Hungary wants to divide into 2 tranches €50 billion in EU support for Ukraine
Hungary has proposed splitting in two the European Union's upcoming €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, raising concerns about reduced economic support for Kyiv.
Source: Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the discussions, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Last week, Hungary informed the other EU member states that it considered that approval of €25 billion euros would be enough for Ukraine at this stage. Brussels planned a €50 billion programme to support Ukraine for the 2024-2027 period.
The sources said Budapest wants the EU to assess "halfway through" the disbursement period, when another €25 billion euros could be provided to Ukraine, depending on its needs.
Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the discussions, said the EU could unblock almost €13 billion euros in funding for Hungary this year to push Viktor Orbán's government to ease its resistance to allocating support to Ukraine. Earlier, the Financial Times also reported on this.
Following these efforts, Ukraine removed the Hungarian OTP Bank from the list of international sponsors of the war, satisfying one of Budapest's key demands.
The importance of the discussions about EU funding has increased since the US deal on Sunday to avert a government shutdown that excluded $6 billion in aid to Kyiv.
The €50 billion programme for Ukraine is part of the EU's long-term budget review, which also provides for additional funding for migration and the latest technologies for a total of €66 billion.
The European Commission hoped to sign an agreement on the budget by the end of the year. But disagreements about its overall review have undermined efforts to reach a timely decision.
Corrected: The original headline erroneously mentioned Hungary wanting to share the €50 billion of EU's support for Ukraine. This is not correct, according to the Bloomberg article, and was caused by a mistake during translation. We apologise for the confusion.
Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
