(Bloomberg) -- The forint weakened after Prime Minister Viktor Orban sharpened his disputes with the European Union by using his veto of an aid package for Ukraine to press for the payment of more funds withheld from Hungary. 

The European Commission this week agreed to release a third of about €30 billion ($33 billion) that were frozen due to rule-of-law and graft concerns after Hungary enacted changes related to the judiciary, strengthening the courts’ independence. When EU leaders meet again early next year to consider a €50 billion package for Ukraine, Hungary will make sure it gets all of its own funds first, Orban said.

“This is a great opportunity for Hungary to make clear that it must get all of what it’s due,” the Hungarian prime minister said in his weekly radio interview from Brussels.

The partial release of EU funding and a dovish tilt by the Federal Reserve helped sustain an “extremely fast” drop in Hungary’s bond yields, analysts at OTP Bank Nyrt said in a note Friday.

The yield on the 10-year government bonds declined for a fourth day, falling 22 basis points to drop below 6% in Budapest. The yield continue its retreat from as high as 7.8% in October and 9% at the start of the year.

Amid the sharpening EU dispute and drop in yields, the forint weakened 0.8% to 382.56 per euro.

It will take about two months for the European Commission’s aid to start turning into actual payments for the government, Peter Virovacz, an economist at ING Bank in Budapest, wrote in an email Thursday.

While Hungary abstained from a vote on EU membership talks with Ukraine, Orban still opposes that decision and stands ready to veto Ukraine’s accession at a later stage, the prime minister said.

--With assistance from Marton Kasnyik.

(Updates with markets from first paragraph)

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