The European Union cannot afford to finance Ukraine’s military efforts as US financial aid is no longer guaranteed, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said.
He was speaking on March 7 after the leaders of 26 EU countries signed a statement voicing support for Ukraine without Hungary.
Orbán, an ally of US President Donald Trump, told Hungarian State radio that his government would launch a domestic “public consultation” on Ukraine’s European Union accession in the coming weeks.
The state-funded political campaign will come as Orbán, in power since 2010, faces elections in 2026 with the economy just clambering out of an inflation crisis and with a surging new opposition party posing the strongest challenge yet to his rule.
European leaders on March 6 backed plans to spend more on defence and continue to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Trump’s reversal of US policies.
The EU defence summit in Brussels took place amid fears that Russia, emboldened by its war in Ukraine, may attack a member state next and that Europe could no longer rely on the US to come to its aid.
But Orbán, who has refused to send weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war and kept close relations with Moscow, said that instead of prolonging the war, Europe should support Trump’s peace talks.
He said the way the EU wanted to support Ukraine now, while also boosting Europe’s own defence spending, would “ruin Europe.”
“If now the US quits [financing the war] … why would the other 26 member states have a chance to take this war to the end?” Orbán told State radio.
“Today, it appears that I have vetoed. But within weeks, they will come back, and it will turn out that there is no money for these goals.”
Trump has said that Europe must take more responsibility for its security.
On March 6, he cast doubt on his willingness to defend Washington’s NATO allies, saying that he would not do so if they are not paying enough for their own defence.
His decision to shift from staunch US support for Ukraine to a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow has deeply alarmed Europeans who see Russia as the biggest threat.
Left-wing MEPs have called on Brussels to revoke Hungary’s veto power as its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refused to join the bloc line on the Ukraine war during the ongoing special European Council Summit. https://t.co/161IGbiMXA
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 4, 2025
