Hungarian government does not want to give more EU money for Ukraine – UPDATED

Hungary’s government finds it concerning that the European Commission is requesting that member states contribute an additional 50 billion euros in support of Ukraine for the next four years when it is unclear how the country has utilised the 70 billion it has received so far, a finance ministry official said on Friday.

It is also “unacceptable” that member states are expected to contribute to financing interests on loans when Hungary still has yet to receive the share of the loans it is entitled to, the ministry cited state secretary Tibor Tóth as saying at a meeting of EU finance ministers (Ecofin) in Brussels.

Halfway through the current financial cycle, the European Commission has proposed amendments in connection with which the Hungarian government has a number of concerns, Tóth said. The 100 billion euro amendment package includes the establishment of a so-called Ukraine Facility which would be dedicated to supporting Ukraine with 50 billion euros between 2024 and 2027, he said. But, he added, it was unclear how Ukraine’s spending of the money it receives was monitored. He said the EC had not even confirmed whether the 50 billion euros would be enough for the coming years, MTI wrote.

Tóth said Ukraine’s receipt of the money was conditional on it guaranteeing the rights of its national minority communities. Until this condition is met, Hungary cannot support the EC’s proposal on funding for Ukraine, he added.

Meanwhile, the state secretary said the EC was asking for extra contributions to finance interests on loans from which Hungary had yet to receive its share. It should also be noted, he said, that Brussels had so far barely covered more than 1 percent of the 650 billion forints (EUR 1.7bn) Hungary has spent on border protection since 2015.

Government organises summer camp for 400 Ukrainian children

Hungary’s government has decided to organise a two-week summer camp for four hundred Ukrainian children affected by the war, Foreign Ministry state secretary Tamas Menczer said on Saturday. In a video posted on Facebook, Menczer said the government received an urgent request for help in caring for refugees from Viktor Mikita, governor of Transcarpathia.

The first group, 63 children and 36 mothers, will arrive to Miskolc on Monday, Menczer said. The other groups are expected to arrive by Aug. 20, he added. This summer, the government is financing summer camps for more than 1,000 Ukrainian children, the state secretary said. They are not ethnic Hungarians from Transcarpathia but Ukrainian children whose place of residence or parents are affected by the fighting, he added.