EU Aid to Ukraine: Finally Breaking Through the “Ukraine Fatigue” Barrier

2024-02-02 13:14 United News Network 24 Hours Around the Corner The EU’s long-stalled aid budget to Ukraine finally passed on February 1 to provide $54 billion in aid to Ukraine, so that…

【2024. 2. 2 EU/Ukraine】

Finally breaking through the “Ukraine fatigue” barrier?EU passes $54 billion in aid to Ukraine

The European Union’s long-stalled aid budget to Ukraine was finally approved on February 1 by providing $54 billion in aid to Ukraine by means of member states putting pressure on the only objecting country, Hungary, so that Ukraine could face a stalemate in the current war situation. , and when the future of U.S. aid funds is uncertain, it can obtain critical funds to continue to resist the Russian invasion. Previously, Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán Viktor had opposed the EU aid plan for Ukraine for several months, which made it difficult for the budget to be passed. Before the special summit on February 1, leaders of the EU countries warned Orbán that, except for Hungary, The 26 EU member states outside the country will unanimously support the aid budget to Ukraine. If Hungary insists on opposing it, it will face consequences such as economic losses and freezing of EU voting rights. In exchange for Orban’s nod. Although the current budget has been passed, the lengthy process of blocking still highlights how a single strongman can disrupt the EU agenda.

On February 1, the EU passed a $54 billion aid budget to Ukraine, including grants and loans, which will be provided in batches over a four-year period. The first aid may arrive in Ukraine in March 2024. Since the Ukraine-Russia war has been going on for nearly two years, the battlefield has been stalemate for a long time, and there is no sign of an end. It has greatly affected the global economy, and Western countries have also provided huge aid. Therefore, the outside world has begun to say that “Ukraine is tired”, and now the European Union The passage of this budget is tantamount to once again announcing that Europe is not tired or repelled by aiding Ukraine, and still strongly supports Ukraine in defending its homeland.

Previously, Hungary had been expressing its opposition, including using its veto power to reject the budget bill at the EU summit in December 2023. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban also vowed to veto Ukraine’s negotiations to join the EU, causing the Ukraine aid budget review process to be delayed for several months. And because the United States, the world’s largest aid country to Ukraine, is still in a stalemate in Congress over its government budget, and even lost a Speaker of the House of Representatives during the dispute, the funding agenda to aid Ukraine is also stalled and may not even be passed. The Ukrainian battlefield Therefore, it is facing the danger that military spending may be cut off. Therefore, the passage of the EU’s $54 billion budget is crucial for Ukraine, which is nothing less than a timely rain.

The EU is also trying to deliver more ammunition to Ukraine, but it is unable to meet the goal set in 2023 to deliver 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine by March 2024.

In order to get Hungary to nod its budget and no longer block the EU’s aid to Ukraine, before the emergency summit on February 1, senior EU officials and national leaders each told Orban that the remaining 26 EU member states We will unanimously support the budget to aid Ukraine. If Hungary insists on continuing to oppose it, it will face consequences. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and others have all expressed similar messages to Orban.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán Viktor has opposed the EU aid plan for Ukraine for months, leaving the budget…

Meloni and Orban are both regarded as European far-right leaders, but unlike Orban, who is relatively pro-Russian and pro-Putin, she has firmly expressed her support for Ukraine since the Italian congressional election. Before this summit, , Meloni also said:

“Europe cannot be divided at this moment, and I work for that.”

“Reuters” reported that before the emergency summit, some EU officials and diplomats also pointed out that if Hungary continues to block the budget, it may face consequences, including economic damage, and the EU may freeze Hungary’s voting rights on EU affairs, etc., thus Putting pressure on Orban; the “Washington Post” also pointed out that the EU also had other plans to prepare, such as the 26 member states passing the budget in the absence of Orban.

Under the harsh attitude of the EU and other member states, Orban had to give up his original tough ideas, including insisting that the four-year aid plan to Ukraine should not be included in the EU’s collective budget and that Hungary should have the right to veto every year. In addition, Orban also hopes to use the budget as a bargaining chip in exchange for the EU’s release of Hungarian funds (approximately 21 billion euros) that have been frozen due to doubts about Hungary’s democracy and rule of law.

The EU did not agree to Orban’s request, but Orban still claimed victory. He claimed to have obtained assurances from the EU that the frozen funds would not flow to Ukraine and that the aid plan to Ukraine would have a “control mechanism.”

However, “Reuters” quoted diplomats from multiple EU countries as saying that the US$54 billion in aid funds will be reviewed regularly, but will not be vetoed due to the objections of any single member state. In addition, the EU has never planned to freeze the aid. Hungarian funds allocated to Ukraine.

The back-and-forth negotiations between Hungary and the EU around the Ukraine aid budget ended with the passage of the Ukraine aid budget, but the long process highlighted how a single strongman leader can disrupt the EU agenda, and his influence also affects the Ukrainian battlefield. Leaving a shadow of uncertainty; the dispute between Orban and the EU is also seen by other EU leaders as more “crossing the line” than his past actions. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk bluntly said:

“There is no such thing as ‘Ukraine fatigue’, what we have now is ‘Orban fatigue’. Let Orban decide for himself whether Hungary is part of us.”

Rasmus Andresen, spokesman for the German Green Party in the European Parliament, also said in a statement:

“The quick agreement (to aid Ukraine) shows that Orbán will make concessions when economic pressure increases. No matter how you look at it, he has failed and today is the end of his power game.”

With the passage of the EU’s aid budget, whether the US aid budget to Ukraine is passed or not has become the next focus related to the future of the Ukrainian battlefield. Schultz said after the passage of the EU budget:

“This is also a good signal to the United States. The President of the United States is a close friend and an ally, and he is working hard to win support from Congress.” Ukrainian poet Maksym Kryvtsov, who joined the army, said on January 7, 2024 Japan… Last 24 hours Ukraine EU Russia

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2024-02-02 05:14:48