Conflicts
Orban gives up blockade: EU decides on new aid to Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has so far rejected billions in financial aid for Ukraine. photo
© Virginia Mayo/AP/dpa
Does Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban risk a major break with the EU? This question arose before the special EU summit. There was also a lot at stake for Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced his blockade According to EU Council President Charles Michel, EU plans for new aid to Ukraine have been abandoned. All 27 heads of state and government had agreed to the planned support package worth 50 billion euros, the Belgian announced at the special EU summit in Brussels.
The package with financial support commitments amounting to 50 billion euros for the period until the end of 2027 should actually have been decided at a regular EU summit last December. At that time, however, Orban vetoed it and thereby prevented an agreement.
The Hungarian had previously questioned the usefulness of the plans several times and in this context also pointed out that, in his view, the EU had wrongly frozen funds from the Community budget intended for his country.
EU diplomats accuse Orban of blackmail
Before the summit, Orban said in an interview with the French magazine “Le Point” that Hungary was ready to be part of a solution. However, the prerequisite is that you decide every year whether you want to continue sending money or not.
However, other member states such as Germany reject this. One reason is that they want to assure Ukraine of long-term support. It is also about depriving Hungary of opportunities for blackmail. EU diplomats accuse Orban of trying to use a veto policy to free EU funds that have been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also sharply criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s blockade. The Ukrainian question is an existential question, said Tusk. “And today this position of Viktor Orban is a threat to our security.” Tusk said he could not accept this very strange and very selfish game from Orban.
Orban rejected the allegations. He also referred to the European elections coming up in June. In his opinion, committing 50 billion euros to Ukraine now for the period until the end of 2027 could give citizens the impression that their vote doesn’t matter, he argues with regard to critics of aid to Ukraine.
Possible steps to withdraw Hungary’s voting rights
If no solution was found in the talks with Orban, the other EU states wanted to act in a circle of 26 – i.e. without Hungary. At the same time, it was considered likely that there would then be discussions about possible steps to withdraw Hungary’s right to vote in EU decisions.
The necessary Article 7 procedure due to alleged deficiencies in the rule of law has been running for years. However, it has not yet been pushed forward with any commitment – partly in the hope that Orban will give in on controversial issues.
Scholz is pushing for more arms deliveries
At the start of the EU summit, Scholz once again called on the other member states to increase their arms deliveries to Ukraine. “We cannot rely on each other to do this, but we have to say it 27 times: We want to do everything we can to ensure that Ukraine is able to defend the country,” said the Chancellor.
According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Ukraine can hope for European military aid worth at least 21 billion euros this year. Compared to what has been provided so far, this would mean an acceleration of support, the Spaniard said after an informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels.
In the past two years since the start of the Russian war of aggression, the value of European military aid to Ukraine has totaled around 28 billion euros. They include weapons, ammunition and other military equipment.
Borrell also emphasized that the figure of 21 billion euros for 2024 was not based on feedback from all 27 EU member states. It could therefore continue to rise. Borrell did not say which EU countries have not yet reported any data. The collection of figures should also be the basis for the discussion suggested by Scholz at the special EU summit.
According to its own information, the federal government has budgeted around 7.5 billion euros for arms deliveries to Ukraine in 2024. In purely mathematical terms, this corresponds to a share of more than a third of the EU aid reported so far.