Hungary uses veto power to block €18 billion European aid to Ukraine

The Lithuanian finance minister called it "immoral" for Hungary to hold up a European Union deal on 2023 financing for Ukraine to extract approval for Budapest's recovery plan and billions from the EU budget.

Minister Gintare Skaiste gave this comment to Reuters on December 5, referring to Hungary blocking an EU plan to provide €18 billion next year in financial help to war-torn Ukraine through the EU budget, which would make disbursements regular and predictable, allowing the Kyiv administration to plan ahead.

"Hungary is not in favour of the amendment of the financial regulation," said Hungarian Minister Mihály Varga during the public debate about Ukraine's financial aid.

Brussels is keen to approve the 2023 plan as soon as possible but requires unanimity from all members to be passed.

Finance ministers of the European Union decided on December 6 to delay another two key votes on an internationally-backed tax deal and a new package of financial aid for Ukraine due to an unresolved dispute over Hungary's cohesion funds.

Budapest has been able to leverage its veto power to exert pressure on the two other decisions concerning its public coffers, the €7.5 billion in cohesion funds and the €5.8 billion in COVID-19 recovery grants which only need a qualified majority.

As Reuters recalled, Hungary is on the verge of having €7.5 billion of its EU budgets frozen after failing to complete a series of reforms that are meant to address, among other issues, corruption, irregularities in public procurement and conflicts of interest from government officials.