Hungary has blocked a roughly 50 billion-euro ($55 billion) European Union financial aid package for Ukraine shortly after EU leaders in Brussels officially began membership talks with the war-torn country and its neighbor Moldova—a process that has long been sought by both nations.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban confirmed the veto of the long-term economic support package on X, formerly known as Twitter. The aid package requires the unanimous support of all 27 EU member states.
European Council President Charles Michel told reporters that the other 26 EU leaders planned to meet again in January to try to work out an agreement for war-town Kyiv, whose fight against Russian forces is nearing its second anniversary.
Its counteroffensive has so far failed to make major gains.
“We still have some time, Ukraine is not out of money in the next few weeks,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters following the negotiations.
“We agreed with the 26 countries. Victor Orban, Hungary, were not yet able to do that. I am fairly confident we can get a deal early next year. We are thinking of late January.”
Mr. Orban’s block will no doubt serve as another blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he failed to persuade Republican lawmakers in the United States to approve an additional $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine from the United States during his latest visit to Washington.
Lawmakers have insisted that the additional assistance for Ukraine be tied to increased funding for U.S. border security amid the ongoing immigration crisis.
‘A Victory for All of Europe’
The Hungarian leader has also argued that Ukraine shouldn’t receive the billions of dollars in funding from the EU as it isn’t yet part of the bloc and the money could be at risk of corruption.Still, during the Dec. 14 accession talks, Mr. Orban agreed to step out of the negotiating room to allow the other EU leaders to reach a consensus decision without him.
Critics have accused Mr. Orban of holding Kyiv hostage in an effort to force Brussels to release billions of euros in EU funds that have been frozen amid rule-of-law concerns.
However, the European Commission on Dec. 13 agreed to release 10.2 billion euros ($11 billion) of those frozen funds after finding that Hungary had adopted legislation that “significantly strengthens” the independence of its judiciary.
Overall, the EU funding that remains locked for Hungary amounts to about 21 billion euros ($23 billion).
The talks are just the first step in what will likely be a years-long process in Ukraine finally becoming a member.
Mr. Michel said the EU will also open negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina “once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is reached” and that it has “invited the commission to report by March with a view to taking such a decision.”
