Hungary may reverse veto on EU financial aid for Ukraine but seeks green light for own frozen funds
Details about Budapest's new decision were given by the Polish Press Agency, citing words spoken by Balazs Orban, the director of the political office of the Hungarian Prime Minister, to the Bloomberg agency. Orban clarified that Hungary's financing by the European Union and Ukraine's financing should be treated as two distinct issues. "However, if the EU asserts that Ukraine's funding should come from the EU's revised budget, these two topics become intertwined," he added.
6:43 AM EST, December 13, 2023
Hungary has consistently proposed that Kyiv should be presented with the strategic partnership offer for now, instead of initiating accession talks. Other decisions, which include an additional financial aid for Kyiv estimated at around 50 billion euros over four years, are expected to be made at a two-day European Union summit in Brussels, starting on Thursday.
Frozen cash: A Hungarian dilemma
Politico reported on Tuesday that the European Commission intends to positively evaluate amendments to Hungarian laws concerning the rule of law. This positive reassessment suggests that about 10 billion euros of frozen cohesion policy funds could be unfrozen.
Officials from the European Commission, quoted by Politico, claimed that freezing funds proved more efficient in practice than anticipated. An esteemed diplomat aware of the matter and cited by the same news portal highlighted that if the EC does not defreeze the funds, Hungary has the right to institute a lawsuit and will likely emerge victorious.
From 2021 to 2027, Hungary was projected to receive about 22 billion euros in cohesion funds. The Hungarian recovery plan's value stands at about 10.4 billion euros, encompassing 6.5 billion euros in grants and 3.9 billion euros in loans.
