Hungary’s Orban Blocks Aid for Ukraine, Says He Can Still Halt EU Accession 

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for a roundtable meeting of the European Council at the European headquarters in Brussels, on December 14, 2023. (AFP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for a roundtable meeting of the European Council at the European headquarters in Brussels, on December 14, 2023. (AFP)
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Hungary’s Orban Blocks Aid for Ukraine, Says He Can Still Halt EU Accession 

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for a roundtable meeting of the European Council at the European headquarters in Brussels, on December 14, 2023. (AFP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for a roundtable meeting of the European Council at the European headquarters in Brussels, on December 14, 2023. (AFP)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday stood by his decision to veto a 50-billion-euro ($54.94 billion) EU aid package for Ukraine and said he could still halt Kyiv's accession to the bloc after membership talks were given the green light.

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, other European Union leaders bypassed objections from Orban by getting him to leave the room while they took the historic step of agreeing to start accession negotiations with a country at war.

But they could not overcome resistance from Orban - who maintains close ties to Russia - to a revamp of the bloc's budget to channel vital financial support to Ukraine and provide more cash for other EU priorities such as managing migration.

The breakthrough on a membership path came at a critical time for Ukraine with its counter-offensive against Russian invasion forces having failed to make major gains and with US President Joe Biden so far unable to get a $60 billion package for Kyiv through the US Congress.

Orban told state radio on Friday that he had to block the aid package to Ukraine - part of a broader multi-year budget plan - to make sure Hungary will get the funds it wants from the EU budget.

"I have always said that if someone wants to modify the budget - and they want to - then it is a great opportunity for Hungary to make it clear that it must get what it is entitled to. Not half of it, or one-fourth," he said.

The EU leaders ended talks on the financial package, which requires unanimity, in the early hours of Friday morning and said they would try again in January, with some voicing optimism a deal could be clinched then.

If there is no deal at that time, member states could also provide aid individually or strike separate deals.

As for the decision to agree to start membership talks with Ukraine, hailed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a victory for Ukraine and Europe, Orban stressed the talks would be very long - and Hungary could still block the process later.

"This is a bad decision," the nationalist Hungarian leader said. "Hungary bears no responsibility for this, we can halt this process later on, and if needed we will pull the brakes, and the ultimate decision will be made by Hungarian parliament."

The news on the financing struck a bittersweet note for Ukraine, coming just hours after leaders agreed to open membership talks.

Although membership would likely be many years away, the decision at the Brussels summit takes Ukraine a step closer to its long-term strategic goal of anchoring itself in the West and liberating itself from Russia's orbit.

EU leaders were set to reconvene on Friday to discuss other topics including the Israel-Hamas war.



EU's Kallas: Russia is Posing an Existential Threat to Our Security

Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas delivers a keynote speech during the EDA Annual Conference 'New Horizons in EU Defence', in Brussels, Belgium, 22 January  2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas delivers a keynote speech during the EDA Annual Conference 'New Horizons in EU Defence', in Brussels, Belgium, 22 January 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
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EU's Kallas: Russia is Posing an Existential Threat to Our Security

Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas delivers a keynote speech during the EDA Annual Conference 'New Horizons in EU Defence', in Brussels, Belgium, 22 January  2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Head of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas delivers a keynote speech during the EDA Annual Conference 'New Horizons in EU Defence', in Brussels, Belgium, 22 January 2025. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Russia is posing an existential threat to the European Union's security and the only way to address that is to increase spending on defense, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday, adding that the EU had for too long offered Russia alternatives.
"Russia poses an existential threat to our security today, tomorrow and for as long as we underinvest in our defense," she said during a speech at the annual conference of the European Defense Agency (EDA).
"People say I'm a 'Russia hawk'. I think I'm simply realistic about Russia," Reuters quoted Kallas as saying.
Kallas, one of EU's most vocal opponents to Russian President Vladimir Putin, also acknowledged US President Donald Trump was right in saying that EU members don't spend enough on defense.
Trump said earlier this month NATO members should spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense – a huge increase from the current 2% goal and a level that no NATO country, including the United States, currently reaches.
"Time is not on Russia's side. But it's not necessarily on ours either. Because we are not yet doing enough. There should be no doubt in any of our minds that we must spend more to prevent war. But we also need to prepare for war," Kallas said.