EU leaders meet on Ukraine. Will Hungary hold back aid?

As European Union leaders gather in Brussels for their quarterly summit aimed at securing new financial and political support for Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary is the only man backing both.

Mr Orbán, who has held up EU sanctions on Russia in the past and is seen as President Vladimir V. Putin’s closest ally in the bloc, said on Thursday that Ukraine was not ready to start negotiating membership of the alliance . He also said that 50 billion euros, about $52 billion, in proposed aid to Ukraine should not arrive until after the European elections scheduled for the summer.

The two-day EU summit comes at a crucial time for Ukraine: its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has just held nail-biting rallies in Washington, where political divisions in Congress have left him unable to secure much-needed money for his war effort . The EU’s help would be a big boost, just as good news about the opening of at least formal negotiations on Ukraine’s accession prospects could change a sour atmosphere even as Mr Putin declared that Russia’s objectives in the war remained unchanged .

Arriving in Brussels for the summit, Mr Orban said: “Enlargement is not a theoretical issue; The expansion is a merit-based, legally detailed process, with conditions attached.” He claimed that Ukraine had not met the formal criteria to open membership talks.

In a message on social mediaHe went further, arguing that Ukraine’s membership in the bloc was not in the “best interests” of Hungary or the European Union.

Can one EU country block accession negotiations with Ukraine?

The accession process through which countries can join the European Union is subject to the unanimous approval of all member states, so yes, Mr Orban’s veto could delay any decision on Ukraine, which is currently awaiting the green light to formally open accession negotiations . the block.

Other EU leaders arriving in Brussels on Thursday said they wanted to continue pushing Hungary to find a compromise.

“We have to reach some kind of agreement – ​​we don’t have time to postpone this or postpone it to the future,” said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of Estonia, adding that accession negotiations with Ukraine would take years anyway and it would be a bad thing are. signal to postpone them.

Ukraine has been promised a fair but not accelerated opportunity to join the bloc. The Ukrainian government sees membership as a crucial guarantee for a prosperous and stable future, and one that would protect the country from Russia’s aggression, even though the European Union is not a defense alliance like NATO.

Can the European Union offer Ukraine more help if Hungary disagrees?

Yes. The bloc has used trusts in the past to raise funds for causes not supported by all members, but that is a politically vexing process that many leaders will try to avoid.

“We cannot accept any blackmail; we must reach a decision together,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of Finland said on Thursday.

“What we decide or don’t decide is a clear signal to Moscow, to Kiev, to Washington, to Beijing,” Mr Orpo added.