Ukraine has warned that its European ambitions are at risk as Brussels' leaders struggle to agree on renewing financial support for Kyiv and extending an invitation to start membership talks.
Leaders of the 27 European Union members meet Thursday to decide the fate of a promised €50 billion aid package, additional funds for weapons shipments and opening Ukraine's path to join the bloc.
But key EU issues require unanimity, and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to block any new support for Ukraine, 21 months after the Russian invasion.
With US backing for Ukraine also under threat from Republicans in Congress, the Ukrainian government is alarmed about faltering support from the country's other main ally.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters in Brussels on Monday he "cannot imagine" the fallout if EU leaders snub Kyiv's hope of membership talks.
Insane…while Pro-Putin Orban continues his fight against Ukraine, he will next week receive €10bn from 🇪🇺 & participate in a European Council blocking opening of accession negotiations…instead of giving him money, we should take away his voting rights!https://t.co/fkQDfgNzZC
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) December 10, 2023
But the €50 billion promised by Brussels might become a stumbling block, with diplomats warning that member states are divided over how to finance it.
"We have to provide operational military support, yes, but we have also to work on a predictable long term funding," the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell warned after talks with ministers.
"We are very clear this is not the moment to weaken our support to Ukraine. By the contrary, this is the moment to increase and speed up support," he said.
Since the start of the war, EU memberstates have provided over €82 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to the Council's website: €31 billion in financial, budget support and humanitarian assistance, €17 billion in support for refugees within the EU, €25 billion in military support and €9.4 billion of grants, loans and guarantees provided by the EU member states.
European diplomats believe Orban is stalling to pressure Brussels to release €50 billion of EU support to Budapest that was frozen over a dispute about the rule of law and corruption in Hungary.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto denounced what he said was "extraordinary pressure exerted at the political and media levels" to push Budapest to accept Ukraine's EU candidacy.
During months, EU leaders have been lobbying Budapest, culminating in French President Emmanuel Macron hosting Orban at a dinner in Paris to sound him out about backing Europe's support for Ukraine.
€10 billion for Orban?
Politico reported that EU commissioners were expected to grant Hungary €10 billion in EU funds on Tuesday, a mere 20 percent of the €50 billion Orban is expected to get.
"It’s a victory for Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán, who is blocking EU decision-making and torpedoing the Union’s response to Russia’s war at the key summit of European leaders starting Thursday," according to Politico, adding that the biggest losers are EU leaders, led by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, "who, according to senior diplomats and officials, have pressured Brussels to release the funds and will have to explain to their citizens why their taxes are being used to finance a government that in effect supports Russia."
(With newswires)
