European Union leaders are likely to reach a deal this week on 50 billion euros for Ukraine, as it is to come in a package with other money for Hungary, which has threatened to block EU aid to Kyiv, EU budget commissioner Johannes said. Khan, Reuters reports.

The EU wants to revise its budget until 2027 to add 33 billion euros in loans and 17 billion euros in grants to Kiev, so that Ukraine, which is fighting a Russian invasion, has reliable funding to keep the state functioning.

Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has promoted his ties to Moscow, was unhappy with the amount and its placement in the EU budget, which must be agreed unanimously by all 27 EU governments, including Budapest.

The deal with the EU is all the more important because the new US financial aid to Ukraine has become a bargaining chip in domestic politics, raising doubts about whether Kyiv will receive more money from Washington.

European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in an interview with Reuters that the US government asked the EU to take the initiative on long-term support for Ukraine “as a kind of internal pressure on the House of Representatives and the Senate to do something similar.” .

“This is very well understood by all the leaders, and so I think that eventually Hungary will also agree, because it is also in its own interests,” Hahn said ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels to discuss the matter.

Hungary wanted more EU funds to protect its borders from illegal migrants and pay third countries to stop migrants crossing into Europe. In the review of the EU budget, in addition to 50 billion for Ukraine, another 15 billion euros are provided for such a policy.

“This is a package, it is not only for Ukraine, it has something for migration, border protection, support for countries like Turkey, today good friends of Hungary and vice versa, to get additional financial resources,” said Gan.

To further sweeten the deal, the Commission decided on Wednesday to unblock Hungary’s access to 10 billion euros in cohesion funds that had been frozen due to EU concerns that Hungary was not respecting the rule of law. On Tuesday, the Hungarian Parliament passed laws on increasing the independence of the courts.

When asked if the EU has an alternative plan to provide money to Ukraine, even if Hungary blocks the use of the EU’s joint budget, Hahn said:

“One of the qualities of the Commission is to always have a plan B, but frankly, I don’t want to talk and think about a plan B.”

When asked if the 26 EU countries, excluding Hungary, could provide the money through an intergovernmental agreement, Hahn said:

“Of course. This is one of the possibilities. But I don’t think that Hungary will remain outside the borders of the international community, not only the European one, but also the international one.”