The EU has come up with a new plan to help Ukraine that does not require Hungary's consent, the Financial Times reports.

The European Union is preparing a backup plan to provide up to €20 billion in aid to Ukraine that does not depend on the consent of Hungary's Viktor Orban. This plan will be considered at a summit on February 1 if Orban continues to object to aid to Ukraine.

In order to do so, member states must give guarantees to the EU budget. This will allow the European Commission to borrow up to 20 billion euros on the capital markets. The terms are still being discussed, and the exact amount of aid will depend on Ukraine's needs.

The EU already used a similar scheme in 2020 to help countries cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, the Commission provided low-cost financing of up to €100 billion to support labor. Now the EU wants to use the same scheme to help Ukraine.

This plan does not require the agreement of all EU countries. If the main participants include countries with high credit ratings, the EU will be able to bypass Hungary's veto.

Some countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, need parliamentary approval to provide national guarantees. Officials hope that this will be done in time for Ukraine to receive aid by March.

One of the disadvantages of this scheme is that it will only provide loans to Ukraine and will not include grants. Member states may decide to provide grants to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.