Hungary blocks USD 54 billion aid for Ukraine

BRUSSELS: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday blocked 50 billion euros (USD 54 billion) in aid for Ukraine, hours after the European Union agreed to formally open membership talks with Kyiv, Al Jazeera reported.

After Orban refused to back the additional funding for Ukraine's government, the leaders in Brussels said they would revisit the issue next month.

"Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine," Orban posted on social media. Orban said he blocked the aid to ensure Budapest receives EU money that has been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law in Hungary. Orban has a history of using disagreements with other EU leaders for his own electoral benefit. Other leaders of the European Union agreed to revisit the debate in January. "We still have some time; Ukraine is not out of money in the next few weeks," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters as he left the talks. The package is urgently needed to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion.

"We agreed with the 26 countries. Victor Orban, Hungary, was not yet able to do that. I am fairly confident we can get a deal early next year. We are thinking of late January," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying. Rutte said another summit would be convened to reach a deal. While Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stressed that financial support was vital,.

"It is just as important that Ukraine has the means to continue the war and rebuild its country," he stated. Notably, Orban had promised to block the membership talks and the funding for weeks.

This decision came as another setback for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who failed to persuade Republican lawmakers in the US this week to approve an additional USD 61 billion for Ukraine, according to Al Jazeera.

Most EU leaders wanted this week's summit to send a clear sign of solidarity with Ukraine amid perceptions, eagerly seized upon and repeated by Moscow, that allies' support for Kyiv was waning.

The critics have accused the Hungarian leader of holding Kyiv's survival hostage in a bid to force Brussels to release billions of euros in EU funds frozen amid concerns about Budapest's commitment to the rule of law. Earlier on Thursday, the European Council opened membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, informed CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the development, calling it a "victory of Ukraine." However, a few fundamental obstacles stand in the way of Ukraine joining the bloc and it could still be a decade until Kyiv joins the EU and enjoys the benefits of full membership, according to CNN.

Ukraine still needs to meet the conditions of the Copenhagen Criteria--an opaque trio of requirements that the EU must satisfy--before moving on to the next stage of negotiations.