Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has criticized plans to provide long-term financial support to Ukraine, arguing that the sums involved would have severe consequences for Hungary’s social welfare system.
In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, Orbán said Ukraine is requesting funding for the next ten years that would be equivalent to financing Hungarian pensions for 40 years or covering all family support programmes for 60 years. He referred to an estimated 800 billion dollars that the Ukrainian prime minister is seeking from Brussels, adding that EU member states would ultimately be expected to contribute.
Orbán said the issue was discussed at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, where European affairs minister János Bóka presented a report on how the proposed funding would be distributed and how the European Union plans to secure the necessary resources.
According to the prime minister, the conclusions of the report were alarming. He claimed that EU proposals would involve scrapping Hungary’s 13th and 14th month pensions, phasing out family support schemes and introducing progressive income taxation, all to help finance Ukraine’s operating costs.
Orbán stressed that this was unacceptable for Hungary, saying the country does not support such measures. He added that Bóka’s report would be made public so Hungarian families could see what he described as Brussels’ plans. He also framed the debate as a political choice, saying voters would soon have to decide between what he called the Brussels path and the path of peace.
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