EU in talks on backup plan of financial aid to Kiev worth 20 billion euro — newspaper

 The European Union is drafting a backup plan to provide 20 billion euro in financial aid to the Kiev government, the Financial Times newspaper reported, citing own sources.

According to the article, the plan B was needed to bypass a veto imposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during the recent EU summit. The scheme does not require approval of all EU members and, therefore, Budapest will not be able to veto it as well.

Certain countries, such as Germany and the Netherland, will have to approve it in national parliaments.

A decision on this plan may be made as early as during the next EU summit, due on February 1. Brussels expects that Kiev will receive the money before March 2024.

However, the funds can only be allocated in the form of loans, not grants.

At the previous EU summit in Brussels, Orban vetoed amendments to the EU budget for 2024-2027 that would provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros over that period.