EU-Orban Showdown Over Ukraine Aid Set To Get Underway

EU member state leaders arriving in Brussels for the special European Council summit intended to reach an agreement on long-term European funding for Ukraine. It remains uncertain whether other EU leaders will be able to come to an agreement with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban over the issue of providing EUR50bn to Ukraine over several years from the long-term budget.

• Doorstep interviews with leaders can be viewed here. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claims that he is "Convinced that an agreement over Ukraine aid should be possible...All 27 member states need to be prepared to give Ukraine what it needs to defend its country."
• Estonian PM Kaja Kallas: "EU member states should agree to a long-term aid package for Ukraine...This pattern of re-negotiation over Ukraine aid should not return."
• Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: "We have to leave this summit with an agreement on a 4-year package for Ukraine...I’m certainly very frustrated by it and I think all the other heads of government are too. We have a system of unanimity for making big decisions here in Brussels but it’s done on the basis that everyone acts in good faith [...]. And I’ll certainly be saying to Prime Minister Orban that unanimity is there on the basis that people act in good faith.”
• MNI's Political Risk team published an article on 31 Jan outlining the major areas of contention between the EU and Hungary ahead of the summit. Please see PDF below:

MNIPOLITICALRISKANALYSIS-EU&HungarySetForShowdownOnUkraineAidAtEUCO .pdf