(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, FEB 1 - EU leaders will grapple with
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a crunch summit meeting
Thursday to try to overcome his veto on 50 billion euros in
financial aid for Ukraine. Orban -- Russia's closest ally in the
EU -- sparked fury from his 26 counterparts in the bloc by
thwarting a deal in December to keep the desperately needed
funds flowing to Kyiv nearly two years into Moscow's invasion.
The Hungarian populist has been accused of holding Ukraine's
future hostage in a bid to blackmail Brussels into releasing
billions of euros in frozen EU funds for Budapest. EU officials
have been trying to thrash out a compromise with Hungary to get
agreement on the four-year package for Ukraine as part of a
broader overhaul of the bloc's budget. Other leaders have
rejected a proposal from Budapest that Orban could approve the
aid if he gets the chance to veto it again each year -- and are
instead offering him only an annual debate on the issue. If they
cannot convince Orban to drop his opposition, EU leaders have
pledged to club together as 26 to keep aid flowing for Ukraine's
government to keep paying salaries and services. (ANSA-AFP).
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