EU chief confident all member states will agree on aid to Ukraine

The European Union’s chief executive voiced confidence on Wednesday that all 27 member states will agree to extend more financial aid to Ukraine, overcoming Hungary’s opposition and fulfilling a promise to Kyiv.

Hungary opposes a proposal to grant Ukraine 50 billion euros from the EU’s joint budget, raising the possibility of the other 26 countries sending funds under bilateral deals with Kyiv.

But Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive European Commission, told European Parliament: “I am confident that we will find a solution by 27.”

EU leaders last month agreed to start accession talks with Ukraine but Hungary vetoed extending the money to Kyiv.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Feb.1 to try to agree on the financial assistance to Kyiv, which relies heavily on Western support in its war with Russia.

The Commission proposed channeling the aid through a review of the EU’s shared 2024-27 budget, which would also provide more financing for migration and other priorities.

But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has refused to go through the joint budget run by the Commission, leaving the other 26 countries considering proceeding without Budapest.

Providing aid under 26 bilateral deals is an option discussion that is seen as more complicated and expensive than going via central coffers, and could damage EU unity.

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Some members of the European Parliament criticised von der Leyen over her efforts to secure Orban’s backing for more financial aid and continued political support for Kyiv.

Last month, the Commission unlocked access to 10 billion euros of EU assistance for Budapest that had been frozen over widespread accusations that Orban as damaging democracy in Hungary – an act some lawmakers compared to bribery.

Other EU funds envisaged for Hungary remain suspended, with Orban at odds with Brussels over issues including the rights of migrants and LGBT people, and academic and judicial freedoms.

Orban has also criticised EU sanctions against Moscow since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, and boasted about his ties with the Kremlin.

The EU legislature will vote on Thursday on a non-binding resolution condemning the “deliberate, continuous and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government to undermine the founding values of the EU”, according to a draft.

The draft describes Orban’s veto last month as “in full disrespect… of the EU’s strategic interests”.

It also calls for another step in a rule-of-law enforcement procedure that could lead to Hungary’s voting rights in the EU being suspended although that is unlikely in the foreseeable future.