Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has backed down and withdrawn his veto of the European Union’s four-year €50bn aid plan for Ukraine.

European Council President Charles Michel said the swift compromise on February 1 “locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine”.

At the start of a special European Union Council summit in Brussels, Orban agreed to allow the package to go ahead, with the figleaf of possible annual discussions on its progress and a potential review after two years.

The Hungarian strongman had come under huge pressure since he vetoed the package at a summit before Christmas, while letting Ukraine's accession negotiations go ahead. EU figures have floated the idea of freezing EU aid to Hungary indefinitely or launching Article 7 proceedings to suspend Hungary’s voting rights, threats Budapest called “blackmail”.

Orban had held out for annual reviews of the aid programme, which would have given him regular opportunities to hold the bloc to ransom, an eventuality the other EU leaders wanted to avoid at all costs. It would also not have given Kyiv the guarantee of long-term funding.

Now there will be the possibility of one review, after two years, but only if the Council unanimously agrees. “If needed, in two years the European Council will invite the Commission to make a proposal for review in the context of the new MFF [medium-term financial framework],” the conclusions state.

Orban had also proposed keeping the package outside the overall EU budget without common borrowing for it, but this would have been far more cumbersome to organise.

The EU council crisis demonstrates once again both how the Hungarian premier has the will and potential to obstruct EU decision making, but also that he remains isolated and can be forced to back down, as bne IntelliNews predicted.

New Slovak premier Robert Fico was among the other 26 EU leaders who backed aid for Ukraine, even though he had proclaimed his support for Orban and been a strong critic of Ukraine’s desire to continue the war at all costs.

The freezing of EU aid to Hungary appears to have only made the Hungarian strongman more obstreperous. Some €22bn of EU aid to Hungary is currently blocked because of the Orban regime’s violations of the rule of law and failure to prosecute corruption.

Despite Orban’s latest climbdown, the bloc has yet to find a way to persuade or force the strongman to co-operate normally, especially while at the same time trying to hold him to task for his hollowing out of Hungarian democracy.

EU leaders have become exasperated by Orban’s constant brinkmanship and his disdain for the bloc’s tradition of negotiations in good faith and consensus.

On the start of the summit, new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that everyone was tired of Orbán. “We don’t have Ukraine, but Orbán fatigue,“ he said, Politico reported. “If his position will dominate in Europe, Ukraine will lose … the position of Orbán is a threat to our security,” he said.

Ukraine desperately needs the new funding, particularly given that $60bn in US funding remains blocked by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted on February 1 that he was “grateful” to Michel and other EU leaders for establishing the Ukraine Facility.

“Continued EU financial support for Ukraine will strengthen long-term economic and financial stability, which is no less important than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia,” he said.

The Hungarian strongman is accused by some EU politicians of simply acting as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s agent inside the EU by holding up the aid package. Orban remains on good terms with Putin, meeting him in Beijing last October, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó regularly meets top Russian officials.

Orban himself has often obstructed sanctions and criticised Ukraine, advising Kyiv to make a compromise peace rather than continue fighting. Budapest has refused to send military aid to Ukraine or allow it to be transported directly across its borders. It has also blocked Nato-Ukraine co-opearation since 2017.

Hungary has only made limited attempts to reduce its dependence on Russian energy. It is currently preventing the latest EU sanctions package including Russian nuclear fuel, which is still used by Hungary’s Paks NPP.

Hungary has also still not ratified Swedish accession to Nato and, as the last nation to do so, is holding up Sweden’s entry.