Hungary has stepped up threats to block further EU funds for weapons to aid Ukraine, marring a show of unity from western nations at the G7 summit.
The Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has said his government will block a further €500m from the European peace facility, a fund used to reimburse EU member states that supply military aid to Ukraine, unless Kyiv removes Hungary’s OTP Bank from its list of war sponsors.
Speaking on Thursday, Szijjártó also said the EU’s latest Russia sanctions plan was “fully contrary to common sense” and that the previous 10 had failed, according to a report on a Hungarian government website. EU diplomats say Hungary has threatened to veto the 11th package of sanctions over OTP Bank, a move Budapest has often threatened but never carried out.
The comments contrast with the show of unity the richest industrial nations want to project at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, where the US and UK have announced further sanctions against Russia. Hungary’s threats are likely to overshadow a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday and the bloc’s ongoing talks on its latest Russia sanctions.
Hungary has claimed it is blocking the latest tranche of European peace facility funds because the initiative was designed to enhance Europe’s global security and was not to be used exclusively in Ukraine.
One senior EU diplomat said that argument was a “bit disingenuous”, adding: “The timing is miserable because Ukraine is on the eve of a large offensive to try to push back the Russian aggression. It does make me wonder if there is not a much more narrow economic interest.”
Budapest has also drawn a link with Kyiv’s addition of Hungary’s OTP Bank to its international sponsors of war list, a group that includes five Greek companies, four Chinese, four French, three US and one British entity.
While EU diplomats are irritated by Hungary’s linkage of the issues, there is also frustration with Kyiv. “Ukraine should always ask itself: do our actions help us or does it make stuff more difficult?” the EU diplomat said, adding that it was still the “wrong approach” from Hungary.
The European peace facility was set up in 2021 to help the EU prevent conflicts and bolster security around the world. Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the EU has agreed to spend €4.6bn (£4bn) on military aid for Ukraine via the facility, a historic decision to fund weapons for a country at war. Under the scheme, EU member states ask to be reimbursed for weapons, ammunition and other military aid they send to Ukraine.
A second senior diplomat downplayed the consequences of the Hungarian threat, saying it would not have “a real impact on real life” nor change the volume of deliveries to Ukraine. “Some things are reimbursed and others are not,” the person said.
Hungary has refused to supply any military equipment to Ukraine and has railed against EU sanctions against Russia, while so far never blocking either release of the funds or any overall sanctions package.
Hungary’s relations with the rest of the EU, including its once-staunch ally Poland, are at an all-time low. The mood is unlikely to change anytime soon, especially after Viktor Orbán recently appeared to compare the ambitions of the EU to Adolf Hitler’s quest to dominate Europe.
“The Byzantine empire, Charlemagne, Otto, Napoleon, Hitler, all dreamed about European unity,” Orbán said in a recent speech, suggesting the same trend continues to this day, according to his official website.
In response, the Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, said: “No one is forcing Hungarians to be part of this community if they feel this uncomfortable.”
