The suspense was ultimately short-lived. From the start of the summit of the leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union, Thursday February 1, the European Council indicated that it had reached an agreement for financial aid to Ukraine.
Result: “an additional envelope of 50 billion euros to support Ukraine within the framework of the EU budget”, announced the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on the social network years, including 33 billion in loans and 17 billion in donations. This revised European budget is expected to be voted on later this month in the European Parliament.
A decision hailed as a “common victory” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The war started by Russia in February 2022 has strongly affected the Ukrainian economy. “From March, the country will run out of liquidity, according to international financial organizations,” specifies L’Express correspondent in Brussels, Isabelle Ory. EU support should enable Ukraine to “maintain its macro-financial stability, promote its recovery and modernize the country, while implementing key reforms on the path to EU membership”, according to the Commission European. Aid from the United States to Ukraine is also still blocked in the American Congress.
The enthusiasm of kyiv and Brussels, however, contrasts with the reaction of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The one who until now blocked this aid of 50 billion euros announced on Facebook that he had negotiated his agreement in exchange for a “guarantee” from the EU: that the 20 billion in European funds intended for Hungary but frozen by the EU for violations of the rule of law will not “end [pas] in Ukraine”. Viktor Orban also welcomed the establishment of a “control mechanism” over Ukraine’s use of European financial aid.