The EU cannot afford financing Ukraine’s military efforts as U.S. financial aid is no longer guaranteed, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday after the leaders of 26 EU countries signed a statement voicing support for Ukraine without Hungary.
Orban, an ally of President Donald Trump, who is also cultivating ties with Moscow, told state radio that his government would launch a domestic “public consultation” on Ukraine’s EU accession in the coming weeks. He faces elections in early 2026.
EU Agreement On Ukraine
European leaders on Thursday backed plans to spend more on defence and continue to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Donald Trump’s reversal of U.S. policies.
The European Union’s defence summit in Brussels took place amid fears that Russia, emboldened by its war in Ukraine, may attack an EU country next and that Europe can no longer rely on the U.S. to come to its aid.
“Today we have shown that the European Union is rising to the challenge, building the Europe of defence and standing with Ukraine shoulder to shoulder,” the chairman of the meeting Antonio Costa told reporters.
EU leaders hailed the European Commission’s proposals this week to give them fiscal flexibility on defence spending, and to jointly borrow up to 150 billion euros ($160 billion) to lend to EU governments to spend on their militaries.
In a joint statement agreed by all 27 member states, the leaders called on their ministers to examine these proposals in detail urgently.
“Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race. And it must win it,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a special defence summit in Brussels.
(With inputs from Reuters)
