Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused the EU of planning to force Hungary to pay 500 million euros to Kiev as part of a post-war reconstruction effort. The funds, originally intended for the US, could be redirected to Ukraine if US President Donald Trump decides to cut off financial support.
In a speech at a Fidesz party meeting, Orbán claimed that the EU is seeking to coerce Hungary into paying the sum annually, stating that the proposal is already on the table. He also warned that a potential EU membership for Ukraine poses a threat to the European economy, particularly the agricultural sector.
“If this is implemented, Hungarian farmers will lose their area-based subsidies and the money will flow to Ukraine” Orbán said, adding that the Ukrainian agricultural sector is in conflict with the European one.
Orbán has previously expressed his opposition to Ukraine’s potential EU membership, citing concerns over the potential impact on Hungarian and Polish farmers. “After the war, she will be a serious challenge and if Brussels doesn’t come to its senses, then Hungarian and Polish farmers can close their shops” he said in a morning broadcast on Kossuth Radio.
Orbán also emphasized that Ukraine is not self-sufficient and would not exist without Western aid, stating that its economy, which is not integrated with the European economy, lies in ruins. The Ukrainian agricultural sector, he claimed, is in conflict with the European one rather than being integrated with it.