EU suspends €20bn military aid plan for Ukraine due to Hungary’s position, - Politico
Due to Hungary's categorical position, the allocation of a new €20 billion military aid package from the EU to Ukraine has been called into question.
This is reported by Politico, Censor.NET informs with reference to RBC-Ukraine.
According to the publication, the EU has already allocated €60 billion for military aid to Ukraine in 2025, and this money is beyond question. Budapest is against the new package.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to present her toolkit for increasing EU defence spending this morning.
However, the new defence funding package proposed by Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas has been excluded from the latest draft of the EU Council's conclusions.
According to the newspaper, Hungary will take the blame for freezing the €20bn aid package to Kyiv. Budapest may support strengthening the EU's defence, but it is strongly opposed to the aid package for Ukraine.
Hungary's objections to security guarantees and new aid were already in place before Donald Trump and J.D. Vance teamed up against Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
European Council President Antonio Costa appears to have conceded defeat in his campaign to engage Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on this aid package.
"I note that there is a divergence on the path to achieve peace and, in particular, the ‘peace through strength’ approach," Costa wrote to Orbán on March 3. He emphasized the "broad agreement" on the need for Europe to become "more sovereign, more capable and better equipped" to address security challenges.
Orban and Robert Fico of Slovakia have publicly voiced their objections. However, diplomats behind the scenes say other capitals, including Paris, are just as happy to see the funding package move slowly, Politico writes.
Von der Leyen is likely to suggest more creative ways to get reluctant member states to support Ukraine. According to the diplomat, one option would be to require that 20 per cent of new loans available for defence spending go to aid Kyiv.
