BRUSSELS, January 26. /TASS/. The European Union intends to strip Hungary of its voting rights if the country's prime minister, Viktor Orban, continues to block aid to Ukraine, the European edition of Politico reported.

"If Orban does block the agreement (on the EU budget and for allocating 50 bln euros for Ukraine - TASS) again at the [the EU leaders’] summit in February, utilizing Article 7 [of the EU treaty] to deprive Hungary of the right to vote could become a viable option," the publication cites a source among EU diplomats as saying. Politico notes that this article of the EU treaty allows the union’s countries to suspend the voting rights of a member state as well as to "apply other restrictions on its membership rights" if it "seriously breaches the principles" of the EU.

Brussels is aware that without financial assistance from the European Union, the work of Ukrainian government agencies would be impossible, the publication said. Kiev's situation is further complicated by the fact that Washington is "increasingly reluctant" to provide funds for Ukraine's needs.

At the last EU summit in Brussels on December 14-15, 2023, the Hungarian prime minister blocked amendments to the EU budget for 2024-2027 that provided for allocating 50 bln euros to Ukraine. Budapest proposed providing financial assistance to Kiev on an annual basis with strict controls over the expenditure of funds. The matter is to be discussed by the European leaders once again at a summit in the Belgian capital on February 1.