Hungary Vetoes EU Aid Package for Ukraine

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Budapest blocked macro-financial support to Ukraine for 2023 at the Council of EU Finance Ministers. The head of the Ministry of Finance of Germany called it opportunism. Hungary on Tuesday, December 6, blocked a package of European Union aid for Ukraine in 2023 worth 18 billion euros. This was reported by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner after a meeting of the Council of EU finance ministers in Brussels. “It is regrettable that today we didn’t take a decision about the indispensable financial aid for Ukraine, that we can’t express our solidarity with it financially. Hungary is responsible for that,” he said. Now the challenge for the EU Council is to agree as quickly as possible to use the funds needed to help Ukraine, which the 26 member states have already agreed with the European Commission, Lindner pointed out. Lindner: “No discount out of opportunism” for Hungary With regard to Hungary, the EU states asked the European Commission to assess current developments in that country from the rule of law perspective. “The question of the rule of law and our common European values is of great importance for the EU’s internal and external credibility. There must be no discount here out of opportunism,” the German finance minister stressed. Budapest implemented its threat to oppose financial support for Ukraine at the Council of EU Finance Ministers in Brussels. It is one of several EU initiatives that Hungary has vetoed, as it faces blocking 13 billion euros from EU funds because of corruption and insufficient judicial independence. EU countries have time until December 19 to support, reject or modify the content of the European Commission’s proposal to provide €18 billion aid package to Ukraine.