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The EU has failed to agree a critical €50bn financial aid package to Ukraine after Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed the proposal, throwing into doubt Europe’s ongoing support to Kyiv.
The collapse of talks on the funding, seen as crucial for Ukraine’s financial stability into 2024, follows repeated failures by the US Congress to agree a $60bn aid package proposed by the White House. That has raised fears of weakening western resolve to sustain the country as it continues to battle against Russia.
EU leaders, who were locked in negotiations over the package until the early hours of Friday, will return to Brussels in early 2024 for talks on the financing, with possible options to provide cash to Kyiv without Orban’s input.
The failed efforts were announced hours after the leaders agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine — a milestone on Kyiv’s path to join the EU once the war with Russia is over and an endorsement by Brussels of the country’s western trajectory.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, had tied the Ukraine funding package to €21bn of broader top-up funding for the bloc’s shared budget, including money for migration and defence.
Leaders of 26 countries endorsed the top-up, but Orbán refused to agree, forcing them to reconvene in January, said European Council President Charles Michel, who chaired the summit.
“Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine,” Orbán posted on social media platform X. His veto came despite Brussels unlocking €10.2bn of EU funding to Hungary that was previously blocked on rule of law grounds.
Orbán, who is the only EU leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this year, is the Kremlin’s closest partner in Europe and has consistently spoken out against western sanctions aimed at punishing Moscow for the war.
An alternative proposal to raise cash for Ukraine through an agreement among the EU’s 26 other countries is being considered as a fallback option.
“We have various tools in our hands to make sure we deliver on our political priorities,” Michel said.
But such an instrument would last only a year, officials said. It would also be more expensive and take longer to set up.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the 26 member states could proceed without Hungary, but it was “much more complicated”. He added that he was “cautiously optimistic we can get a breakthrough also with Hungary early next year”.
Ahead of the summit, Orbán had threatened to block the start of membership talks and the financial support package, exposing the fractured stance towards Kyiv after almost 22 months of war.
Orbán ultimately relented on the membership issue, choosing to leave the room during the debate to allow agreement.
“The European Council has decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova,” Michel said, “a clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent.”
He added: “It was important that no member states opposed this decision.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, wrote on X in response to the EU membership move: “This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens.”
The leaders agreed that the “negotiating frameworks” for the accession of Ukraine and Moldova, the first part of the process, would be adopted after both countries were determined to have met reform demands laid out by the commission in a November report.
The formal process of joining the EU can take years and requires more than 70 decisions in which any member state can block progress.
EU leaders also agreed to open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina pending a March review by the commission of its compliance with membership criteria. Georgia was also granted EU candidate status.
Additional reporting by Laura Dubois and Javier Espinoza in Brussels, Marton Dunai in Budapest and Max Seddon in London
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