The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) support package despite Hungary’s weeks of threats to veto the move.
European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement about only an hour into the leaders’ summit in Brussels.
“We have a deal,” Michel said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said the agreement “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine,” and demonstrated that the “EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”
It was not immediately clear if any concessions were made to secure Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s approval. He raised staunch objections to the financial aid package in December and in the days leading up to Thursday’s summit in Brussels.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
BRUSSELS (AP) — The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) support package despite Hungary’s weeks of threats to veto the move.
On their way into their meeting, several fellow leaders had lashed out at Orban, accusing him of blackmail and playing political games that undermined support for Ukraine and the country’s war-ravaged economy.
Concern has mounted that public support to keep pouring money into Ukraine has started to wane, even though a Russian victory could threaten security across Europe.
Orban, the EU leader with the closest ties to Russia, is angry at the European Commission’s decision to freeze his government’s access to some of the bloc’s funds.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it was important for the leaders to try to seal a deal supported by all 27 member countries but that in any case “we can’t go away without an agreement.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that “we want to finish what we started in December” and stressed that the planned 50 billion euros for Ukraine is “urgently necessary.”
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