Most EU leaders back new Ukraine aid, Hungary and Slovakia voice doubts

Most European Union leaders supported providing Ukraine with further financial help on Friday as it battles a Russian invasion. Still, Hungary and Slovakia expressed dissent before a decision that the EU must adopt unanimously in December.

In modifying its expected budget, the EU executive has suggested that the bloc’s 27 member states contribute more money to cover more spending until 2027, including extending 50 billion euros ($52.8 billion) in fresh funding to Kyiv.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated, “I have the impression that we will decide what is necessary for Ukraine’s financial stability,” following discussions with fellow EU members at a meeting in Brussels. “And I don’t think that the partly different concrete assessments will affect that.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has provided approximately 83 billion euros in total assistance, the executive European Commission in Brussels announced this week.

In addition to supplying Ukraine with weapons and cash, the bloc has repeatedly slapped sanctions on Russia. The purpose of the meeting was to demonstrate the bloc’s unwavering backing for Kyiv despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the EU stated that “the European Union will continue to provide strong financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes.”

HUNGARY JOINS SLOVAKIA
The most outspoken critic of the approach inside the group has been Hungary.

Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, took a similar stance when attending his first EU meeting after being nominated for a fourth term on Wednesday.

Orban declared on Friday that the EU’s plan to provide financial and military support to Ukraine has failed following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A video from the beginning of the conference showed Putin standing by himself as other EU leaders welcomed each other as they entered their talks room. “The Ukrainians will not win on the battlefield,” he said.

Additionally, Orban declared that he would not support the present version of the proposed EU budget amendment, which contains an additional 50 billion in aid for Kyiv.

He did not, however, completely dismiss the idea, implying that there is room for horse-trading.

Budapest is attempting to access billions of euros in EU funding simultaneously, but the European Commission has blocked it due to allegations that Orban has undermined democracy.

According to a statement from his office, Fico said there was widespread corruption in Ukraine and insisted that any fresh EU assistance comes with assurances that the money would not be stolen. Additionally, he noted that Bratislava will no longer help Ukraine militarily.

“Ukraine is among the most corrupt countries in the world, and we are conditioning excessive financial support on guarantees that European money (including Slovak) will not be embezzled,” he stated.

In 2018, Fico resigned from his position as prime minister of Slovakia after protests in the streets following the death of a journalist who had been looking into official corruption. The experienced communist politician from Slovak politics has frequently brushed off corruption charges.

The prime minister of Bulgaria, Nikolai Denkov, told reporters, “What I can say is that both of them didn’t refuse the possibility of providing aid to Ukraine, even for a long time.”

“The questions are: what type of aid and how is it used; how are we sure that the European Union is sure that this aid is used efficiently?” he stated.