The idea of the European Union using frozen Russian assets, held mainly in Brussels, to finance Ukraine is “dead” because a blocking minority is against it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday (December 18, 2025).
“This is a dead issue. There is not enough support,” the ultranationalist leader told the press in Brussels, adding that he did not rule out that at today’s Council meeting “an attempt will be made to put it back on the table,” but he said the issue would still not move forward. Upon his arrival at the EU summit in Brussels, Orbán also told the press that financing Ukraine with a joint EU loan was also unacceptable for Hungary. And he explained that he had no mandate from the Hungarian Parliament to accept this proposal.
Funds frozen in Brussels
For months, Orbán has rejected Russia’s alleged use of some 210 billion euros in Russian assets frozen in the EU due to sanctions against Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine. The EU Council agreed last Friday on the proposal, which opens the door to indefinite asset freezing without having to renew that block every six months, based on emergency powers to eliminate the risk of vetoes from countries such as Orbán’s own Hungary or Slovakia.
Orbán, the community leader closest to Moscow, reiterated today that the use of Russian assets would amount to a “declaration of war.” “We have to finance peace and not war,” emphasized the Prime Minister, who usually accuses his community partners of being warmongers and avoids any criticism of Russia. On the other hand, Orbán emphasized that he was also against a common EU loan to support Ukraine.
lgc (rtr, efe)
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