RMF: Hungary has blocked a tranche of aid from the EU in the amount of €500 million for Ukraine, we are talking about money from the European Peace Fund, created last year. Hungary has previously tried to block the allocation of €18 billion in financial aid to Kiev, but Budapest had to give in
Hungary has blocked the allocation of the seventh tranche of EU military aid to Ukraine, RMF FM radio station reports, citing a senior European diplomat.
We are talking about $500 million from the European Peace Fund, which has been financing arms supplies from the EU since the beginning of the Russian military operation.
According to the interlocutor of the radio station, a meeting of EU foreign ministers will be held on Monday, January 23, at which they will try to put pressure on Budapest. The Hungarian veto is causing more and more indignation among diplomats, since it has no basis, but only favors Russia.
However, the source notes, Brussels has a backup plan— it has already been activated when Hungary blocked the allocation of a package of financial assistance to Kiev in the amount of €18 billion. Then the EU adopted a legal act that allowed us to provide assistance bypassing Hungary. As a result, Budapest conceded.
The European Peace Fund was established last year, it finances military and defense spending “with the aim of preventing conflicts, preserving peace and strengthening international security and stability”. It is managed by a special committee, which includes representatives of each EU member State, headed by the Chairman of the EU Council representative. The size of the contribution of countries is determined based on the distribution of gross national income (GNI). The fund’s budget is €5.6 billion. Last December, the Foreign Ministers of the EU countries agreed to increase it by €2 billion in 2023.
According to the head of the European Council Charles Michel, since February 24, 2022, the European Union and the member countries of the association have allocated about 50 billion military aid to Ukraine.
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The Russian authorities criticize the supply of weapons to Ukraine from Western countries. Moscow claims that this leads to an escalation of the conflict and does not contribute to its completion.
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