EU countries are considering an alternative plan to provide Ukraine with the necessary assistance in its fight against Russia in case Hungary vetoes the current €50 billion funding proposal. This was reported by Bloomberg.

A backup plan

Thenewspaper says that the proposal would include national guarantees from memberstates to raise funds on the markets if Budapest blocks the revision of theEU's long-term budget, which includes aid to Ukraine in the package. Itsadoption requires unanimity.

Accordingto the newspaper's sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, some countriesare in favor of finding an alternative solution to financing Ukraine as soon aspossible to increase pressure on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

However,Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino, whose country holds the EU presidency,and European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said they arecommitted to reaching a deal within the framework of a long-term budget.

"Weneed to make rapid progress in adopting a mechanism for Ukraine. Last year, wedid discuss Plan B. We managed to avoid that scenario last year, so I hope we canalso avoid that scenario this year," Dombrovskis said.

Fears of a Hungarian veto

Sourcessay that fears of a possible Hungarian veto and thoughts on how to circumventit have emerged after Budapest called for a comprehensive discussion on theeffectiveness and sustainability of the EU's current strategy for Ukraine.

The European Commission has its own plan

Whilesome countries are looking for ways to circumvent a possible veto, the EuropeanCommission says that Hungary will not be able to block financial assistance toUkraine. This was reported by EUobserver with reference to European Commissioner for FinanceJohannes Hahn.

The EU will not give in to Hungary's blackmail

Itis noted that during his address to MEPs, Hahn dismissed rumors that theEuropean Commission is allegedly discussing unfreezing some funds for Hungaryin exchange for its support for the revision of the budget until 2027.

"Wewill not be blackmailed," the European Commissioner said.

Healso added that the European Commission has workarounds to approve the revisedbudget. According to him, they do not need Hungary's support.

"Weare able to find a solution that applies to only 26 member states. There may besome delays. But, in the end, we will succeed. We cannot be stopped," Hahnsaid.

Why is Hungary blocking EU financial assistance to Ukraine?

InMay 2023, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) ofUkraine added the Hungarian OTP Bank to the list of international sponsors ofwar. The decision was made due to the decision of the financial institution'smanagement to continue its activities in russia and the actual recognition ofthe terrorist quasi-entities of the "DPR" and "LPR".

Inresponse, official Budapest began to block the allocation of new tranches fromthe European Peace Fund for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine. For severalmonths, Hungary has been regularly blocking the decision of EU foreignministers to provide Kyiv with a €500 million tranche, demanding that sanctionsagainst OTP Bank be lifted.