The European Union agrees to annually review the Ukraine Facility program, which provides for the allocation of 50 billion euros to Ukraine over four years.
EU is ready to accept Orban's proposals to approve aid to Ukraine
European Union leaders will propose an annual debate on a planned €50 billion aid package for Ukraine to overcome opposition from Hungary.
The aid should cover Ukraine's needs for 2024-2027. Hungary insists on an annual review with a veto, which other EU members oppose.
In a new version of the summit's draft conclusions, EU leaders will hold an annual debate on the aid package based on reports from the European Commission.
The European Council will annually hold debates on the implementation of this mechanism with the aim of providing recommendations on the EU's approach to the situation that arose as a result of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, the project states.
Hungary and its Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, insist on an annual financial aid review for Ukraine. Other countries favour not giving Hungary additional opportunities to block aid to Ukraine.
At the same time, Orban wants the annual decision to continue aid to Ukraine to be unanimous. It is not yet known whether Orbán will agree to such conditions.
What is known about €50 billion for Ukraine from the EU
In June 2023, the European Commission proposed creating a special mechanism for Ukraine, under which grants and loans of up to 50 billion euros will be provided until 2027. It replaces the current support to Ukraine through the Macroeconomic Financial Assistance Program, which expires at the end of 2023.
At the summit of EU leaders, Hungary blocked the decision to allocate 50 billion euros to Ukraine for 2024-2027.
Against this background, the European Parliament initiated the collection of signatures under a petition to deprive Budapest of the right to vote in the EU Council, and the required number of signatures has already been collected. According to Bloomberg, the bloc's government is ready to take radical action if the Hungarian prime minister continues to block Ukraine's aid package.
