One country is still blocking Ukraine's accession negotiations: report from the EU summit

The European Council summit will take place in Brussels on December 14, which is extremely important for Ukraine. European leaders are already arriving at the European Council building.

Discussions between delegations of European countries continued during the week, and now they will be discussed directly by the leaders of these states. At the same time, the most important issue for Ukraine is the opening of negotiations on accession to the EU. Correspondent 24 Channel from Brussels Sofia Nazarenko told what was happening on the sidelines of the European Council meeting.

Hungary can veto Ukraine’s entry into the EU: who else could suffer

It’s hard to say whether the leaders will be able to EU member countries make a decision in favor of Kyiv. So far, only the head of Hungary, Viktor Orban, is against our state’s entry into the European Union. In addition, he did not agree to provide Ukraine with additional financial assistance in the amount of 50 billion euros for 4 years.

In case of blocking of 26 countries- EU members without Hungary can allocate money for Ukraine from national budgets, and not within the long-term EU budget, the correspondent said.

In order to convince Orban not to block aid to Ukraine, the European Commission even unblocked more than 10 billion euros for Budapest. Previously, these funds were frozen due to problems with the rule of law in Hungary.

Against the backdrop of a possible veto by Hungary, Orban will meet at breakfast with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, the President of France Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. They want to find a common solution.

What other important issues will be considered

The future of the European Peace Fund is also on the agenda. Previously, Josep Borrell proposed accepting long-term support for Ukraine and allocating 20 billion euros over 4 years for military needs. However, it remains to be seen whether European leaders will be able to reach an agreement.

According to the correspondent, EU officials say they hope to accept at least 5 billion euros for 2024.< /p>

In addition, it is expected that during the summit it will be possible to introduce the 12th package of sanctions against Russia, and will also discuss the transfer of frozen Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine and obligations for Kiev from the EU.< /p>

Ukraine’s accession to the EU and Orban’s possible veto: what is known

• Hungary openly stated that it would not support Ukraine. However, after a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjártó, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that this threat had “already been lifted.” in Ukraine will demonstrate the EU's resilience. If there is no positive decision, this means that “Putin vetoed it.”
• Moreover, Vladimir Zelensky emphasized that Viktor Orban has no reason to block the decision on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.