The shadow of differences in the Ukraine issue over the European Union summit in Brussels

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, “S “RF” wrote in an article: Ukraine is hoping for the start of accession negotiations and billions of aid from Brussels, while before the European Union summit, European unity is collapsing.

This article continues: Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, EU representatives have regularly emphasized their support for Ukraine, and the phrase “as long as it takes” has become a political slogan.

But before the EU summit, it remains to be seen whether the EU’s real support for Ukraine, mainly through financial aid, can be matched by The rhetoric will be synchronized in the future or not. Basic decisions for Ukraine are to be made in Brussels during the meeting of the European Union leaders, which will begin on Thursday. to decide whether they want to start negotiations with Ukraine to join the European Union or not. In November, the EU Commission supported the start of accession talks with Ukraine. Indeed, there is broad consensus among EU countries about such negotiations – especially since this does not mean accession for a long time.

But this consensus is not enough. And the decision must be taken unanimously. Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, announced his veto earlier. In an interview with the French newspaper “Le Point”, he justified his resistance by saying that Ukraine is “one of the most corrupt countries in the world”.

Meanwhile, before the EU summit, Ukraine has clearly formulated its expectations from Brussels. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said: “All the requirements to start EU accession negotiations have been completed. We believe that the EU will fulfill all its promises to Ukraine.

On the other hand, money for Ukraine now Even more important than the accession talks. The EU Commission wants to give Ukraine an additional 50 billion euros over the next four years. To achieve this, the EU budget must be increased, but all EU countries must agree. Orban He wants to veto that too.

There are still other open questions about the budget. The EU Commission wants to increase the budget by 16 billion euros. This money should be used, for example, in the area of ​​immigration. But the question is, where does this money come from?

The European Commission wants more money from the member states. But many countries refuse to reallocate money from existing budgets. Italy, for its part, wants more money to support border areas where many asylum seekers arrive. However, the issue of the budget in the European Union is complicated and goes far beyond Orban’s possible veto, and long negotiations should be expected.

On the other hand, this issue is clear It is not known whether the decision of the European Union Commission on Wednesday evening will affect the dynamics of the summit. The European Union Commission recently withheld more than 30 billion euros from Hungary over allegations of corruption and deficiencies in the rule of law. But just in the evening before the summit, the commission decided to release 10 billion of this blocked money.

It justifies that the judicial reforms have reached the agreed requirements. Whether the payment could sway Orban from his blockade stance on Ukraine is open to question. Even before the decision of the European Commission, Orban had announced that even after the release of the budget, he would not deviate from his position on Ukraine.

Before the European Union meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, once again called for the start of accession negotiations. Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday: I expect that the EU leaders will recognize the efforts of Ukraine and take this historic step. Ukraine has done part of its work. The President of Ukraine said that he is optimistic and believes that the European Union will show unity and strength in receiving the invitation to start the talks. Starting on Thursday, Ukraine’s accession talks are one of the most important topics. Due to the Russian war, the prospect of joining the European Union is very important for Kyiv. However, there is still resistance within the EU to EU accession negotiations. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made it clear several times in recent weeks that, in his view, no decision should be made on EU accession talks with Ukraine at this time – for example, because the country is being attacked by Russia. It has not yet complied with all the reforms.

Zelensky also wrote on Platform X (formerly Twitter) early Thursday morning that he met with European Council President Charles Michel and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The new Polish minister also spoke on the phone. He discussed with Michel the expected results for Ukraine at the summit, which should demonstrate the EU’s unwavering support and unity. According to him, both are necessary to strengthen Ukraine’s resistance against Russian aggression and on the path to membership in the European Union. He also spoke with Tusk about the upcoming decisions at the summit that will bring together the entire European community and said: I have heard words of sincere support. Zelensky wrote: “We are stronger when we are together.” “> Austrians’ opposition to Ukraine’s membership in the European Union