Hungary Set to Approve Massive EU Funding Deal For Ukraine

The European Union could finally approve a massive funding bill for Ukraine and aid that had been held back by Orbán's now-over regime in Hungary.

The funding bill would approve more than $106 billion in loans to Ukraine to assist them in their ongoing war against Russia– it was vetoed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was the sole European leader to go against the loan. Orbán, as an authoritarian leader, greatly aligned himself and his administration with Russia, creating a roadblock for the European Union as they attempted to fund Ukraine.

Most EU laws are adopted through majority voting, but certain bills require unanimous support. This meant that Orbán's veto of the loan blocked all member nations from going ahead with the plan, sparking outrage across the continent.

However, Peter Magyar, an opposition figure, won Hungary's latest election in a landslide last week. The nation has been crippled by democratic backsliding and a failing economy under Orbán's tenure, leaving residents unhappy with the government. Magyar is expected to dramatically reshape the government, taking steps towards restoring Hungary's democracy and guaranteeing economic prosperity within the nation. To him, that begins with re-establishing strong ties with the European Union, who view Magyar as an ally rather than an enemy.

Magyar's Tisza party also now holds a supermajority in the Hungarian parliament, allowing him to approve major reforms and bills with ease. Magyar has emphasized the importance of eliminating corruption that spread under Orbán and bringing back media freedom, which was heavily limited as Orbán initiated a shift towards authoritarianism in Hungary.

In addition to approving the major loan for Ukraine, Magyar could also unlock more than $20 billion in aid for Hungary from the EU. These $20 billion consist of around $12 billion in COVID recovery funds that were held back under Orbán, and another $8 billion is aid to help lift up struggling economies within the EU. Analysts have found that Hungary has already lost around $2.5 billion through fines imposed on the Orbán administration, and they are racing to unlock the rest of the funds before they expire in August.

If they are able to obtain the aid from the EU in time, though, it could provide a massive boost to help jumpstart Hungary's ailing economy– according to AP, these two sources of funding alone could provide an amount of money equivalent to 15% of Hungary's total GDP.

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Image credit to AFP