Hungary was able to get the European Union to unfreeze part of the funds allocated to it. In return, the country lifted its veto on some important issues, including €18 billion in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine.
This is reported by Politico.
It was expected that Hungarians could lose up to €7.5 billion in funding due to serious claims from the European Union. Hungary is accused of not complying with European standards and violating some fundamental rights.
Later, the EU countries did agree to reduce the expected amount of frozen funds for Hungary to €6.3 billion.
After that, the ambassadors of the EU member states unanimously approved the decision to provide Ukraine with €18 billion in macro-financial assistance.
- The European Commission presented a plan to provide macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in 2023 in the total amount of €18 billion on November 9. Hungary declared that it does not support this plan.
- These funds will help support the main functions of the state, ensure macroeconomic stability and restore critical infrastructure. The €18 billion package will cover half of Ukraineʼs needs. These funds will be allocated €1.5 billion each month. The loan that will be provided to Ukraine will have a 10-year grace period. EU member states will cover the bulk of the interest costs at the expense of externally assigned revenues. Guarantees for this loan will be provided either from the EU budget or from the forces of the member states.