Germany expects European Union member states to pass their next Ukraine support package either way, even if Hungary should continue to block an unanimous decision, according to Bloomberg.
EU leaders have been looking for ways to get around Budapest’s intransigence after talks over the €50 billion package for the government in Kyiv broke down at a summit in mid-December.
A potential back-up option that has been floated is having member states funnel money to Kyiv outside of the EU budget process, an option Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban signaled may be viable.
The proposal would involve national guarantees from member states to raise funding in the markets should Hungary continue to block the review of the EU’s long-term budget at an extraordinary summit on February 1.
Speaking at a regular government news conference in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner said Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government will provide military support for Ukraine worth €8 billion in 2024 and Berlin will continue to “campaign vigorously” for the adoption of the bigger EU aid package worth €50 billion early next year.
“The EU will also continue its support for Ukraine, in any case,” Wagner added. “The EU-26 will of course also be able to act. But I don’t want to speculate now on how such support could be organized. This also requires further consultation in Brussels.”
Ukraine is seeking to manage its government spending and military resources as the war approaches the two-year mark, with more than $110 billion in financial aid from the US and the EU delayed by political disputes in Washington and Brussels.
After its counteroffensive largely failed to oust Russian forces from occupied eastern and southern Ukraine, fighting on the front line is largely at a stalemate.