Prominent Czechs call on PM to push for financial aid to Ukraine at EU summit
Around 60 well-known people from the worlds of film, music, literature, academia, charities, NGOs, and politics have called on Prime Minister Petr Fiala to push for financial aid to Ukraine at Thursday's EU summit, even in the case of a Hungarian veto. In an open letter to the Czech leader, they wrote that it is not permissible for one person, who is suspected of being connected to the Kremlin, to block the will of a group of 26 economically strong democratic countries, and appealed to the prime minister to promote a separate financial mechanism for other EU countries to supply Ukraine with aid in the event of a Hungarian veto.
At Thursday's EU summit, leaders are supposed to discuss the start of EU accession talks with Ukraine, long-term financial aid worth 50 billion euros and military aid worth 500 million euros, and the twelfth package of sanctions against Russia. However, there are doubts about Hungary's position, as last week, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called for the opening of accession talks not to be a topic on the agenda at the upcoming summit, but rather for a "strategic discussion" to be held about it first. Representatives of Hungary also announced in November that they would not support long-term financial aid to Ukraine.
