Hungary ready to lift its veto on €50B EU aid for Ukraine, names condition

Hungarian Prime Minister's chief political adviser Balázs Orbán stated this to Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.

The publication notes that Balázs Orbán's statements suggest that Hungary is seeking a high price for its agreement, which may be difficult for other countries in the bloc to accept.

EU funding for Hungary and funding for Ukraine are two separate issues. But if the EU insists on financing Ukraine from the amended EU budget, then these two issues will become interconnected, Balázs Orbán said.

He added that Hungary still opposes the full four-year aid plan and would prefer the EU to offer Ukraine funding for one year without any budget amendments.

Balázs Orbán noted that Budapest would also consider contributing to the package.

As per the newspaper, Hungary is raising the stakes as the EU is expected to disburse about €10 billion in funding by Wednesday after the Hungarian government passed laws aimed at strengthening the court's independence. But Orbán has said he wants the EU to hand over the full amount - about €30 billion - that was frozen last year due to problems with the rule of law and bribery.

According to Balázs Orbán, as part of the negotiations on assistance to Ukraine, Hungary will consider the EU's proposal to increase funding for border security and additional EU subsidies to make the bloc's economy more competitive.

As Ukrinform reported, Bloomberg cited sources as saying that EU countries are considering an alternative plan to provide Ukraine with the necessary assistance in its fight against Russia if Hungary vetoes the current €50 billion funding proposal.

European Council President Charles Michel is convinced that a compromise can be reached on the allocation of €50 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine over the next four years.