Today’s Top StoryEU leaders have unanimously agreed to extend €50 billion, around $54 billion, in new aid to Ukraine, overcoming weeks of resistance from the sole holdout, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, who vetoed the aid package in December. But in fairness, Ukraine has received much less military aid in the past year than it did when the war first broke out. With those financial concerns assuaged for the time being, Kyiv will now have more time to focus on the next phase of the conflict and rally support for more military aid. EU leaders have in the past overcome Orban’s veto via transactionalism, unlocking funds for Hungary that had been frozen by Brussels over rule-of-law violations. This time, however, EU leaders reportedly gained Orban’s support without conceding anything material, signaling that the EU is still capable of acting in unanimity on major issues.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 02, 2024 10:43 UTC