Hungary has used the right of veto and blocked an 18 billion euro aid loan to Ukraine after the European Union (EU) delayed the payment of the funds, Reuters writes.
Hungarian Economy Minister Mihaly Varga confirmed at the meeting of EU economic and finance ministers in Brussels that Hungary opposes a joint EU loan to Ukraine. Aušrine Armonaite, the Minister of Economy of Lithuania, pointed out that such withholding of aid from the Hungarian side is immoral: Hungary is using the aid package as a bargaining tool to get the EU to grant its budget funds. Meanwhile, Zbynek Stanjura, Czech Finance Minister, announced that Hungary’s position will not prevent other EU countries from providing aid to Ukraine.
The other 26 EU member states will form an aid package without Hungary’s participation, however, raising aid funds will be more complicated and take longer.
The confrontation with Hungary has forced the issue of the planned payment of 7,5 billion euros to Hungary from EU funds to be excluded from the agenda of the meeting. Last week, the European Commission froze the disbursement of these funds due to corruption risks. Voting on the allocation of another 5,8 billion euros to Hungary has also been postponed. Latter was intended for the country’s recovery plan after the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, these funds make up 9% of Hungary’s 2022 GDP.
Hungary is the only EU country that has not yet approved the spending plan, which is a mandatory condition for receiving EU payments. EU Commission legislation stipulates that 70% of the planned amount of funding will be irretrievably lost if the plan is not approved by the end of the year.
Orban has regularly received reprimands from the EU for restricting LGBT rights, the treatment of migrants, as well as increasing state influence in NGOs, higher education, courts, and media. International experts point out that Orban diverted EU funds to the disposal of his inner circle, thus strengthening his positions of power.
The international non-governmental organization Transparency International called on the EU to monitor so that the funds are properly used: «The evidence of Hungary’s rule-of-law decline has been exposed for years.»
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