At the upcoming EU Council summit on Thursday in Brussels, leaders from European Union countries will attempt to convince Hungary to release billions of dollars in EU assistance for Ukraine. This comes as Kyiv expresses concern about their diminishing resources to combat Russia’s invasion.

On Wednesday, while speaking to journalists in Brussels, the European Union’s top diplomat for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, urged for an increase in military aid to Kyiv.

Borrell stated that Ukraine requires additional ammunition to address the significant disparity in fire capacity between opposing sides. This issue must be addressed, and the council’s actions will have a significant impact.

The EU faces internal divisions that it must address before proceeding. During the most recent council summit in December, Hungary used its veto power to block a proposed four-year, $54 billion aid package for Ukraine. Their argument was that the funds should not be sourced from the EU’s budget since Ukraine is not a member state. However, the remaining 26 member states all voted in support of the aid package.

According to Luigi Scazzieri from the Centre for European Reform, the financial aid from the EU is crucial for Kyiv.

“The necessary financial assistance for Ukraine to continue fighting in the war and maintain its financial stability. However, it does not intend to enhance its military capabilities. That aspect is addressed separately, but is also facing delay from Hungary. It will be addressed during discussions as a proposed 5 billion euro increase to a shared fund for the EU to provide weapons to Ukraine,” he stated in an interview with VOA.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long been a thorn in the side of EU unity on Russia and has good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Liana Fix, an expert on Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Hungary initially declined to participate in sanctions against Russia. Additionally, Hungary has also declined to provide weapons to Ukraine and has only agreed to grant Ukraine candidate status for EU membership after achieving certain conditions.

The EU recently released $11 billion of EU funds to Hungary in December, after previously freezing them due to concerns about the country’s democratic decline. However, the EU is still holding back an additional $24 billion and it is expected that Prime Minister Orban will request for some of it to be released, according to Fix.

Viktor Orban is well-versed in this particular game. However, the EU and NATO have also become accustomed to it, so I am confident that this obstacle will be overcome. It is likely that concessions will be made to Hungary in order to reach a resolution.

According to a report by London’s Financial Times newspaper on Monday, Brussels has warned Hungary that it will harm its economy if it refuses to lift its veto on Ukraine aid. Budapest has accused the EU of engaging in “blackmail.”

On Wednesday, János Bóka, Hungary’s EU minister, posted on social media platform X stating that Hungary refuses to give in to blackmail. He also stated that the document created by Brussels bureaucrats only validates the Hungarian Government’s long-standing claim that access to EU funds is being used as a tool for political manipulation by Brussels.

In the meantime, leaders from Europe will be addressing a potential EU naval operation in the Red Sea in order to safeguard trade vessels from assaults by Houthi insurgents in Yemen.

Borrell announced on Wednesday that a new naval mission will be established by the European Union to assist in protecting merchant ships in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.

Farming will also be a topic of discussion, as farmers throughout Europe are protesting the impact of inexpensive imports on their earnings. Numerous protesters have utilized tractors to obstruct major highways in European cities, such as Brussels, leading up to the EU summit on Thursday.