BUDAPEST, February 2. /TASS/. Hungary did not object to the allocation of 50 billion euros to Ukraine at the European Union summit in Brussels, because this money will be spent not on purchasing weapons, but on supporting the bankrupt Ukrainian state in order to prevent its complete collapse, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the Kossuth radio station.
He noted that the decision to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros from the EU budget over a four-year period "does not contradict Hungary's position in support of peace", according to which Hungary does not supply weapons to the Ukrainian military and proposes an immediate cessation of hostilities. According to Orban, these funds will be spent "not on weapons, but on preventing the bankrupt Ukrainian state from collapse."
He explained that according to a number of Western experts, "the Ukrainian economy is connected to a life-support machine."
"But for support from the European Union and the United States, there would be no salaries, pensions or working institutions, and ‘closing shop" would be the sole option left," Orban said.
On February 1, at the summit in Brussels, the leaders of the 27 EU countries decided to allocate 50 billion euros from the community’s budget for financial support to Ukraine over a four-year period. At the same time, they agreed with Hungary’s proposal and established a mechanism to control the spending of funds. In a year from now, the EU will discuss this issue again, and in two years, it will revise the amount of financial aid to Ukraine in light of its own new budget drafting. At the same time, none of the countries, including Hungary, will have a veto right in further discussions on this topic.
According to Orban, the negotiations were lengthy, but when all the obstacles were eliminated, Hungary agreed to the proposed plan. At the EU leaders' previous meeting on December 14-15, the Hungarian Prime Minister blocked amendments to the EU budget for 2024-2027, which provided for the allocation of 50 billion euros to Ukraine, because they lacked a mechanism to control the spending of funds.