EU quashes Hungary veto to seal aid package for Ukraine
BRUSSELS — Leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in support for its war-ravaged economy after Hungary dropped weeks of threats to veto the measure.
European Council President Charles Michel said the agreement “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine” and shows the EU’s determination “to support their future, to support freedom.”
The aid package — about two-thirds loans and onethird grants — is not intended to help fight off Russia. Apart from supporting the economy and paying for rebuilding, it’s also aimed at setting Ukraine up for future EU membership. The EU has a separate plan for funding arms and ammunition.
Almost two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainian economy is in shambles. The first months following the 2022 invasion saw the country lose a third of its economic output to wartime destruction and occupation by Russia, which controls Ukraine’s heartland of heavy industry.
Inflation soared to 26% because the central bank had to print money to cover budget gaps. The economy rebounded somewhat last year, but Ukraine spends almost all of its tax revenue on the war. That leaves a huge deficit because other bills must also be paid, including pensions and sal- aries for teachers, doctors, nurses and state employees.
Political infighting in the EU and the U.S. has held up funding. A combined total of more than $100 billion is at stake.
Michel said the EU’s move would also send “a signal to the American taxpayers,” which could help the Biden administration in its efforts to get a Ukraine support pack- age through Congress.
Ukrainian President Volo- dymyr Zelenskyy welcomed
An article on Ohio’s school bus safety efforts on A1 of Thursday’s newspaper misspelled the name of Aiden Clark. the assistance in a post on X. He said that continued financial help from the EU would strengthen Ukraine’s long-term economic stabil- ity, “which is no less import- ant than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia.”
His country could receive the first tranche of money as soon as March, once the European Parliament has endorsed the deal.
That Hungary lifted its veto, and so quickly, came as a surprise. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the EU leader with the closest ties to Russia, raised staunch objections to the financial aid in December and blocked its adoption. He threatened to do the same in recent days.
The populist leader’s gov- ernment has been in a dis- pute with the European Commission, the EU’s exec- utive branch, over Hungary’s alleged democratic backsliding. Some of his country’s own funding was withheld as a result.
Asked what Orban was offered in exchange for lifting his veto, French President Emmanuel Macron said Hungary “didn’t receive a gift. It simply got the guarantee that the approach toward it will not be discriminatory.”
In December, the 26 other EU leaders agreed that the $54 billion package would run from 2024 through 2027. They also agreed to make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, which Orbán reluctantly accepted.
Orbán cast the deal as a victory. “Mission accomplished,” he trumpeted on X. “Hungary’s funds will not end up in Ukraine and we have a control mechanism at the end of the first and the second year. Our position on the war in Ukraine remains unchanged: we need a ceasefire and peace talks.”