Hungary wants to share €50 billion support from EU with Ukraine – Bloomberg
Pravda Ukraine
Hungary has offered to split the European Union’s upcoming €50 billion aid package with Ukraine, raising concerns about reduced economic support for Kyiv.
Source: Bloomberg with reference to sources familiar with the discussions, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Last week, Hungary informed the EU member states that the 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 “at the midpoint” of the disbursement period when another €25 billion euros could be provided to Ukraine, depending on its needs.
Bloombergs, with reference to a person familiar with the discussions, said the EU could unlock almost €13 billion euros in funding for Hungary this year to force Viktor Orbán’s government to ease its resistance to allocating support to Ukraine. Earlier, the Financial Times also wrote about it.
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.
Importance of the discussions about EU funding have grown since Sunday’s US deal to avert a government shutdown that set aside €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 over its overall review undermined efforts to reach a timely decision.
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