The European Union leadership has accepted Ukraine’s $800 billion demand, effectively leading to large-scale EU indebtedness, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday in Brussels after a meeting of EU heads of state and government.
“We received a document that I am not authorized to disclose, stating the Ukrainians’ $800 billion demand and that it has been formally accepted. The document also presents plans for how to raise this money, essentially meaning incurring debt,” the Prime Minister explained.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaks to members of the press following the European Council meeting of EU member states in Brussels in the early hours of January 23, 2026. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Fõosztály/Fischer Zoltán
Viktor Orbán said that Ukraine’s demand is for the EU to provide $800 billion over the next ten years, and that an additional $700 billion in military spending will also be needed.
He emphasized that the biggest stakes in the parliamentary elections are in Ukraine, not Hungary. As he said, the document states that Ukraine must join the European Union in 2027. Therefore, it is not just talking about $800 billion, but also about the date of accession, and Hungary is opposed to this, he said.
“I do not think there will be a parliament in Hungary in the next hundred years that will vote in favor of Ukraine joining the European Union,” said Viktor Orbán, adding that Ukrainians believe that the only way to overcome the obstacle posed by Hungary is to have a pro-Ukrainian government in Hungary. They are working on this, he pointed out.
“We do not want them to join the EU; we oppose Ukrainian membership. Tisza (main opposition party in Hungary – editor’s note) and DK (Democratic Coalition) want to let them in, thus we have to accept that Ukrainians will be active participants in the Hungarian campaign because it is in their fundamental interest to have a change of government in Hungary” he said.
He stressed that the European Commission would give Ukraine the considerable amount of money from the new EU budget, meaning that Ukraine’s financial support would come from the EU budget rather than from a separate loan.
“We want to prevent this,” he emphasized.
Responding to a question, Viktor Orbán stated that sooner or later there will be a Peace Summit in Budapest.
“We do not know exactly when and with which participants yet, but it has not been taken off the agenda,” said the Prime Minister, adding: “There will be a peace summit in Hungary. Whether it will be a two- or three-way summit, we do not know.”
In relation to the relationship between the EU and the United States, he said that independence requires strength, and that is not available today. Therefore, Europe is a continent that cannot defend itself militarily today. It is a continent whose competitiveness is declining, which is being destabilized by people flooding in from outside, from other civilizations, and it is unable to control this situation. Europe is not in a position to safely contemplate its own future without American cooperation, he added.
Common sense pushes us and the Americans towards cooperation,”
he said.
Regarding the debate on Greenland, he said that the issue “quickly reached a point of calm” as an agreement was reached that there would be no tariffs, no military intervention, and that everyone was interested in reducing the conflict. Thus they are trying to extinguish the fire, not fan the flames, he said.
Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Főosztály/Fischer Zoltán
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