Foreign ministers of 26 EU countries on Monday circumvented Hungary's veto on proposed aid to Ukraine, enabling them to grant Kyiv up to €1.4 billion for ammunition and air defense.
The move comes after EU lawyers found a way around Budapest’s rejection.
Russian central bank money is immobilized in European banks, with most of the €210 billion in frozen Russian assets in Belgium.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told the Financial Times that since Hungary abstained from a previous agreement on allocating revenues from Russia’s frozen assets, it “should not participate in the decision on the use of these funds.”
Borrell said that Brussels had suggested a deal to Budapest similar to the one NATO had made with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last week.
That arrangement offered Budapest the option to opt out of activities supporting Ukraine, provided Hungary did not block other allies' assistance to Kyiv within the NATO framework. However, Orbán declined this proposal.
The Hungarians are still blocking finances from the Peace Fund, which includes a €450 million reimbursement due to Poland for money already spent on armaments for Ukraine.
The aid for Ukraine confirmed on Monday comes from revenues derived from frozen Russian assets, and no country can block them, even if the money formally “passes through” the Peace Fund. Monday's decision is unprecedented both in terms of the mechanism used and the scale of the funds.
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, told broadcaster RMF FM: “The first interest on frozen Russian assets of at least €1.2 billion will flow to the heroic defenders of Ukraine later this summer, thanks to the consistent actions of 26 member states, despite Hungary's obstructionism.”
Sikorski is attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. The bloc’s diplomatic chiefs also approved the imposition of the 14th sanctions package on Russia, including a ban on the re-export of Russian liquefied gas from European ports.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told the Financial Times that since Hungary abstained from a previous agreement on allocating revenues from Russia’s frozen assets, it “should not participate in the decision on the use of these funds.”
Borrell said that Brussels had suggested a deal to Budapest similar to the one NATO had made with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last week.
That arrangement offered Budapest the option to opt out of activities supporting Ukraine, provided Hungary did not block other allies' assistance to Kyiv within the NATO framework. However, Orbán declined this proposal.
The Hungarians are still blocking finances from the Peace Fund, which includes a €450 million reimbursement due to Poland for money already spent on armaments for Ukraine.
The aid for Ukraine confirmed on Monday comes from revenues derived from frozen Russian assets, and no country can block them, even if the money formally “passes through” the Peace Fund. Monday's decision is unprecedented both in terms of the mechanism used and the scale of the funds.
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, told broadcaster RMF FM: “The first interest on frozen Russian assets of at least €1.2 billion will flow to the heroic defenders of Ukraine later this summer, thanks to the consistent actions of 26 member states, despite Hungary's obstructionism.”
Sikorski is attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. The bloc’s diplomatic chiefs also approved the imposition of the 14th sanctions package on Russia, including a ban on the re-export of Russian liquefied gas from European ports.
Source: RMF FM, Financial Times
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