Hungary has blocked €50bn in EU aid for Ukraine – just hours after an agreement was reached on starting membership talks, the
BBC reports.
“Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after Thursday’s talks in Brussels.
EU leaders said the aid negotiations would resume early next year.
Ukraine is critically dependent on EU and US funding as it continues to fight occupying Russian forces.
The aid blocking was announced by Mr Orban shortly after the EU leaders decided to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.
Hungary – which maintains close ties with Russia – has long opposed membership for Ukraine but did not veto that move.
Mr Orban left the negotiating room momentarily in what officials described as a pre-agreed and constructive manner, while the other 26 leaders went ahead with the vote.
A spokesperson for Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said the agreement had been unanimous.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the EU decision on membership talks as a “victory”.
