Hungary does not support the European Commissionʼs plan to allocate €18 billion to Ukraine

Hungary will not support the European Commissionʼs new plan for long-term financial support to Ukraine. The European Commission proposes to allocate €18 billion to Ukraine.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Péter Szijártó.

He noted that Hungary has already provided significant financial assistance to Ukraine and is ready to do so in the future — but on the basis of bilateral agreements. But Hungary will not support a long-term plan based on borrowing, because it was ineffective during the coronavirus pandemic.

Szijarto also reminded that the Hungarian government has already allocated tens and hundreds of millions of euros to support Ukrainian hospitals, schools, churches, etc.

“We are ready to continue financial support based on a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and Hungary. But we certainly will not support any joint EU loans in this area,” he said.

• The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the presentation this week of the program of financial assistance to Ukraine for 2023. The aid program provides for the financing of the Ukrainian budget in the amount of up to €1.5 billion per month, which will amount to €18 billion in total.
• The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will allocate up to €3 billion in 2022-2023 to help Ukrainian business and the economy.