Hungary blocks €18 billion in EU aid to Ukraine – Bloomberg

Hungary did not support the financial package of assistance to Ukraine for 2023 of 18 billion euros.

Hungary does not support Ukraine

Earlier this week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country would not support a plan for long-term financial support for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. Szijjarto declared on Monday at a conference in Sofia that Hungary has supported Kyiv bilaterally and will keep doing so. Budapest is opposed to any agreement that calls for financing to be shared with other EU members, the official said.

In addition, Hungary confirmed this position at a meeting in Brussels with EU finance ministers.

What the European Commission offers

Instead, this Wednesday the European Commission will propose to provide Kyiv with concessional loans on a more stable basis. However, such an initiative will require the use of additional space available in the EU budget.

Hungarian Finance Minister Mihai Varga told his colleagues that he would not support such an option, which requires the unanimous support of 27 governments.

The EU has planned to provide Ukraine with a financial package of up to 1.5 billion euros per month in 2023. The total amount per year is up to 18 billion euros.

EU financial assistance to Ukraine

By the end of the year, the EU still has to approve the remaining €3 billion of the €9 billion packages agreed upon in May.

Member states have not yet agreed on whether this aid should come in the form of grants or concessional loans, as has been the case so far. Leaders also argued over the number of guarantees they should provide to borrow money on the markets.

European countries and institutions have allocated a total of 29.2 billion euros in financial, military, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.