Budapest has blocked Ukraine's 18 billion euros support package for 2023, Hungarian Finance Ministry said on Dec. 6.
"It was known that Hungary doesn't support changes to the financial regulation," the country's Finance Minister Mihály Varga said.
Czech Finance Minister and EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council President (ECOFIN) Zbyněk Stanjura said that the EU is currently looking for another mechanism to start allocating funds to Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, we failed to adopt the package as a whole. However, we will not lose heart. Our ambition remains to start disbursing funds to Ukraine at the beginning of January," he said.
The European Commission proposed an 18 billion euros support package on Nov. 9 to assist Ukraine with paying for essential public services, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and restoring critical infrastructure destroyed by Russian attacks.
Hungary didn't support the aid package at an EU ambassadors' meeting on the same day, according to three officials cited by Politico media outlet. The EU can only allocate the money with the backing of all 27 union countries, as the budget rules require unanimity.
