Hungary blocks €50bn Ukraine aid, calling off veto as Brussels releases frozen cash

Hungary has blocked the European Union from approving a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, even while conceding to have the EU officially open accession negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc.

The important breakthrough was welcomed by Kiev as it tries to bolster support from its allies.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said that all but one of the EU’s 27 countries backed the package for Ukraine. “One leader couldn’t agree on this,” Michel said at an impromptu 3am news conference, referring to President Viktor Orban of Hungary.

Leaders will reconvene early next month to try to reach unanimous agreement, which is required for the plan to go through.

Orban, who in the past has also delayed some EU sanctions against Russia, said Ukraine should only get aid after 2024’s European elections.

While accession to the EU will take years, the announcement on was a symbolic win against Vladimir Putin for  President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. “This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires and strengthens,” Zelensky said on X in response to the news.

Orban told prime ministers on Thursday that he would veto an official opening of the accession talks, arguing that Ukraine was not ready and that its entry would be bad for the bloc, and for Hungary.

But in the end, at the behest of Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Orban literally left the room when it was time to raise objections to opening the negotiations, allowing the decision to be reached while he effectively abstained.

The EU also approved accession talks for Moldova.

Ukraine is seen as a highly motivated candidate, and its government has been following EU requests for reforms. But it will still need to radically restructure parts of its governance and apply a raft of stringent rules in its economy, administration and justice systems to one day qualify for accession.

If Orban continues to block the funds, the EU can still create a trust with the other 26 member countries, which have all signaled their approval.

Hungary’s objections to Ukraine’s formal membership talks and long-term funding are seen as an effort by Orban to extract the frozen EU funds earmarked for Hungary.

On Wednesday, the European Commission released some €10 billion in frozen aid, after Hungry fulfilled demands for judicial reforms. The timing, on the eve of the crucial Ukraine summit, was a coincidence, officials insisted.

‼️BREAKING‼️

EU-Commission releases 10bn Euros of EU funds to the Orban regime.

Von der Leyen is paying the biggest bribe in EU history to the autocrat and Putin-friend Viktor Orban.

The signal is disastrous:
Viktor Orban's blackmail pays off. pic.twitter.com/vwX10P1yRA

— Daniel Freund (@daniel_freund) December 13, 2023

Critics decried the move as capitulating to Hungarian “blackmail”.

Green MEP Daniel Freund, of Germany, said the funds were approved in an expedited procedure, and that the Commission will not admit to any connection with Orban’s veto threat. “However, if there was really no connection, the Commission could have decided to announce the decision after the summit,” he said.

"Ursula Von der Leyen is making the biggest mistake of her mandate. The necessary reforms have not been implemented. However, the timing only allows the conclusion that this was not about judicial reforms. Instead, the €10 billion payout was intended to remove Orban’s veto. There was no obligation to respond to Hungary's request before the summit.”

He said the EC had paid out the “biggest bribe in the history of the EU” to a Putin ally. “The signal is fatal: the EU Commission is showing today that Viktor Orban’s blackmail tactics are paying off. He is receiving €10 billion, which we know will end up in the pockets of his friends and family and be misused to further destroy Hungarian democracy.”