Hungary will not support the efforts of the European Union to help Ukraine by joint means, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, Bloomberg reports.

According to him, Hungary has been supporting Kiev on a bilateral basis and will continue to do so. He noted that Budapest opposes any arrangements involving co-financing with other EU member states.

On Wednesday, the EU will offer Ukraine a new aid package of 18 billion euros (for 2023. The plan involves using the EU budget as a guarantee to raise funds for Kiev, which includes changes to the bloc's rules that require the unanimous support of 27 member states.

Hungary previously supported the EU's decision to jointly raise debt to finance the bloc's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, but has yet to receive its share of the funds.

The European Commission plans to discuss the status of these recovery funds at a Nov. 22 meeting, as Hungary must meet EU requirements related to the rule of law at the end of the year. Officials are working to assess Hungary's progress on 17 pieces of legislation.

"They're punishing us and openly blackmailing us with EU money," Orban told the Budapester Zeitung newspaper last month. "But there's no legal basis for this -- it's blackmail, pure and simple."