On the night from Thursday to Friday, during the meeting in Brussels, European leaders did not reach an agreement on the use of Russian assets to help Ukraine. However, a proposal to support Kiev financed from jointly incurred debt appeared on the table. The loans will be taken out by 24 of the 27 countries. This move required the consent of all member states.
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What did Viktor Orban say about Ukraine?
What loans have been approved for Ukraine?
Why did Viktor Orban praise the Czech Republic and Slovakia?
How much would Hungary's loan be if it supported Ukraine?
Viktor Orban reacted to the EU's decision. “It would drag Europe into war”
On Friday morning, Viktor Orban commented on the decision of European leaders. “We managed to prevent the immediate risk of war. We did not allow Europe to declare war on Russia by using its assets. This plan would have dragged Europe into war and exposed Hungary to a burden of 1,000 billion forints [ponad 10 mld zł]”- began the Hungarian Prime Minister.
“At the same time, 24 member states decided to provide Ukraine with a war loan for the next two years. If Ukraine is unable to repay the loan, these European countries will have to cover the losses,” Orban added.
Viktor Orban mentioned Slovakia and the Czech Republic
“Fortunately, the cooperation of the V3 group is working again: Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic decided not to get on this train. Thanks to this, we spared our children and grandchildren the burden of this huge loan of 90 billion euros. Hungary's share in the war loan would amount to over 400 billion forints [ponad 4,3 mld zł]” – he further noted.
According to Orban, the bad news is Brussels' further “preparations for war”. “Hungary remains the voice of peace in Europe and will not allow Hungarian taxpayers' money to be used to finance Ukraine,” he said.
