BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary is far from reaching an agreement with the European Union on aid for Ukraine, the Hungarian prime minister’s chief of staff said on Thursday.
The EU is seeking to agree on extending more financial aid to Ukraine as it battles a Russian invasion when the bloc’s leaders meet at the start of February, although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban remains opposed.
Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive Commission, said on Wednesday she was confident of finding a solution between the bloc’s 27 members.
On Thursday, chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said Hungary was in talks with the Commission but it was not certain an agreement would be reached.
Failing that, he said, the EU’s other 26 members could reach a solution without Hungary.
While EU leaders last month agreed to start accession talks with Ukraine, Hungary vetoed extending the money to Kyiv.
The Commission has proposed channelling the aid through a review of the EU’s shared 2024-27 budget, which would also provide more financing for migration and other priorities.
Providing aid under 26 bilateral deals is an option that has been discussed, but is more complicated and expensive than going via central coffers, and could damage EU unity.
(Reporting Gergely Szakacs, writing by Alan Charlish and Jason Hovet; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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