In Brussels, European Union leaders prepare for a crucial summit regarding Ukraine as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban opposes the start of EU membership talks and 50 billion euros in financial aid for Kyiv.
The summit is happening at a critical moment in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia’s invasion, with a counter-offensive failing to gain significant ground and the Biden administration struggling to secure a $60 billion aid package for Kyiv through Congress.
If EU leaders approve membership talks and the financial package, it would be a significant win for Ukraine. Conversely, failure to agree would likely be interpreted by Moscow as waning Western support for Ukraine.
All of the EU’s 27 national leaders, with the exception of Orban, support the start of accession talks. However, the decision requires unanimity and Orban, who has close ties to Moscow, insists that Ukraine is not ready for this step.
Prior to the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that his country has completed the necessary political reforms and urged the EU to fulfill its commitments.
Orban has cited corruption in Ukraine as well as other concerns to justify his position. However, EU officials and diplomats suspect he is using the issue as leverage in hopes of obtaining frozen funds due to concerns about Hungary’s rule of law.
On Wednesday, the European Commission restored Hungary’s access to up to 10.2 billion euros in refunds for economic projects after determining that it had met the conditions regarding the independence of its judiciary.
The Commission previously recommended that EU leaders agree to start accession talks with Ukraine. A second unanimous decision would be needed – possibly in March – to establish a negotiating framework.
Officials and diplomats anticipate a challenging summit, possibly extending into the weekend, as a compromise may involve a longer gap between the two decisions and language in the summit declaration on conditions to be met in the meantime.
Orban has also objected to a Commission proposal to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros in grants and loans as part of a broader revision to the EU budget. This revision also requires unanimous agreement among EU governments.
EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn believes that Hungary will eventually agree to the package as there are elements in it that will benefit Budapest, such as funding for migration, border protection, and support for countries like Turkey. Hahn stated, “It is a package, it’s not only for Ukraine. There is something in it for migration, border protection, support of countries like Turkey, nowadays good friends of Hungary … to get also additional financial means.”
($1 = 0.9193 euros)
(Additional reporting by Bart H. Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Gabriela Baczynska, Julia Payne and Philip Blenkinsop; Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
