Hungary set to receive millions in EU money despite Orban’s threats to veto Ukraine aid

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Hungary is set to receive 900 million euros ($981 million) in European Union money despite the Hungarian prime minister’s attempts to scupper the bloc’s support for Ukraine. The money is part of the bloc’s REPowerEU program aimed at helping the 27 EU member nations recover from the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, and reduce their dependance to Russian fossil fuels. Thursday’s decision came as Orban threatens to derail Ukraine’s ambition to join the bloc and to block the disbursement of a planned 50 billion euros ($54.5 billion) in aid to Kyiv. EU member countries have now four weeks to greenlight the disbursement of the money.