Hungary sued the EU over the use of proceeds from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Hungary challenged in the EU court the use of proceeds from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. Budapest believes that the decision was made bypassing the veto right of EU member states.
The Hungarian government has challenged the decision of the European Council and the European Peace Facility (EPF) to direct the assets of Russians, which were frozen for military support of Ukraine, in the EU General Court. Budapest believes that this decision was made bypassing the right of veto of EU member states. This was reported by Portfolio, writes UNN.
Details
Hungary filed the lawsuit on July 11, 2025, and on August 25, the case was accepted for consideration and published in the Official Journal of the EU. The payment mechanism itself came into force in February 2025, and Budapest has been challenging the decision since May 2024.
The decision stipulates that 99.7% of the profits from managing frozen Russian assets are transferred to the EPF, forming a stable source of funding of 3-5 billion euros annually.
As of today, over 200 billion euros of the Russian Central Bank's assets are blocked in EU countries, most of them in the Belgian clearing house Euroclear. It is worth noting that investment income and interest from these assets are directed to military support for Ukraine. Kyiv has already received more than 11 billion euros in aid thanks to such funding.
Hungary insists that such a mechanism was adopted without a unanimous decision, as the EU interpreted the use of profits not as a new budgetary commitment, but as a technical implementation of existing rules. Budapest believes that it was deprived of its right of veto and that the decision was made bypassing Hungary. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó publicly condemned this approach, stating that Hungary does not agree with financing Ukraine's military needs.
As stated in Portfolio, the court process could drag on for years: after written explanations from the parties, hearings, an opinion from the Advocate General, and an appeal review in the EU Court are possible. But while the court process continues, Ukraine will receive interest from investments in frozen Russian assets throughout this time.
The new European system for financing Ukraine in this way provides for the transfer of funds from assets not only for military but also for humanitarian needs.
Recall
The European Union transferred 10.1 billion euros in income from frozen Russian central bank funds to Ukraine. These funds are used to support military and civilian projects in Ukraine.
Earlier, the Prime Minister of Belgium stated about the legal difficulties of confiscating frozen Russian assets. A significant part of them, 183 billion euros, is located in Brussels in Euroclear.