FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl has reiterated his rejection of the EU’s billions in aid to Ukraine, even describing it as the “Zelensky regime”. As a result of the agreement at the EU summit, citizens of net taxpayers of the EU, such as Austria, would be asked to pay, Kickl said. “A liberal people’s chancellor would clearly have vetoed it in the interests of his own people,” the liberal frontman said.
In view of the four-year aid program worth 50 billion euros, Kickl spoke of “endless billions for the Zelensky regime”.
Kickl criticized Nehammer
The current pollster leader also directed his criticism at Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP). By agreeing to aid Ukraine, he had “once again betrayed and sold the Austrians and their hard-earned tax money at the EU altar in Brussels,” the FPÖ leader said. Ukraine is a “bottomless pit”.
“A liberal People’s Chancellor would therefore, as one of his first actions, ensure that Austria stops the payments,” Kickl said. It remained unclear whether he was talking about himself in the third person or whether he wanted to leave open the possibility that someone else would become the ‘Free People’s Chancellor’ instead.
The agreement at the summit came surprisingly quickly because Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had withdrawn his originally announced veto. All other 26 EU countries had already voted at an EU summit in December for the payments that the EU candidate country urgently needs to continue to resist Russian aggression.
Orban: Veto would have jeopardized EU funds for Hungary
Orbán has now justified giving up his veto. If Hungary had continued to block aid, the 26 other EU member states would have agreed to transfer EU money intended for Hungary to Ukraine, the prime minister said.
Russia threatens not only Ukraine, but also EU member states such as Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Finland. The armed forces expect Russia to wage a hybrid war against the EU this year.
Chancellor happy with agreement at summit conference
Chancellor Karl Nehammer was satisfied with the agreement at the summit on Friday afternoon. The aid to Ukraine is part of a larger increase in the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until 2027, negotiated by Nehammer’s predecessor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP).
Nehammer had campaigned in advance to meet the additional financial needs through redistribution. Now he said that the increase would be lower than originally planned by the European Commission and that more money would now be reserved for the migration area.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
