BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hungary has blocked €50bn in EU aid for Ukraine – just hours after an agreement was reached on starting membership talks.
“Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after talks in Brussels.
EU leaders said Ukraine would not be left without support.
Ukraine is critically dependent on EU and US funding as it continues to fight occupying Russian forces.
Orban announced his block shortly after the EU leaders decided to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.
Hungary – which maintains close ties with Russia – has long opposed membership for Ukraine but did not veto that move.
Orban left the negotiating room momentarily in what officials described as a pre-agreed and constructive manner, while the other 26 leaders went ahead with the vote.
He told Hungarian state radio on Friday that he had fought for eight hours to stop his EU partners but could not convince them. Ukraine’s path to EU membership would be a long process anyway, he said, and parliament in Budapest could still stop it happening if it wanted to.
Talks on the financial package ended in the early hours of Friday. EU leaders said negotiations would resume early next year, reassuring Kyiv that support would continue.
Speaking later that day, European Council President Charles Michel said he was “confident and optimistic” the EU would fulfil its promise to support Ukraine.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo echoed him: “The message to Ukraine is: we will be there to support you, we just need to figure out a few of the details together.”
Michel had earlier confirmed that all but one EU leader had agreed on the aid package and wider budget proposals for the bloc – although Sweden still needed to consult its parliament. He vowed to achieve the necessary unanimity for the deal.
Ukraine is also desperately seeking the approval of a $61bn US defence aid package – but that decision is also being delayed because of major disagreements between Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was delighted by the EU’s announcement on the membership. “This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires and strengthens,” he said.
Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They were both given candidate status last June, while Georgia was passed over at the time.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said it was an honour to share the path to EU accession with Ukraine. “We wouldn’t be here today without Ukraine’s brave resistance against Russia’s brutal invasion,” she wrote.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised his fellow leaders for showing a “strong sign of support”, adding that it was clear that both Ukraine and Moldova belonged to “the European family”.
Talks on joining the EU can take years, so Thursday’s decision will not guarantee Ukraine membership.
EU candidate countries have to pass a series of reforms to adhere to standards ranging from the rule of law to the economy, although the EU’s executive has already praised Ukraine for completing more than 90% of the steps taken so far on justice and tackling corruption. — NNN-AGENCIES
