BRUSSELS — Hungary on Tuesday blocked a
mammoth
EU aid package for Ukraine, as Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks to
pressure Brussels into handing him billions of euros in frozen funds.
اضافة اعلان
Budapest made good on its threat to oppose 18
billion euros of financial support for war-torn Ukraine at a meeting of EU
finance ministers in Brussels.
The aid for Kyiv is one of several initiatives
Budapest is stalling as it faces having 13 billion euros in EU funds for it
frozen by the bloc over its failures on stopping graft and ensuring judicial
independence.
Hungary is also vetoing a longstanding push for an
EU-wide minimum corporate tax.
The Czech presidency of the EU said it would now try
to find a way for the other 26 member states to bypass Hungary’s opposition and
get the financial support to
Kyiv.
“We will not be discouraged. Our ambition remains
that we will start the disbursement of our aid to Ukraine in early January,”
said Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura.
EU finance ministers were initially expected to give
their response Tuesday to a recommendation by the bloc’s executive, the
European Commission, to freeze the funds for Hungary.
But the issue was pulled in the face of the ongoing
wrangling as some EU countries push the commission to water down its hardline
stance on Budapest.
Orban’s government has committed to undertaking a
raft of reforms demanded by the EU but has not satisfied Brussels that it is
doing enough.
Some European diplomats pointed out that Hungarian
lawmakers are meeting this week to pass more legislation that could bring it
closer to meeting those reform targets.
Diplomats said the commission had been asked to
provide an “update” on Hungary’s reforms next week, in a possible sign a way
out of the impasse was being forged.
EU member states have until December 19 to vote on
whether to back, reject or change the commission recommendation.
The issue could drag on towards the deadline and be
discussed by a December 15 summit of leaders in Brussels.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
