EU nations slam ‘anti-Europe’ Hungary for blocking Ukraine accession talks

Name: Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port
Uploaded: 2023-12-11T13:38:15.000Z
Duration: 4 min 33 s
Description: Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

Hungary is also accused of attempting to block a support package of almost US$54 billion for Ukraine

Ukraine warns of ‘devastating consequences’ if EU members fail to agree to open the accession talks at this week’s summit

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Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for a meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on October 26. Photo: AP

Bloomberg

Published: 9:38pm, 11 Dec 2023Updated: 1:54am, 12 Dec 2023

European Union member states are growing frustrated with Hungary’s attempt to block funding for Ukraine and obstruct the opening of accession talks, risking a showdown at a meeting of its leaders just as US funding for Kyiv is also in doubt.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has twice written to the head of the European Council, warning him to drop Ukraine membership talks from the agenda of the summit, which takes place Thursday and Friday. He is also been unwilling to back a €50 billion (US$53.9 billion) support package for Kyiv.

The government in Budapest continued to block all issues related to Ukraine at a meeting of EU ambassadors over the weekend, souring the mood that an agreement will be reached later this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

“The only way I can read the Hungarian position, not just on Ukraine but on many other issues, is that they’re against Europe and everything that Europe stands for,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters ahead of a meeting with his counterparts in Brussels on Monday.

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Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port

The impasse in Brussels comes during a critical week for Ukraine. With US President Joe Biden’s request for further military assistance stalled in Congress and Hungary continuing to block EU support for Ukraine, Kyiv may be left empty-handed after EU leaders meet later this week and US lawmakers leave for their holiday break on December 15.