Media: EU may agree on aid package for Ukraine in next few weeks

Budapest has signaled to the EU that it is ready to lift its opposition to funding Ukraine ― as negotiations continue on sweeteners that would make it easier for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to climb down, Report informs referring to Politico.

According to several European diplomats and officials, Orbán is edging closer to accepting a compromise to use money from the bloc's budget, even though a deal is likely to fall short of demands he made in the aftermath of last month's failed summit.

Orbán blocked a €50 billion four-year funding package to the war-torn country in December ― a move he was able to make because it needed unanimous support from the EU's 27 governments ― prompting Europe's leaders to consider breaking with the bloc's hallowed principle of unity and finding a way to circumvent him.

But since then, both sides have pulled back from the brink and are now involved in a delicate dance over how to get the decision over the line when Orbán and other leaders meet in Brussels on February 1.

While there is still no agreement over what concessions to offer Hungary in return, and what it might accept, the EU is now confident that a deal can be done over the next couple of weeks, according to the diplomats and officials who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.