All EU leaders, including Hungary, agreed on an agreement to provide financial aid to Ukraine at the start of their summit on Thursday (February 1). This ended the weeks-long tug-of-war triggered by Orbán’s threat of a veto.
In the run-up to the summit, the heads of state and government had prepared for a showdown with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He seemed unyielding in his demand for an annual review of aid to Ukraine, which also included an annual veto right.
But barely half an hour after talks began at the EU summit on Thursday, European Council President Charles Michel announced that an agreement had been reached on financial support for Ukraine until 2027.
“All 27 heads of state and government agreed on an additional support package for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros within the EU budget,” wrote Michel on X.
“This ensures stable, long-term and predictable financing for Ukraine,” he added.
How the agreement came about
Confirmation of the quick deal came after a small group of EU leaders persuaded Orbán to drop his veto on the funding package ahead of official summit talks.
In a short-term breakfast meeting, Orbán met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel.
According to an EU representative, Orbán agreed at this meeting to abandon his reservations about the aid package.
The talks were later expanded to include other leaders, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
The EU heads of state and government were able to convince Budapest with three additions.
As a concession to Orbán, the agreement calls for EU leaders to hold an annual debate on the implementation of the aid package for Ukraine. This is based on a compromise proposal put forward before the summit.
This would be accompanied by an annual report from the European Commission on the implementation of the facility, according to people close to the discussion.
If necessary, EU leaders could also ask the EU Commission in two years to submit a review proposal as part of the EU’s next multiannual financial framework (MFF).
EU officials and diplomats described the concessions as minor because they avoided a full veto scenario and the need to make a decision without Hungary, which would have made providing aid to Ukraine more complicated and time-consuming.
The Belgian EU Council Presidency is expected to hold negotiations with the European Commission and the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Monday (February 5) in order to adopt the legal framework as quickly as possible.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, welcomed the agreement between EU leaders, even if it was not “ideal”. She told reporters this after the announcement.
“Is it an ideal scenario? No. But have we found unity and unanimity today? Yes, and we sent a message that was contrary to what Putin would have wanted,” Metsola said.
“One of our concerns was that we didn’t want the money to be taken outside the budget for Ukraine, which it wasn’t because that was a circumvention of the [Europäischen] Parliament,” she added.
Ukraine welcomes agreement
In a video message to EU leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the decision as “a clear signal that Ukraine and Europe will stand firm.”
At the last meeting of the European Council, Europe’s credibility was at stake – and all of us together strengthened this credibility,” Zelensky emphasized to the EU heads of state and government.
“The EU has proven that its word counts and its promises serve the interests of all of Europe,” he said.
However, Zelensky also struck a somber tone, reminding that the EU is unlikely to reach its self-imposed target of one million ammunition for Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, the implementation of the European plan to supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine is being delayed – and this too is a signal of global competition in which Europe cannot afford to lose,” he said. Meanwhile, EU heads of state and government are expected to discuss their military support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed the deal as support that will help achieve a “common victory.”
“Each of your votes is a significant contribution to our common victory,” Shmyhal said in a message on social media thanking EU member states for the decision.
The agreement was a sign of “solidarity” and “unity” within the 27-member union, he added.
[Bearbeitet von Zoran Radosavljevic]