Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that the government will not support a new EU aid package for Ukraine until the bloc pays all the funds frozen for Hungary, Bloomberg reports.
The European Commission this week agreed to release a third of about €30 billion ($33 billion) that were frozen due to rule-of-law and graft concerns after Hungary enacted changes related to the judiciary.
When EU leaders meet again early next year to consider a €50 billion package for Ukraine, Hungary will make sure it gets all of its own funds first, Orbán said.
“This is a great opportunity for Hungary to make clear that it must get all of what it’s due,” the Hungarian prime minister said in his weekly radio interview from Brussels.
While Hungary abstained from a vote on EU membership talks with Ukraine, Orbán still opposes that decision and stands ready to veto Ukraine’s accession at a later stage, the prime minister said.