The member states of the European Union intend to increase the size of their fund to finance the supply of weapons by almost 50%. But Hungary, as before, blocks plans to allocate most of this money to Ukraine.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
The bloc seeks to add another €3.5 billion to the European Peace Fund, which currently has a budget of around €7.9 billion. It reimburses governments for military supplies to Ukraine, but is also used to support other countries.
Most of the fund has already been allocated for military aid to Ukraine after the Russian invasion. But Hungary is blocking the 8th tranche of 500 million euros for Kyiv due to Ukraine's decision to add the Hungarian bank to the list of companies that continue to do business in Russia, anonymous sources said.
EU ambassadors agreed to the measure this week, and the bloc's foreign ministers are set to sign off on the plans when they meet in Luxembourg on Monday, Bloomberg reported.
Hungary's special position
As a member of both NATO and the 27-member European Union, Hungary has enormous international influence because of its veto power. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blocked European defense funding for Ukraine, blocked sanctions packages and deepened energy ties with Russia, leading to accusations that Budapest is acting as Putin's Trojan horse.
Earlier it was reported that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption decided to add the Hungarian OTP Bank to the list of international war sponsors. This decision was made due to the position of the bank's management to continue operations in Russia and the actual recognition of the so-called "L/DPR".
According to the survey of the Sociological group "Rating", in 2022, Hungary has moved into the category of enemy countries for Ukrainians.
