Leaders set for showdown with Hungary on Ukraine – DW – 12/14/2023

European Union leaders are meeting for a high-stakes summit over Ukraine, with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocking both the start of EU membership talks and a €50 billion ($54 billion) package of financial aid for Kyiv.

The summit comes at a crucial time in Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion, after a counteroffensive failed to make significant gains and with US President Joe Biden’s administration so far unable to secure a $60 billion aid package for Kyiv through Congress.

If EU leaders give the green light to membership talks and the four-year financial package, Kyiv will be able to claim a geopolitical victory. Failure to agree would likely be seen in Moscow as a sign of wavering Western support for Ukraine.

All of the EU’s 27 national leaders, with the exception of Orban, have backed the opening of membership talks. But such a decision requires unanimity, and the Hungarian leader, who has close ties to Moscow, has insisted that Ukraine is not ready for such a step.

He has repeatedly threatened to veto both decisions — on aid and accession. 

Earlier this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned of “devastating consequences” for the Ukrainian people should EU leaders not unanimously decide to start membership talks with Kiev.

Current EU financial aid for Kyiv runs out at the end of the year.

EU leaders will be discussing how to plug gaps that have emerged in the bloc’s joint long-term budget, with the European Commission proposing to raise an additional €66 billion by 2027. 

Since the adoption in 2020 of a long-term budget for 2021-2027, a shortfall has appeared with member states facing “unprecedented and unexpected challenges.”

These include Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as higher inflation and interest rates — some of the effects of which the extra cash could be used to alleviate.

The funding boost would also be used to support member states in addressing urgent challenges related to both the internal and external aspects of migration.

Some of the funding is earmarked to top up a fund aimed at making the EU more competitive in the field of “critical technologies” such as digital tech and biotechnology.

The budget increase would also include €50 billion in loans and grants for Ukraine to cover the country’s immediate needs and support its recovery, reconstruction and modernization. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Kremlin’s biggest ally within the EU, has questioned the amount and its placement in the bloc’s budget, which all 27 EU governments must unanimously agree.

rc/rt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)