Hungary has released EU funds for weapons for Ukraine
Hungary has lifted its veto on the use of funds from the European Peace Facility, through which EU countries receive compensation for weapons supplied to Ukraine. This decision could unlock billions in payments and change the mechanism for funding defense aid to Kyiv.
The EU believes this will help distribute the burden more evenly among member states supporting Ukraine.
The Hungarian government has lifted its veto on decisions regarding the European Peace Fund, through which EU countries receive compensation for weapons transferred to Ukraine, effectively paving the way for the release of significant financial flows within the framework of joint European defense support. Politico reports this, citing European diplomats who confirmed Budapest’s change of position during a meeting of the relevant EU committee.
According to the publication, the decision means that after a prolonged blockage by Viktor Orbán’s previous government, the compensation mechanism can finally begin to operate without the political restrictions that have held back financial payments for two years. “Now they will finally receive some reimbursement, which will also make the burden-sharing more equitable,” noted one of the European diplomats, commenting on the consequences of lifting the veto.
The European Peace Facility is an EU instrument that reimburses member states for approximately 40% of the cost of weapons and ammunition transferred to Ukraine from national army stockpiles, and it was this mechanism that Hungary had previously blocked due to the requirement for unanimous decisions. According to Politico’s estimates, unpaid compensation totaling over 40 billion euros has accumulated due to previous blockages, and now, following the lifting of the veto, approximately 6.6 billion euros can be immediately released.
Following this, EU countries must agree on further rules for the use of funds and mechanisms for new payments to stabilize the defense aid financing system.
Ukraine is already calling on its partners to allocate part of the unblocked funds to the procurement of air defense systems, specifically Patriots and missiles for them, as part of programs to strengthen air defense.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga emphasized that these resources could be used for procurements in the U.S. under the PURL program, which is coordinated by NATO, allowing critical needs of the Ukrainian defense to be met more quickly.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated his readiness to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy early next week. The main condition for holding this high-level meeting is the final resolution of the issue regarding the fundamental rights of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine.
Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar made high-profile statements regarding the situation of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine and the European Union’s future economic relations with the Russian Federation.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary, Andriy Sibiga and Anita Orbán, held their first face-to-face meeting on May 22. During the talks in Helsingborg, the parties agreed to hold a second round of expert-level consultations next week to further discuss bilateral issues.
