EU countries on June 24 approved the first tranche of military aid to Ukraine in the amount of up to 1.4 billion euros, which will come from proceeds from frozen Russian assets.
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The money is being allocated through the Ukraine Assistance Fund (UAF), but payments have still been blocked by Hungary.
However, the EU Council’s legal service argues that Budapest cannot stop these payments because it abstained during the vote earlier this year to create the Fund. The reason for allowing the workaround is that the funds do not come from EU taxpayers, EU officials said.
The money will not be used for reimbursement, as is usually the case with the UAF, but for the direct purchase of equipment such as ammunition and air defense systems. A quarter of the amount will go to purchases from Ukrainian industry.
Countries had until 11 a.m. to voice their opinions, and none voted against it, according to an internal council message. The decision did not require unanimity, which means Hungary could not block it.
Despite today’s agreement, Hungary continues to block the payment of 6.6 billion euros as part of a partial compensation program for weapons purchased for Ukraine. Budapest is “furious” over what happened today, one diplomat said.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, according to information available to Reuters, spoke little at the meeting, but spoke loudly on Facebook, accusing other governments of war hysteria and allegedly ignoring the will of their people.
Szijjártó said that Hungary intends to explore legal options to appeal the EU decision.
As you know, we still have six legal decisions that cannot be enforced due to the refusal of one EU state. We must avoid this regarding Russian income. “We have a solution and we presented it today,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters.
Money from interest on frozen Russian assets will not be used to reimburse expenses incurred, as is usually the case with the UAF, but for direct purchases of weapons, with a quarter of this amount spent on the purchase of Ukrainian enterprises.
Source: Racurs
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