EU leaders face off against Orban over Ukraine aid

(ANSA-AFP) - BRUSSELS, FEB 1 - EU leaders will grapple with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a crunch summit meeting Thursday to try to overcome his veto on 50 billion euros in financial aid for Ukraine. Orban -- Russia's closest ally in the EU -- sparked fury from his 26 counterparts in the bloc by thwarting a deal in December to keep the desperately needed funds flowing to Kyiv nearly two years into Moscow's invasion.
    The Hungarian populist has been accused of holding Ukraine's future hostage in a bid to blackmail Brussels into releasing billions of euros in frozen EU funds for Budapest. EU officials have been trying to thrash out a compromise with Hungary to get agreement on the four-year package for Ukraine as part of a broader overhaul of the bloc's budget. Other leaders have rejected a proposal from Budapest that Orban could approve the aid if he gets the chance to veto it again each year -- and are instead offering him only an annual debate on the issue. If they cannot convince Orban to drop his opposition, EU leaders have pledged to club together as 26 to keep aid flowing for Ukraine's government to keep paying salaries and services. (ANSA-AFP).