Orbán: Hungary, Slovakia, and Czech Republic decide not to join loan for Ukraine

This was announced by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on social media, according to Ukrinform.

“Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have decided not to get on that train. By doing so, we spared our children and grandchildren from the burden of this massive €90 billion loan,” Orbán commented on the European Council's decision.

According to him, participation in such a mechanism, in Budapest's opinion, would create a significant financial burden for Hungary.

According to the APA agency, the compromise reached at the summit provides for a €90 billion interest-free loan to Ukraine to cover its most urgent financial needs over the next two years. The funds are planned to be raised on financial markets under the guarantee of the EU's joint budget.

“Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, however, have managed to avoid participating in the costs,” the agency also notes.

At the same time, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed after the summit that the European Union reserves the right to use frozen Russian state assets to repay the loan in the future if Russia does not pay compensation to Ukraine. According to him, this approach should comply with international law.

Earlier, the EU considered the possibility of directly using frozen Russian assets in the form of a so-called reparations loan, but this plan was opposed by a number of countries. In particular, the Belgian government feared that such a decision could be seen as illegal expropriation, provoke Russian retaliatory measures against European individuals and companies, and undermine international investors' confidence in the European financial market, in particular to Euroclear, which manages most of these assets and generates significant tax revenues for Belgium.

According to the APA, although Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever was prepared to agree on condition of a comprehensive and indefinite risk protection mechanism, such guarantees were not supported, according to diplomats, by France and Italy, which were unwilling to provide the necessary resources.

As reported, European Council President António Costa said that EU leaders had agreed on a decision to support Ukraine with €90 billion for 2026-2027.