On Monday 27 May, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and many European ministers called for an agreement on the European Peace Facility (EPF). At a time when Ukraine urgently needs military support, Hungary is blocking the adoption of seven EPF-related texts worth €6.6 billion.
If Hungary has an opt-out on the Assistance Fund for Ukraine – which means that Budapest will not finance either lethal or non-lethal support to Kyiv – its agreement is necessary for the adoption of the implementing instruments. It is currently blocking seven texts, and some are worried that decisions relating to the use of frozen Russian assets could be blocked.
Acknowledging at the end of the EU Council that the discussion on military support for Ukraine had been “intense, even heated”, Mr Borrell said that decisions on the European Peace Facility could not be held hostage to other unrelated decisions. During the discussion between the ministers, the pressure was apparently stepped up on Hungary’s Péter Szijjártó.
He recalled that the leaders had given their agreement on the Assistance Fund for Ukraine – the Ukraine part of the European Peace Facility – in March. “Ukraine needs the arms now, not next year”, stressed Mr Borrell. And he insisted that: “This delay can be measured in terms of human lives. It’s not a financial problem, it’s a problem of human lives”.
On her arrival at the EU Council, German minister Annalena Baerbock called on Hungary “as a matter of urgency to finally allow support for Ukraine in order to guarantee peace once again”.
“We cannot accept that a single country, which also signed in favour of this amount (the Ukraine Assistance Fund) a few months ago during a summit between heads of state, is now blocking this crucial aid for Ukraine”, stressed Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib, adding that “we must absolutely assume our responsibilities and do what is necessary to help Ukraine militarily”.
According to the Lithuanian minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Hungary has blocked around 41% of EU resolutions on Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
European appeals seem to have had no effect on Péter Szijjártó. On Facebook, he explained that granting the €6.5 billion was “unacceptable to us”, adding that his country would not give in to “war-mongering pressure. We will continue to insist on the need for peace”, he added.
In addition to the European Peace Facility, the ministers discussed the possibility of Ukraine defending itself. While the Czech minister, Jan Lipavský, has announced that the first arms deliveries under his initiative should take place in June – 48,000 rounds of ammunition – Ukraine also needs more air defence systems and the lifting of restrictions on Western weapons, according to the High Representative. Some countries have introduced restrictions on the equipment they send to Kyiv, which can only be used on internationally recognised Ukrainian territory and therefore not on Russian soil.
On the same day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Allies should “reconsider” certain restrictions. “Ukraine has the right to self-defence; they are defending their land, their territory. And, according to international law, the right to self-defence includes the right to strike legitimate military targets outside Ukraine”, he stressed. For him, by having too many restrictions “we are tying one hand of the Ukrainian armed forces behind their back because they're losing their capability to defend themselves”.
The EU27 ministers also stressed the need to take action against Russia’s hybrid threats, including against European countries. These sanctions, initially proposed by France, have also been blocked by Hungary. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)