Hungary threatens to block EU aid to Ukraine over alleged discrimination of local businesses
Photo:nkfih.gov.hu
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjártó, threatened to block the allocation of 1.5 billion euros of aid from the European Union to Ukraine due to "discrimination" of Hungarian companies.
Index writes about this, referring to the statement of the head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Hungarian government official noted that "discrimination against Hungarian companies in Ukraine has not yet been eliminated." Therefore, until the situation changes, Hungary will not agree to allocate aid to Ukraine from the EU.
"The witch hunt against Hungarian companies in Ukraine has not ended with the case of OTP Bank, as the country's authorities want to revoke local licenses for the sale of dozens of drugs of the (Gedeon) Richter company," Szijjártó said.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary reminded us that his country had already blocked aid in the amount of 500 million euros.
The minister noted that EU leaders want to provide Ukraine with 1.5 billion euros from the European Peace Fund to transfer weapons.
Therefore, Szijjártó demanded guarantees from the Ukrainian side that "they will stop and will not resume the witch hunt against Hungarian companies operating in Ukraine."
Earlier, the head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the European Union is "prepared for a world war" due to the situation in Ukraine.
According to Szijjarto, the Hungarian government believes that "peace efforts and diplomacy should replace arms deliveries as the only way to prevent further casualties and destruction."
"We Hungarians are ready to discuss all peace plans. But it is also necessary to clearly realize that peace conferences can be successful only when all participants in the war are present," he said, obviously referring to Russia's invitation to the Peace Summit in Switzerland.
Recently, a similar statement was made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who accused European leaders of using the "logic of war" against the background of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, if he weren't in power, "Hungary would already be up to its ears in war."
"We are one step away from the West sending troops to Europe; this is a whirlwind of war. Brussels is playing with fire; what Brussels is doing is tempting God," Orban emphasizes.
For reference:
It should be noted that Ukraine will receive the second tranche of the agreed macro-financial assistance program Ukraine Facility from the EU in the amount of 1.5 billion euros next week.
It is worth noting that Ukraine already received the first tranche of EUR 4.5 billion in March of this year.
As reported, in February 2024, the EU approved the regulations of the Ukraine Facility program, according to which the volume of EU support to Ukraine during 2024-2027 will amount to 50 billion euros.
The plan for the Ukraine Facility is a technical document necessary for implementing the program. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the Plan on March 18, 2024.
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