The EU Summit: Leaders of the European Union are Determined to Confront Hungary to Support Ukraine

European leaders at today's EU summit are geared for a heated discussion with the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, who previously stated his intention to veto further aid and membership negotiations for Ukraine. The start of the EU summit is postponed due to ongoing talks with the Hungarian leader.

This information is reported by DW.

Today, leaders of member countries plan to discuss the bloc's future budget strategy at the EU summit in Brussels. After the long-term budget for 2021-2027 was adopted by member countries in 2020, an unexpected deficit of funds emerged. The funding shortage is linked to new challenges for Europe and the world, particularly security issues.

Among the key factors causing underfunding are Russia's aggressive and unprovoked war in Ukraine, as well as a rapid increase in inflation and interest rates.

As part of the updated budget plan, 50 billion euros for Ukraine in the form of loans and grants should be included. These funds are expected to cover the country's urgent needs and support its recovery, reconstruction, and modernization.

Simultaneously, the Prime Minister of Hungary, dubbed the "closest friend of Putin in the European Bloc" by the media, Viktor Orban, cast doubt on providing money to Ukraine and promised to block financial aid to Kyiv—stating that all 27 EU governments must vote in favor of such a decision. Raising the stakes, Orban declared that his country would not support the commencement of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations.

Observers believe that the Hungarian Prime Minister is trying to use the issue of aid to Ukraine as leverage to persuade the EU to release previously blocked funds for Budapest due to concerns about the rule of law in the country.

EU leaders Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron have already held a preliminary meeting with Orban before the summit to discuss further steps regarding Ukraine. However, no consensus was reached.

"We are not at a Hungarian market where things can be exchanged. Ukraine is a country that wants to respect democratic values... Perhaps, this is a lesson for Orban himself," said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Wednesday.

Recall that in June 2023, at the summit in Brussels, the European Council granted Ukraine candidate status for EU membership. Following this, Kyiv pledged to undertake a series of crucial reforms related to the rule of law and combating the influence of oligarchs and corruption.

After a series of compliance checks, on November 8, 2023, the European Commission officially recommended to the European Union Council to start the negotiation process regarding Ukraine's EU accession. Later, Ursula von der Leyen stated that Ukraine has fulfilled "almost" all EU requirements for the start of accession negotiations.