Hungary vetoes EU Ukraine aid, deepening rift with Brussels

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — A rift between the European Union and member state Hungary has deepened after Budapest vetoed an 18-billion euro financial aid package to Kyiv, exacerbating a dispute over the rule of law in the country and Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s outlook over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. EU finance ministers on Tuesday also postponed any decision to punish Hungary by withholding billions of euros for failing to implement solid rule-of-law reforms. Hungary’s veto made sure that the EU’s other 26 member nations would need to work out a more complicated technical plan to make sure aid can keep flowing toward Kyiv in the new year.