EU leaders unanimously agreed on Thursday to extend €50 billion ($54 billion) in new aid to Ukraine, the chairman of the summit said, overcoming weeks of resistance from Hungary.
“We have a deal. Unity,” said European Council president Charles Michel in a post on X. “All 27 leaders agreed on an additional 50 billion euro support package for Ukraine within the EU budget.”
“This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine. EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake.”
The agreement comes after weeks of wrangling with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who vetoed the aid package last December.
Before the summit started, EU leaders piled pressure on Hungary to lift its block, telling Orban he had to pick sides in the existential challenge posed by Russia’s war.
Leaders of Germany, Poland, Belgium and Finland were among others arriving at an EU summit in Brussels to say it was crucial the 27-nation bloc agreed as one to offer aid to Kyiv from their joint budget.
Orban, who has cultivated close ties with Moscow, has stepped up criticism of the EU’s strategy to prop up Ukraine with financial and military aid as Russia’s war nears the two-year mark.
