EU leaders are prepared to take a tough stance on Hungary if Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to block a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine at the February 1 summit.
About it Bloomberg sources said, European Pravda reports.
The agency notes that on Monday Hungary opposed the EU proposal for creation of a new fundwhich is designed to provide a more reliable way to deliver critical military aid to Ukraine.
The proposal comes after Orban torpedoed a decision on a four-year financial package for Ukraine in mid-December.
According to the agency’s interlocutors, EU member states are ready to accept an aid package for Ukraine at the summit in Brussels on February 1, regardless of whether Hungary supports it.
If Orban continues to block the support package, it will be up to the remaining 26 EU countries to accept it, and preparations for such a scenario are already in full swing, European officials add.
A possible fallback option is for the remaining EU member states to provide money to Ukraine outside the EU budget process.
Sources stressed that if Orban decides to go this route, the EU could launch the next round of punitive measures against Hungary, which could lead to the deprivation of its voting rights as a member state.
At the same time, the agency notes that such a scenario could lead to a wider confrontation, since Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico previously warned that will defend Hungary from steps aimed at depriving her of voting rights in the EU.
Following a meeting of EU diplomatic chiefs in Brussels on Monday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a video message posted on Facebook that his country does not support a review of the current funding mechanism, known as the European Peace Fund, under which member states receive compensation for the weapons they send to Ukraine.
Szijjártó said that the issue of financing will be discussed during his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba on January 29. Budapest will consider lifting the block if Ukraine provides “guarantees” that Hungarian companies will not be added to the list of international war sponsors.
Hungary previously stated, which could lift its veto on this aid package on the condition that the funding be reviewed annually. And, according to media reports, the European Commission ready accept some of Budapest’s demands.
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2024-01-23 05:35:51
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