EU nation launches petition against Ukraine funding

The campaign seeks to send Brussels a message that Hungary is against covering Kiev’s expenses for the next decade

Hungary has launched a national petition urging citizens to tell EU officials that they will not foot the bill for funding Ukraine as well as for higher domestic costs caused by Kiev’s conflict with Moscow.

In a statement on Monday, the Hungarian government said the petition intends to “send a message to Brussels” that “we will not pay” for Ukraine’s military expenses, or to prop up Kiev for the next decade or for higher utility bills at home. The ballot – which appears to be an informal referendum – offers respondents a choice to vote on the three items.

Balazs Hidveghi, parliamentary state secretary at Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s cabinet office, accused the EU of uncontrollably pouring money into Ukraine without consulting citizens in the bloc. He claimed that Brussels had already spent €170 billion ($204 billion) on supporting Kiev, adding that Brussels now wanted far more, citing figures of €800 billion for Ukraine’s state finances and another €700 billion for conflict-related costs.

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The official also warned that the funding would come via austerity tax rises and ending household utility price reductions – which he said could be enforced in Hungary if a “puppet” Brussels-compliant government comes to power.

Orban’s government has repeatedly clashed with the EU over support for Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, while criticizing sanctions on Russia as detrimental for the bloc’s economy and refusing to send weapons to Kiev. Budapest has opposed Kiev’s ambitions to join the EU and NATO, arguing they would drag the bloc into a direct conflict with Moscow.

Hungary – along with the Czech Republic and Slovakia – also opted out of the EU’s €90 billion loan package for Ukraine financed through common borrowing, after the bloc failed to agree on tapping frozen Russian assets.

The national petition comes ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, with Orban casting the vote as a choice between “war and peace.”