Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has acknowledged that European Union member states have the autonomy to provide assistance to Ukraine independently, bypassing the need for consensus within the EU budget framework, Reuters reported on Dec. 21.

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“They want to give the money to Ukraine from inside the EU budget, Hungary wants to give it outside the EU budget. They have the possibility – if we don’t agree on this – to resolve this outside the budget but don’t have the option of resolving this from the EU budget without Hungarian approval.”

Orban added that “they will think about what to say” if EU member states agree to provide aid to Ukraine outside the budget.

During an EU summit on Dec. 14 where 26 bloc members approved the start of negotiations with Ukraine regarding EU accession, Orban vetoed a new EUR 50-billion aid package for Ukraine. He insists that Budapest should receive around EUR 21 billion in EU aid and grants for Hungary that has been frozen due to the poor situation with human rights and the rule of law in the country.

Charles Michel, the head of the European Council, announced on Dec. 18 that the European Union plans to hold an extraordinary summit on Feb. 1, during which issues related to additional funding for Ukraine are planned to be discussed.

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