Aid package
Dispute with Orban settled: EU agrees on 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine
Viktor Orban (l.), Prime Minister of Hungary, in conversation with Robert Fico (r.), Prime Minister of Slovakia
© Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/DPA
Hungary has given up its blockade: the EU states agree on new aid for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has given up his block on EU plans for new aid to Ukraine. All 27 heads of state and government had agreed to the planned support package worth 50 billion euros for the period until the end of 2027, EU Council President Charles Michel announced on Thursday at the special EU summit in Brussels. It initially remained unclear whether Orban was given concessions for this. According to several diplomats, this was not the case. However, there was initially no information on the subject from the Hungarian side.
Ukraine thanks EU for aid package
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has European Union thanked for granting the financial aid. “The EU member states have once again demonstrated their solidarity and unity with the Ukrainian people in resistance to the war,” Shmyhal wrote on Thursday on the online platform X (formerly Twitter). The 50 billion euros by the end of 2027 are an “important contribution to our common victory”.
The aid package should actually have been decided on at a regular EU summit last December. At that time, however, Orban vetoed it and thereby prevented an agreement.
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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 heads of government convince Orban
In the morning, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other leading heads of state and government from EU countries tried to get the Hungarian head of government to agree to the plans for new aid to Ukraine. A picture distributed by EU Council President Michel showed top politicians discussing the issue in a small circle with Orban shortly before the start of a special summit.
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 rejected 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. Orban rejects this.
Note: This article has been updated several times.