The European Union will be able work around any Hungarian veto and give Ukraine 50 billion euros ($53.4 bln) in aid, officials in the bloc said, as Kyiv struggles to push back Russia's invasion 21 months into the war.
BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The European Union will be able work around any Hungarian veto and give Ukraine 50 billion euros ($53.4 bln) in aid, officials in the bloc said, as Kyiv struggles to push back Russia’s invasion 21 months into the war.
The bloc’s executive has proposed expanding budget support to help Ukraine pay salaries and meet other expenses as the conflict grinds on, and the EU’s 27 member states are due to vote on the package at a Dec. 14-15 summit in Brussels.
But some worry the aid could be blocked by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban who has touted his ties with Moscow and objected to similar support in the past.
After months of wrangling, Budapest finally agreed to the package after winning what it said were concessions from the bloc on aid to Hungary, and hearing that the EU would use a similar workaround to push it through anyway.
In power for more than a decade, Orban has been locked in increasingly bitter battles with others in the EU over a range of issues including democratic standards, foreign policy, migration and LGBT rights.
EU officials told Reuters last month that they were looking at unlocking at least some of that money as the bloc seeks to win Orban’s vote for Ukraine.
The original article contains 575 words, the summary contains 216 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The European Union will be able work around any Hungarian veto and give Ukraine 50 billion euros ($53.4 bln) in aid, officials in the bloc said, as Kyiv struggles to push back Russia’s invasion 21 months into the war.
The bloc’s executive has proposed expanding budget support to help Ukraine pay salaries and meet other expenses as the conflict grinds on, and the EU’s 27 member states are due to vote on the package at a Dec. 14-15 summit in Brussels.
But some worry the aid could be blocked by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban who has touted his ties with Moscow and objected to similar support in the past.
After months of wrangling, Budapest finally agreed to the package after winning what it said were concessions from the bloc on aid to Hungary, and hearing that the EU would use a similar workaround to push it through anyway.
In power for more than a decade, Orban has been locked in increasingly bitter battles with others in the EU over a range of issues including democratic standards, foreign policy, migration and LGBT rights.
EU officials told Reuters last month that they were looking at unlocking at least some of that money as the bloc seeks to win Orban’s vote for Ukraine.
The original article contains 575 words, the summary contains 216 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!