EU discusses no financial coercion of Hungary related to Ukraine funding -statement

The note does not outline any specific plan relating to the (long-term EU budget) and Ukraine Facility, nor does it outline any plan relating to Hungary," it said. "The Multi-annual Financial Framework (EU budget) talks are ongoing and have always been based on finding a compromise acceptable to all 27 EU Member States.

European Union governments are not discussing financial coercion to force Hungary to agree to financing for Ukraine that Budapest has been blocking since December, a senior European official said in a statement on Monday. The statement came in response to a story in the Financial Times, which said that the European Union would sabotage Hungary's economy if Budapest blocked fresh aid to Ukraine at a summit this week, according to a confidential plan.

"The document referred to in the Financial Times article is a background note written by the Secretariat of the council under its own responsibility which describes the current status of the Hungarian economy," the statement by the senior EU official said. "This is a factual paper which does not reflect the status of the ongoing negotiations. The note does not outline any specific plan relating to the (long-term EU budget) and Ukraine Facility, nor does it outline any plan relating to Hungary," it said.

"The Multi-annual Financial Framework (EU budget) talks are ongoing and have always been based on finding a compromise acceptable to all 27 EU Member States. The negotiations among Sherpas and EU leaders are based on the principles of dialogue, consultation and compromise in the interest of all," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)