Stealing Russian assets, however, would mean “immediate war,” the Hungarian leader said
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sharply criticized the European Union’s decision to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion interest-free loan, warning that the move brings the bloc “closer to war,” even as he argued that an alternative plan to seize Russian assets would have been even worse.
Speaking early Friday after EU leaders agreed on the joint borrowing scheme, Orban described it as a fundamentally flawed decision that would ultimately burden European taxpayers without delivering a realistic return.
“It is a bad decision, which brings Europe closer to the war,” Orban said, as cited by Euronews. “It looks like a loan, but of course, the Ukrainians will never be able to pay it back. So it is basically losing money. And those who are behind that loan will take the responsibility and the financial consequences of that.”
Under the agreement, the EU will raise funds on capital markets to provide €90 billion in support to Ukraine over 2026–27. The compromise came after days of tense negotiations and the collapse of a more controversial proposal to finance Ukraine using frozen Russian assets.
Hungary, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, secured opt-outs from the joint borrowing arrangement and will not participate in providing guarantees for the loan. Orban said Budapest agreed to lift its veto only after obtaining assurances that Hungary would not be financially involved.
“The loan required a unanimous decision, and finally we gave up the right to veto, and in exchange we got the opt-out,” Orban said, confirming that Hungary would not take part even in the compromise scheme.
Despite his opposition to the final decision, Orban said the rejected proposal to use immobilized Russian assets to fund a so-called reparations loan would have been far more dangerous.
“A reparations loan would mean a war immediately,” he warned. “Think about it: there are two parties warring against each other. You are a third one who goes there, taking away a huge amount of money from one and giving it to its enemy. What does it mean? It’s war.”
The Hungarian leader has repeatedly accused Brussels of escalating the Ukraine conflict through financial and military support, while arguing that the EU should prioritize diplomacy and de-escalation. Moscow has likewise condemned Western financial and military backing for Kiev, warning of legal and economic consequences.