Photo: AP Photo/Denes Erdos
BRUSSELS, January 26 /TASS/. The European Union intends to strip Hungary of its voting rights if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continues to block aid to Ukraine, the European edition of Politico reported.
"If Orbán again blocks an agreement (on the EU budget and the allocation of 50 billion euros for Ukraine - TASS) at the February summit (of EU leaders), the use of Article 7 (of the EU Treaty) to take away Hungary's voting rights could become a real possibility," the server quotes an EU diplomatic source as saying. Politico notes that this article of the EU Treaty allows EU countries to suspend a member state's voting rights and also "apply other restrictions on its membership rights" if it "seriously violates" EU principles.
Brussels is aware that without the financial assistance of the European Union, the work of Ukrainian government agencies would not be possible, Politico reports. Kiev's situation is further complicated by the fact that Washington is "increasingly reluctant" to provide funding for Ukraine's needs.
At the last EU summit in Brussels on 14 and 15 December 2023, the Hungarian prime minister blocked changes to the EU budget for 2024-2027, which envisaged allocating €50 billion for Ukraine. Budapest had proposed to provide financial aid to Kiev on an annual basis with strict control over spending. European leaders are due to discuss the issue again at a summit in the Belgian capital on 1 February.
TASS/gnews.cz-JaV_07
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