
• Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the block on aid after EU leaders agreed to proceed with these talks.
• Ukraine is urgently awaiting the green light for a $61 billion defense aid package from the United States.

Hungary has stopped €50 billion ($55 billion; £43 billion) in European Union (EU) aid intended for Ukraine. This move came shortly after an agreement was made to initiate talks regarding Ukraine’s potential EU membership.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after Thursday’s talks in Brussels that “Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine,”

European Union (EU) leaders have indicated that discussions on aid will resume in the early months of next year. Ukraine is heavily reliant on financial support from the EU and the US.

PM Orban, has consistently opposed Ukraine’s EU membership but did not exercise its veto power during the recent decision to open membership talks with Ukraine, Moldova, and grant candidate status to Georgia.

After EU leaders agreed to proceed with these talks, Mr. Orban, maintaining Hungary’s stance, announced the block on aid. He briefly left the negotiation room in what officials characterized as a pre-arranged and constructive manner, allowing the remaining 26 leaders to proceed with the vote.

He told Hungarian state radio on Friday that “he had fought for eight hours to stop his EU partners but could not convince them. Ukraine’s path to EU membership would be a long process anyway, he added, adding that parliament in Budapest could still stop it happening if it wanted to.”

Commenting on Mr. Orban’s opposition to the aid, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: “We still have some time, Ukraine is not out of money in the next few weeks.”

“We agreed with the 26 countries,” he added. “Viktor Orban, Hungary, was not yet able to do that. I am fairly confident we can get a deal early next year. We are thinking of late January.”

Mr. Michel confirmed that almost all EU leaders, except Sweden, had given their approval for the aid package. However, Sweden still needed to consult its parliament before providing a final decision.

“We will revert to this matter early next year and we’ll try to get unanimity,” he said.

The loans and grants were to keep the country ticking over – helping fund public services, wages, and pensions.

Ukraine is urgently awaiting the green light for a $61 billion defense aid package from the United States. However, the decision is currently stalled due to significant disagreements between Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

As Ukraine faces a slowdown in its counter-offensive against Russia’s occupying forces with the onset of winter. The concerns among people are rising that Russia may overpower Ukraine militarily.

Also Read

Ukraine summons Hungary’s envoy in response to Orban’s ‘unacceptable’ remarks

The new low point in relations between the two neighbors. Orban told...