Italy’s Meloni Pushes to Unlock Billions in Ukraine Aid

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

With EU leaders set to decide on €50 billion in aid to Ukraine on Feb. 1, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is working to spur Hungary’s Viktor Orban to end his opposition. Meloni’s efforts underscore her foreign policy ambitions as she seeks to carve out a role as power broker in the bloc. She’s also pushing the Hungarian prime minister to shift his stance on Ukraine’s aspirations for EU membership and to reset relations with Kyiv, as conditions for Orban’s Fidesz party joining the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists group, we’ve been told. EU leaders are also discussing alternatives, which could include an agreement among 26 countries — without Hungary.

— Lyubov Pronina