Orbán's government challenges EU decision on Russian assets made without Hungary's consent

Hungary’s government has filed a lawsuit with the EU Court of Justice against the decision to use frozen Russian assets to finance military aid for Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (EPF), adopted in a way that circumvents Budapest.

As reported by Hungarian financial newspaper Portfolio, the Hungarian lawsuit, submitted in July against the Council of the European Union and the European Peace Facility, was accepted by the EU Court earlier this week. It concerns the Council’s May 2024 decision that laid the groundwork for using frozen Russian assets to fund further assistance to Ukraine, including military support.

At that time, the EU decided to transfer nearly all revenues generated from taxing the profits of immobilised Russian assets to the EPF, which reimburses member states for the cost of military aid provided to Ukraine.

Hungary has long blocked the approval of such EPF payments, totalling over €6 billion, even after it received assurances that its own contributions would not be directed towards financing weapons for Kyiv.

However, since Hungary abstained during the approval of the Russian asset decision, the EU argued that funds from these assets (estimated at €3-5 billion annually) could be channelled to the EPF without Budapest’s consent.

Hungary is now demanding that the March 2025 decision of the EPF, which implemented the Council’s ruling on using revenues from Russian assets to finance military aid for Ukraine, be annulled.

That decision explicitly stated that Hungary’s abstention during the creation of this funding mechanism meant its vote did not have to be counted when approving individual disbursements.

Budapest argues that this procedure violates the fundamental principles of lawful decision-making enshrined in EU treaties and therefore must be overturned.

For now, the prospects of Hungary’s lawsuit remain unclear, as proceedings at the EU Court of Justice can take years. Moreover, the procedure for using revenues from frozen Russian assets has already changed, with part of the funds now redirected towards non-military support for Ukraine.

Hungary has also been systematically obstructing Ukraine’s EU accession process and blocking the opening of the first negotiation clusters.