€50 million for Ukraine: Politico on compromise with Hungarian PM
EU leaders reached a compromise with Hungary to approve the allocation of a macro-financial assistance package of €50 billion to Ukraine and prevent a veto from Viktor Orbán.
Source: Politico, citing three European diplomats, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Sources say that European leaders persuaded Orbán with three proposals, including an annual report by the European Commission on the aid package's implementation, leadership-level debates, and a request for a review of the new budget in two years.
The project's conclusions also included a line referring to the December 2020 findings to ensure that the assessment of the rule of law in Hungary by the European Commission would be fair and objective.
The publication indicates that Brussels considers these actions insignificant, as leaders avoided a scenario where Orbán could annually veto funding for Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Hungarian PM can claim victory at home by stating that Hungary successfully obtained a review of aid to Ukraine.
Agreement was reached after meetings with small groups of EU leaders on 1 February, led by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, along with leaders from France, Germany, and Italy, in closed-door discussions with the Hungarian prime minister.
Other leaders joined the meeting later, including prime ministers of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Poland’s Donald Tusk, and Belgium’s Alexander De Croo.
Some diplomats have denied that any other concessions to Orbán were made.
Background:
- At the extraordinary summit on 1 February, EU leaders overcame long-standing resistance from Hungary and agreed to allocate a multi-year macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine in the amount of €50 billion.
- Orbán sought a compromise from Brussels that would grant him the ability to block assistance annually.
- Before the summit, EU leaders expressed confidence that a compromise on unlocking the €50 billion in funding for Ukraine would be reached among the 27 EU countries.
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