The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen assured Friday that the EU would find a solution to help Ukraine, after a veto Thursday evening by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on financing of 50 billion euros in favor of Kiev . A future meeting of heads of state and government of the European Union in early 2024 should make it possible to release this aid. “Until then, we will use the time to make sure that whatever happens, we will have at this summit a working solution,” Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels.
“I am confident that the decision will be formalized”
“We are working very hard, of course, to reach an agreement between the 27 member states. But I think it is also necessary to work on potential alternatives in order to have a working solution in case an agreement at 27 would not be possible,” she said during a press conference following a European summit. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said for his part he was “extremely confident and optimistic” about the EU’s ability to keep its commitments to Ukraine “with financial means in the weeks to come”. “I am confident that the decision will be formalized,” he insisted.
“It is possible for 26 Member States to provide the money on a bilateral basis, without going through (…) the structures of the European Union, there are workarounds,” said the Prime Minister. Irish Minister Leo Varadkar in front of journalists. However, he considered it “still possible to reach an agreement at 27”. On Thursday evening, EU leaders gave the green light to accession negotiations with Ukraine, but failed to convince Viktor Orbán to grant crucial aid to the war-torn country.
The Hungarian leader demanded on Friday that “all of the European funds” owed to Budapest, billions of euros of which remain blocked, be paid to his country, before possibly considering lifting his veto on new aid in favor of the Ukraine. “I have always said that if we proceeded with an amendment to the EU budget (…), Hungary would seize the opportunity to clearly demand what it deserves. Not half, not a quarter, but totality,” the nationalist leader said in an interview on state radio.