Hungary is ready to support the provision of aid to Ukraine from the European Union budget, however, subject to an annual vote on the continuation of funding.
Orban puts a condition of his support for €50 billion to Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, says that Hungary is ready to participate in the decision of the twenty-seven if they guarantee that every year, they will decide whether they will continue to send this money.
We decided to make a compromise proposal: OK, we don't agree with the budget amendments. We do not agree that we should give €50 billion (to Ukraine — ed.), which is a huge amount. We do not agree that we should give them for four years and so on. But be that as it may, Hungary is ready to participate in the decision of the twenty-seven if they guarantee that every year we will decide whether we will continue to send this money or not, Orbán stated.
At the same time, the prime minister noted that the annual decision on the continuation of aid to Ukraine should be unanimous.
He also complained that some EU members interpreted his demand states as an attempt at blackmail.
What is known about €50 billion for Ukraine from the EU
In June 2023, the European Commission proposed creating a unique mechanism for Ukraine, under which grants and loans of up to €50 billion 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 to Ukraine for 2024-2027.
Afterwards, 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, meanwhile, the bloc's government is ready to take radical action if the Hungarian prime minister continues to block Ukraine's aid package.
