Von der Leyen: EU aid for Ukraine without Hungary if necessary
The majority of heads of state and government plead for new aid for Ukraine at the EU summit. However, Hungary's President Orban is the only one to break ranks. Commission President von der Leyen and Federal Chancellor Scholz are optimistic that a solution will be found in the end despite the veto.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised a solution to the blockade of the aid payment for Ukraine. Her authority will use the time until the next EU summit to find a feasible solution - "whatever happens at the summit". A path without Hungary, which has so far been the only country to refuse, is not ruled out.
"We are of course working very hard to achieve a result where there is agreement between the 27 member states," von der Leyen continued. "But I think that it is now also necessary to work on possible alternatives in order to have an operational solution in the event that an agreement with 27 is not possible unanimously."
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban had not given up his opposition to the release of the 50 billion euros in aid at the summit meeting of the 27 heads of state and government. The negotiations were therefore broken off last night. Another summit is to be held at the beginning of next year.
Scholz: Have other options to help Ukraine
Orban had initially suggested that the Ukraine aid should not be included in the EU budget, but this did not meet with much approval from the other 26 summit participants. However, resistance to this is crumbling. "It is possible for 26 member states to make the money available on a bilateral basis, not via the multi-year budget," said Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar after the summit. However, this would not be his preferred solution.
EU Council President Charles Michel was "extremely confident and optimistic that we will be able to fulfill our promises to support Ukraine with financial resources". German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed his "confidence that we will reach an agreement in January". Scholz rejected Orban's demand to release the EU funds frozen due to rule of law violations in Hungary in return for giving up his veto. "There must be no linking of unrelated issues," he said.
In the event that Orban does not give in at the special summit planned for January, Scholz added: "We have other options to help Ukraine." The attempt to find a solution within the framework of the normal budget should not be given up, he said. He was optimistic that this would succeed.
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Despite Hungary's President Orban's opposition, EU Council President Michel and German Chancellor Scholz remain optimistic about providing aid to Ukraine, stating, "We are extremely confident and optimistic that we will be able to fulfill our promises to support Ukraine with financial resources." However, in case a unanimous agreement with all 27 member states is not reached, Scholz mentions, "We have other options to help Ukraine." This statement indicates that even if Hungary continues to veto the aid, alternative methods of supporting Ukraine financially are being considered.
Source: www.ntv.de
