EU grants Ukraine membership talks but can’t agree financial aid
- Ukraine is a step closer to joining the European Union, a big boost for the war-ravaged country
- But EU financial aid was vetoed by Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who maintains close ties to Russia
European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine even as it continues to fight Russia’s invasion, but they could not agree on a €50 billion (US$54 billion) package of financial aid for Kyiv due to opposition from Hungary.
At a summit in Brussels, other leaders bypassed objections from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban by getting him to leave the room while they took the historic step of agreeing to start accession negotiations with a country at war.
But they could not overcome resistance from Orban – who maintains close ties to Russia – to a revamp of the bloc’s budget to channel vital financial support to Ukraine and provide more cash for other EU priorities such as managing migration.
They ended talks on the financial package, which requires unanimity of the 27 EU leaders, in the early hours of Friday morning and said they would try again in January, with some voicing optimism a deal could be clinched then.
Officials said leaders of 26 of the EU’s 27 member countries were satisfied with a compromise budget proposal put forward by summit chairman Charles Michel.