Fiala: fast Ukraine deal shows EU's ability to agree even on complex issues

The lightning-fast deal sealed by the leaders of the 27 EU member states in Brussels on Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro support package shows the EU's ability to reach agreement even on complex issues, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said afterwards.

European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement only about an hour into the extraordinary summit in Brussels, despite Hungary’s weeks of threats to veto the move. The Czech News Agency writes that given the speed with which the announcement was made, it is likely that the groundwork for the agreement had already been laid at preparatory meetings. It was not clear if any concessions were made to secure Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s approval.