Leaders across the European Union have been arriving in Brussels since Wednesday evening (Jan. 31) to push for a new deal package for Ukraine despite opposition from Hungary.
According to German public broadcaster DW, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked the deal last November, and he has repeatedly claimed that "Brussels bureaucrats" were blackmailing him and his country.
Nevertheless, Orban hinted that he was prepared to compromise by making aid to Ukraine dependent on an annual unanimous vote, which the other member states were unlikely to indulge since it would give Hungary a permanent veto on the issue.
Instead, they have proposed offering Hungary an "emergency break" with which Orban could call for top-level talks on aid, but not a new vote.
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Responses to Orban's Demands
In response, European leaders have been adamant about reaching an agreement on military aid for Ukraine, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz leading the charge.
"I will work hard to get to an agreement among 27 member states," he said ahead of the negotiations, saying he was "convinced" that such a concept was possible. "All member states need to be prepared to give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself."
"This pattern of re-negotiation over Ukraine aid should not return," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk insisted that the bloc would "find some solution, with or without Orban, to support Ukraine."
"There is no Plan B," he added. "It is up to Orban to decide if Hungary is part of our community or not."
Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for a compromise while echoing Tusk's sentiment that there was "no alternative to a compromise on Ukraine" among all of its member-states.
