The European Commission (EC) is ready to accept some of Hungary's demands to overcome the country's veto on a €50bn aid package for Ukraine, the Financial Times (FT) reports, citing its sources. Because of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's position, the European Union (EU) failed to agree on a new aid package for Kiev in December and was forced to postpone the issue.
According to the FT, Viktor Orban may be allowed to suspend aid in 2025. Hungary will be able to initiate a review of the terms of the aid package, including assessing whether Ukraine will continue to need funding and whether it has met the EU's requirements to receive the funds. This would enable Viktor Orban to veto the continuation of funding for Kiev again in the future.
The EC is also not opposed to annual checks on aid disbursements and the addition of an "emergency stop" clause under which any country can "raise serious concerns about payments to Ukraine" for discussion at a summit of EU leaders. It is noted that this clause would not give Hungary any further opportunity to veto aid to Ukraine.
Whether this would be enough for Viktor Orban to agree, an unnamed Hungarian official answered positively. "It's not clear yet, but I would say probably yes," he said. Another interlocutor of the newspaper, familiar with the discussion of this topic, assured that the Hungarian side is "determined to negotiate".
In mid-December 2023, Hungary's prime minister vetoed a decision on a €50 billion long-term aid programme for Ukraine. Sources told Politico this week that Budapest would lift the veto if it could review aid to Kiev every year. According to Euractiv, the EU has pledged to provide aid to Ukraine no later than March 2024. /BGNES
