EU plans alternative Ukraine aid strategy amid Hungary’s veto

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the European Union is devising an alternative plan for a four-year aid package to Ukraine, worth €50 billion, in response to the veto by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. This development was reported on the European Commission's website, following earlier confidential negotiations reported by the Financial Times. These discussions involved emergency funding for Ukraine "for at least a year" from the other 26 EU member states, excluding Hungary.

"Now, 26 Member States confirmed those key priorities and agree to provide additional financing to meet them. I wholeheartedly thank them for their support. This is a good result," Von der Leyen stated

She also addressed concerns about national budgetary constraints among member states, noting that the agreement includes "redeployments and reprioritization alongside new funding." Acknowledging the complexity of this arrangement, she added, "And you can imagine that this combination, redeployment and new funding, required tough choices. We have taken those choices." Despite these efforts, von der Leyen revealed, "However, unfortunately, we did not manage to reach unanimity yesterday. Hungary was unable to support." She then mentioned a future meeting scheduled for early next year, asserting, "There is now a new rendezvous early next year. We will use, as a Commission, the time until then to ensure that whatever happens at this next EUCO, we will have an operational solution." Read also:

• Reuters: US Senate to vote on Ukraine funding, border security next week
• Former Lithuanian foreign minister says Orban wants to undermine EU
• Zelenskyy visits command of the US Army Europe in Germany
• UK escalates sanctions against Russia, targeting metal and diamond imports