Hungary says it will block EU’s 18bn-euro Ukraine aid plan
Budapest, Nov 9 (EFE).- Hungary on Wednesday vowed to block an 18 billion euro ($18.1bn) Ukraine aid package proposed by the European Union.
Gergely Gulyás, the minister for the office of Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán, said his country was ready to support Ukraine but not through joint loans taken out by EU member states.
The proposed macro-financial aid package requires the backing of all EU member states and involves loans guaranteed by the bloc’s budget.
The European Commission is set to present the package on Wednesday.
The 18 billion euro plan, which aims to disburse 1.5 billion euros to Ukraine in monthly loans, is designed to provide aid throughout the coming year.
Gulyás on Wednesday denied that Hungary’s decision on the Ukraine plan was linked to a row with Brussels over the freezing of 7.5 billion euros from the budget over Budapest’s failure to implement anti-corruption reforms.
Hungary’s nationalist government is often at loggerheads with Brussels, and has pushed for changes and exceptions in EU sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Orban is considered one of Vladimir Putin’s only EU allies. EFE
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