European Union leaders reached on Thursday morning a deal to establish a €50-billion plan for Ukraine after Viktor Orbán lifted his veto.
The decision was taken surprisingly fast at the beginning of an extraordinary summit in Brussels, where financial aid for Kyiv was at the very top of the agenda.
The special fund, known as the Ukraine Facility, combines €33 billion in loans and €17 in grants and will be gradually disbursed between 2024 and 2027. The Facility is tied to a wider review of the bloc’s common budget that includes top-ups for migration, border control, cutting-edge technologies and crisis management.
“All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget,” Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, announced in a short message on social media.
