The European Commission has frozen a loan to Hungary for rearmament due to its stance on Ukraine
The European Commission has blocked the approval of Hungary’s loan plan under the SAFE program in response to Budapest’s blocking of the allocation of €90 billion to Ukraine.
This was reported by the Polish publication RMF24.
As of March 25, 2026, Hungary remains the only one of the 19 participating countries whose defense plan has not been approved by Brussels. According to diplomatic sources, the unofficial reason for the delay is the Viktor Orbán government’s violation of the principle of loyal cooperation within the bloc amid Russia’s aggression.
Budapest has expressed strong interest in securing funds for rearmament, with the requested amount of one billion euros exceeding the European Commission’s proposal. Officially, Brussels states that the Hungarian plan is still under review by experts. At the same time, similar plans for France and the Czech Republic have already been approved, allowing these countries to begin the process of signing loan agreements to strengthen their national defense.
As a reminder, Poland will continue the SAFE program despite the president’s veto.
