Hungary blocks EU aid for Ukraine after membership approval talks

Hungary blocks European Union (EU) 50 billion euro aid for Ukraine just hours after the EU membership approval talks. The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the aid blocking after EU leaders decided to open membership talks with Ukraine.

PM Viktor said to veto the extra money to Ukraine following the Thursday talks on Ukraine’s membership in Brussels. The leaders of the European Union stated that negotiations for Ukraine aid would resume early next year.

Summary of the nightshift:
🚫 veto for the extra money to Ukraine,
🚫 veto for the MFF review.
We will come back to the issue next year in the #EUCO after proper preparation.
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 15, 2023

Ukraine is heavily dependent on the funding of the European Union and the United States as it is fighting occupying Russian forces. This decision is probably a result of the close ties of Hungary with Russia and that is why Hungary blocks EU aid for Ukraine.

Hungary has opposed the EU membership for Ukraine for a long time but has not vetoed the move. PM Viktor said on December 13, 2023, that Ukraine’s membership of the EU would result in unpredictable consequences. It would serve neither Hungary nor the interests of other EU-membered countries.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told MPs on Wednesday that Ukraine joining the EU quickly would have unforeseeable consequences and would serve neither Hungary nor the bloc’s interests. https://t.co/Rk66HhQ1VD
— About Hungary (@abouthungary) December 14, 2023

Hungarian Parliamentary Group Leader Mate Kocsis stated the proposal of the EU on Ukraine’s membership was ill-considered and untimely. He said it during a parliamentary discussion on the EU member countries’ draft resolution on Ukraine’s EU membership.

In a parliamentary debate on a draft resolution concerning Ukraine’s EU membership submitted by the ruling parties, Kocsis said the European Commission’s proposal on Ukraine’s accession was ill-considered and untimely. https://t.co/bfBKjvW0le pic.twitter.com/5Q5ohLfmmN
— About Hungary (@abouthungary) December 14, 2023

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PM Viktor briefly attended the negotiating room for Ukraine membership talks yesterday. Authorities describe it as a pre-agreed and constructive manner. Because all other 26 leaders voted in favor of Ukraine aid, unlike PM Viktor.

Mr. Viktor told Hungarian state radio that he pushed for eight hours to urge his EU counterparts not to proceed. Ukraine’s path to EU membership would be a long one in any case. He added that parliament in Budapest could still prevent it from happening if it so desired.

Ukraine requested to join the European Union after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is delighted at the decision of the EU to open talks on its membership.