Hungary blocks allocation of €90 billion EU credit to Ukraine
Financial Times reports that Hungary has blocked the decision to allocate €90 billion in EU credit to Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Photo: AP
According to the newspaper, citing sources, on February 20, Hungary's ambassador to the EU stated that Budapest opposes the European Union issuing debt obligations, guaranteed by the EU budget, to finance the loan to Ukraine. Unanimous support from all 27 EU member states is required for such a decision.
EU leaders agreed on the allocation of the credit back in December to help Ukraine, which may face a budget deficit in April. However, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic only agreed to support it on the condition that they would not bear financial responsibility for repaying the debt.
As the publication notes, the European Commission needs to obtain the support of all EU countries to use the union's budget for issuing this loan.
As the Financial Times notes, Budapest's position was voiced ahead of Hungary's parliamentary elections, scheduled for April 12. Opinion polls show that the opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, is ahead of Fidesz, the party of incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, by approximately 10 percentage points.