Enlarge image
Viktor Orbán in Brussels at the end of May: largely isolated
Photo: Olivier Matthys/AP
The EU states have agreed on a billion-euro package for war-torn Ukraine, with which, among other things, the operation of hospitals, emergency accommodation, heating and electricity systems is to be ensured.
According to the decision, 18 billion euros will be paid out to Kiev in the course of the coming year.
The decision on Saturday was taken with Hungary dissenting.
The German Press Agency and SPIEGEL learned this from EU circles.
According to the original proposal by the EU Commission, a unanimous decision by the 27 EU countries was actually necessary for the aid package.
However, the Czech government, which currently holds the EU Council Presidency, was looking for a way to decide on the aid without Hungary's approval.
They have now been found: the guarantees for the loans are not to be covered by the EU budget, as originally planned, but are probably to be taken over by the EU states.
As a result, a unanimous decision was not necessary.
However, the Hungarian government still has time to join the deal.
Then the guarantees would go through the EU budget.
"The guarantees for these loans will be provided either from the EU budget or by the Member States," says a statement.
However, the agreement must be submitted to the European Parliament, which, according to dpa, should take place in the coming week.
Dispute over 7.5 billion euros
The background is a dispute between the right-wing Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán and the EU Commission.
At the end of November, the Commission recommended that EU countries freeze 7.5 billion euros in structural funding for Hungary because of widespread corruption in the country.
The Commission has remained so to this day.
According to Commissioner Hahn's letter to Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, Hungarian reform efforts since November 19 have not represented any significant improvement.
In return, Orbán blocked several EU projects, including aid for Kiev.
With his stance, he has largely isolated himself in the EU – but it is unclear whether there will be a qualified majority for the withdrawal of money as a result.
Hungary no longer has any leverage in the discussion with the other states.
However, Budapest is blocking further measures, including the international minimum tax, which the EU states had already agreed on together with around 130 other countries.
slue/dpa