(L-R): President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In a keynote speech before the Hungarian Parliament, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó sharply criticized the EU’s financial and military support for Ukraine. His main argument was: Kyiv has received more funds in four years of war than Hungary has in over two decades of EU membership.
Péter Szijjártó used Wednesday’s general debate in the parliament in Budapest to take stock of the European Union’s current strategy. In the minister’s view, aid to Ukraine is turning into a “bottomless pit” that threatens the economic stability of the entire community.
Péter Szijjártó. Photo: MTI/Katona Tibor
The minister presented some stark comparisons. Since the start of the war, the EU has provided Ukraine with 193 billion euros in aid. “That is three times the amount Hungary has received since joining the EU in 2004,” Péter Szijjártó calculated.
He said it was unacceptable to Budapest that a non-EU country should receive three times as much money in four years as a Central European member state had received in 22 years.
He was particularly critical of the planned budgets for the coming years:
- 90 billion euros as a “war loan,” which Péter Szijjártó doubts will ever be repaid.
- 360 billion euros in the next seven-year plan (2028–2034).
A possible long-term welfare program of up to 1,500 billion euros over ten years.
The minister accused the Brussels leadership of wanting to transform the EU from a peace project into a military alliance. He warned against a “war economy policy” that would lead to debt for future generations. He also claimed that two European nuclear powers had already signaled their willingness to send soldiers—a scenario that Hungary wanted to avoid at all costs.
The Hungarian government currently rules out Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU. Péter Szijjártó cited two main reasons. In his view, the integration of a country at war would destroy the EU’s agricultural markets and cohesion funds. The minister also referred to the “trampled rights” of national minorities in Ukraine and the “shameless forced recruitment” on the streets.
At the end of his speech, the minister reaffirmed the Hungarian government’s position with a clear list of rejections to Brussels.
As long as a sovereign national government is in office, Hungary says:
- No to direct participation in the war.
- No to the deployment of Hungarian soldiers.
- No to financing a “corrupt state” with Hungarian taxpayers’ money.
- No to Ukraine’s EU membership.
Péter Szijjártó called on MPs to support a resolution to this effect in order to back the government in the upcoming negotiations in Brussels. The aim, he said, was to use Hungarian resources exclusively for the domestic economy, businesses, and cities.
Related article
EU Has Accepted Ukraine’s $800 Billion Demand, Hungary Firmly Opposes Accession
The Prime Minister warned of massive EU indebtedness, rejects 2027 Ukrainian accession date, and said Ukraine will actively intervene in Hungary’s parliamentary elections.Continue reading
Via MTI; Featured image: X/Ursula von der Leyen
The post Ukraine Receives More EU Funds Than Member-States, Warns Foreign Minister appeared first on Hungary Today.
Source link
