Brussels, Belgium
Reuters
European Union leaders unanimously agreed on Thursday to €50 billion in new aid to Ukraine, sending a message to the United States split on whether to keep backing Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
The agreement overcomes weeks of resistance from Hungary and comes amid uncertainty over the future of US aid. Kyiv relies heavily on Western support as the war, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, nears its third year.
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on 1st March, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Johanna Geron/File photo
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he hoped the EU decision would help US President Joe Biden convince Congress to follow suit.
“This…is also a good signal towards the US The American president is a good friend and ally who is working hard to win support for his demands from the Congress,” Scholz said, his comments echoed by EU chiefs in Brussels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the EU agreement, saying the aid would strengthen his country’s long-term economic and financial stability.
Ukraine’s dollar bonds gained on the news and Kyiv said it expected to receive the first tranche of €4.5 billion from the EU in March from a total of €50 billion to come from the bloc’s shared budget through 2027.
“The message is clear: Russia can’t count on any fatigue from the Europeans in their support to Ukraine,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
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The agreement comes after weeks of wrangling with Orban, who vetoed the aid last December.
On Thursday, he said he gave the green light after receiving assurances the aid would be used sensibly and would not come from EU funds that had been earmarked for Budapest from the bloc’s joint coffers.
The EU executive is withholding €20 billion from Hungary over widespread accusations that Orban has damaged democracy at home during his 13 years in power.
“In or out?”
Diplomats told Reuters that, in exchange for Hungary’s nod, the bloc did not commit to releasing any of the billions of euros of EU funds until Budapest meets conditions.
They said the deal includes a yearly discussion of the package and the option to review it in two years “if needed”, but no outright veto for Budapest.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a European Union summit in Brussels, Belgium, on 1st February, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Johanna Geron
In recent days, the EU has piled pressure on Orban to fall into line. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told Orban on Thursday time was up for “games” and that Budapest needed to pick sides in the existential challenge posed by Russia’s war.
“He has to consider if he is in, or out,” Tusk said.
Orban has had many bitter run-ins with the EU over the rule of law in Hungary, and has increasingly criticised Western sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. He has also cultivated closer ties with the Kremlin than EU peers.
A German diplomat said Orban felt at the summit that his increasing isolation in the bloc was “not comfortable”.
“The Hungarian economy is under pressure, that might have helped as well,” said the diplomat, who spoke under condition of anonymity. “Orban knows that he needs the EU.”
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The EU leaders also agreed at their summit in Brussels on Thursday on an “urgent need” to accelerate the delivery of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine.
A day earlier, the EU executive said the bloc would fall far short of its target of sending Ukraine one million rounds of artillery shells by March.
The summit also stopped short of endorsing a call by some countries to inject €5 billion for Ukraine – on top of the €50 billion already agreed – into a broader military assistance fund, the European Peace Facility.
Germany has been calling for major reform of the system to take account of EU members’ bilateral military aid to Ukraine and Scholz said after the summit that Germany – the EU’s paymaster – cannot manage military support alone.
– With reporting by JAN STRUPCZEWSKI, JULIA PAYNE, BART MEIJER, PHILIP BLENKINSOP, BENOIT VAN OVERSTRAETEN PIOTR LIPINSKI, GEERT DE CLERCQ, PAWEL FLORKIEWICZ, JUSTYNA PAWLAK, MICHEL ROSE, ANDREAS RINKE, KRISZTINA THAN, TASSILO HUMMEL, BOLDIZSAR GYORI, OLENA HARMASH and YULIIA DYSA.
