Hungary Blocks €50bn Aid Package for Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he vetoed the European Union’s decision to allocate Ukraine 50 billion euros in economic aid. “Summary of the nightshift: a veto for the extra money to Ukraine, a veto for the MFF review. We will come back to the issue next year at the EU summit after proper preparation,” Orban posted on X (formerly Twitter). The information that the EU leaders failed to agree on the inclusion of aid to Ukraine in the EU budget plan was also confirmed by the head of the European Council Charles Michel. According to him, only one country opposed it. Which one, Michel did not specify, but he added that the EU would return to the consideration of the issue early next year. At the same time, according to BBC News, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed confidence that EU leaders would manage to agree on long-term aid to Ukraine next year. “We still have time, Ukraine will not run out of money in the next few weeks,” said Rutte. Previously, it became known that the European Council decided to start negotiations with Ukraine on accession to the European Union. This was repeatedly opposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. However, at the time of the vote, he left the meeting, which allowed EU leaders to decide to start negotiations, requiring unanimity of all countries - members of the Union. According to Politico and Reuters, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz convinced Orban to leave the meeting.