Hungary did not support the EU on financing Ukraine
2022.12.05 15:02
Hungary did not support the EU on financing Ukraine
Budrigannews.com – Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste told Reuters on Monday that it is “immoral” for Hungary to hold up a deal with the European Union on financing Ukraine for 2023 in order to obtain approval for Budapest’s recovery plan and billions from the EU budget.
Hungary has been opposing an EU plan to provide war-torn Ukraine with 18 billion euros in financial assistance next year through the EU budget. This would allow the Kyiv administration to plan ahead and make payments consistent and predictable.
According to EU officials, Budapest wants approval from the EU for its plan (RRP) to spend 5.8 billion euros from the EU post-pandemic recovery fund in order to remove its veto. 70% of the cash will disappear if there is no approval by the end of the year.
According to EU diplomats and officials, Budapest may also want EU finance ministers to freeze less money for Hungary than the 7.5 billion the Commission recommended last week.
Because of unresolved rule-of-law and high-level corruption issues in Hungary, the Commission suggested that the ministers freeze the money. It was concerned that the money would be misappropriated. Even though some issues still need to be addressed, Hungary claims to be dealing with them.
“The following three issues are the subject of discussion:” One is the rule of law, another is RRP, and the fourth is support for the Ukrainians,” Skaiste stated.
“It’s a piece corrupt of Hungary to impede the help for Ukraine and interface that with questions that are simply on an alternate level,” she said.
“Having the RRP plan and funds for reforms is one thing; helping Ukraine, which is in trouble, at war, and where people are dying, is another. She stated, “Putting everything on the same level is just immoral.”
According to diplomats, a round of talks between the ministers will determine on Tuesday morning whether EU finance ministers will vote tomorrow on the Commission’s recommendations regarding the recovery plan, the freezing of funds for Hungary, and the EU financing scheme for Ukraine.
The ministers could choose to put off voting on all of these issues until next week and ask the Commission to quickly review the most recent steps Hungary has taken to address EU concerns about corruption and the rule of law.
The ministers may be inclined to reduce the amount of money from the EU budget that the Commission wants frozen if the review reveals that Hungary has made significant progress. This would be advantageous for Budapest.
Skaiste stated, “What I expect is maybe still one more week of additional discussions.”
She stated that other EU governments could agree to provide the money in another manner, as they did this year, if Hungary continued to block financing for Ukraine through the EU budget.
