The new Hungarian government has agreed to use the European Peace Fund to provide military aid to Ukraine, lifting the ban imposed by the previous government led by Viktor Orbán.
This was reported by the newspaper „Nepşava“, citing its sources, who noted that the unblocked funds, amounting to approximately €6.6 billion, are likely to be used to purchase air defense systems for the Ukrainian army.
The newspaper specified that several sources confirmed that Hungary's final veto on Ukraine has been lifted and the decision to use the European Peace Fund to purchase weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces was taken at the level of the EU's permanent representatives in Brussels. In the next step, the European External Action Service, which is responsible for this fund, will prepare a draft regulation, which will then be approved by the EU Council.
Hungary has blocked the allocation of nearly 6.6 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine from the European Peace Facility since 2024. Orbán's government has objected to the use of this EU mechanism to arm and finance the Ukrainian army. A consensus among the 27 members of the community was needed to resolve the issue of these funds.
The new Hungarian government, led by Péter Magyar, which came to power after the victory of the “Tisza“ party in the parliamentary elections on April 12, has taken a different position on the European Peace Fund and has not objected to its use to support the Ukrainian armed forces. At the same time, he said he would not send weapons or soldiers to Ukraine.
The European Peace Fund was created in 2021 to finance the European Union's efforts in the field of defense and security, including peacekeeping operations. However, since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, it has been used to reimburse EU countries for the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian army.