By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – All European Union countries except Hungary signed a joint statement Thursday backing war-torn Ukraine, but they failed to agree on a 40 billion euro ($43.4 billion) military package for Kyiv.
The plan devised by High Representative Kaja Kallas to raise billions for Ukraine failed to gain the necessary political support on Thursday, with some diplomats declaring the project “dead.”
The summit’s conclusions dedicated to Ukraine only made a passing reference to the Kallas plan, without mentioning any objective of financial figures. “The European Council recalls the initiatives to enhance EU military support to Ukraine, notably that of the High Representative to coordinate increased support by member states and other participating states, a voluntary basis,” the statement reads.
The conclusions do not even include what Kallas described as the most “realistic” element of her project: Five billion ($5.4 billion) to procure 2 million ammunition rounds for Kyiv in the short term. Experts say artillery shells are cheaper and easier to acquire than advanced weapons.
It was a setback for Kallas, who had said, “I think it is important to have a tangible result.” At the start of the summit, she warned that if “we are not able to decide right now for the whole year that is coming, let us decide on the short term, which are the imminent needs that Ukraine has regarding the ammunition right now.”
Yet it didn’t work out that way. It didn’t help that Hungary vetoed the EU’s expressed support. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, one of the EU’s most pro-Russia leaders and an ally of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, accused Brussels of warmongering.
It was the second time in a month that Hungary, the 27-nation bloc’s sole member, declined to sign a statement of support for Ukraine.
CONTINUED SUPPORT
Conclusions reaffirming the EU’s “continued and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” were “firmly supported” by 26 out of 27 leaders, according to the press statement at Thursday’s Brussels summit.
Commentators called Hungary’s veto “a symbolic move” that makes Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán look “more isolated than ever.”
Yet Orbán has made clear he is emboldened by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump has blamed Ukraine for Russia’s unprovoked invasion and accuses Kyiv of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
Earlier this week, Hungary’s European Affairs Minister Janos Boka indicated that Budapest would refuse to sign the joint statement. “The part on Ukraine in several points is against the strategic interests and the strategic vision of Hungary on how to create the new European security architecture,” Boka said Monday.
Orbán has also said he is against Ukraine’s EU membership and wants to organize a public opinion survey on the issue.
However, Orbán’s government cannot hold real EU assistance to Ukraine, and Hungary’s European partners are coming up with workarounds to avoid any veto, warned the EU’s European Council President Antonio Costa. “We respect Hungary’s position,” he said. “But it’s one out of 27, and 26 are more than one.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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