PM Orbán said EU leaders were presented with a confidential document outlining plans to finance Ukraine’s request, including a two-step funding structure totaling $800 billion and an additional estimated $700 billion in military expenditures over the same period. According to the prime minister, the document also references Ukraine’s planned EU accession by 2027, a goal Hungary firmly opposes.
“We thought this was an opening position that would later be softened,” Prime Minister Orbán said, adding that instead the proposal had been accepted “exactly as it arrived from Ukraine.” He warned that the plan would require massive borrowing, leaving future generations of Europeans with the financial burden.
The prime minister said Hungary will continue to block Ukraine’s EU membership and any EU budget framework that channels money to Kyiv. While he stressed that individual countries remain free to support Ukraine on a voluntary basis, he argued that forcing collective EU financing would “destroy the European Union.”
PM Orbán also addressed discussions surrounding the newly formed U.S.-initiated Peace Council, which he said was created because existing international institutions have failed to deliver peace. Hungary and Bulgaria were the only EU member states to support the initiative, which is led by the United States and includes countries from key crisis regions such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.
According to Prime Minister Orbán, the Peace Council offers a greater chance of ending conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine than previous multilateral structures. He confirmed that Hungary is working with international partners to organize a future peace summit in Budapest, though details have not yet been finalized.
The prime minister acknowledged divisions within the EU over relations with the United States but argued that cooperation with Washington remains unavoidable. “Europe lacks military strength, competitiveness, and demographic stability,” he said, adding that European security cannot be guaranteed without U.S. cooperation.
PM Orbán also suggested that Ukraine has a vested interest in influencing Hungary’s upcoming election, claiming Kyiv believes a government change in Budapest would remove opposition to its EU accession. Hungary, he said, is prepared to confront both diplomatic and political pressure in defense of its position.