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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in December refused to support the aid, which is intended to bolster Ukraine’s public spending over four years.
The leaders of the 27 EU countries agreed to meet in Brussels on February 1 for a summit to reach an agreement with Budapest on the issues of this aid package as well as the broader budget update.
“I am sure the solution is 27 [līderu samitā] is possible,” Die Leyen told the European Parliament (EP).
Budapest has signaled its willingness to compromise and could agree to grant aid if it can veto further payments each year.
Last month, the European Commission came under fire for releasing €10 billion in EU funding to Hungary in what appeared to be an attempt to curry favor with Orbán.
In Wednesday’s debate, MEPs urged Leyena not to bow to Orbán’s “blackmail” and also threatened to take the European Commission to court for releasing the funding.
Die Leyen defended the decision to release the ten billion funds, explaining that Budapest had passed a new law on judicial reform, which was a prerequisite for Brussels to release the funds.
“At the same time, 20 billion remain frozen. Their transfer has been suspended for a number of reasons, including concerns about LGBT rights, academic freedom and asylum rights,” Leyen said.
These billions “will remain blocked until Hungary has met all the necessary conditions,” said the EC president.
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