Hungary is blocking EU funds earmarked for Poland to compensate for military aid Warsaw has provided to Ukraine.
“The [Polish] government has been repeatedly communicating to Hungary at all possible levels that we are dissatisfied with the fact that Hungary has, for a year now, been blocking refunds for the military equipment we delivered to Ukraine,” said foreign minister Radosław Sikorski on Tuesday.
While Sikorski mentioned a figure of 2 billion zloty, Onet, a leading Polish news website, reported that the amount being blocked by Budapest is actually a far higher figure of €2 billion. It cited unnamed Polish officials expressing anger and frustration at Hungary’s actions.
Sikorski later clarified that the figure is actually around €500 million, which is equivalent to just over 2.1 billion zloty.
Orban blokuje pieniądze dla Polski. Rząd jest wściekły. "Czeka nas ostra rozmowa" https://t.co/jYoyBbpd2j
— Onet Wiadomości (@OnetWiadomosci) July 10, 2024
The money is supposed to come from the EU’s European Peace Facility, a financing mechanism established in 2021 for the purchase of ammunition and military equipment and that has since 2022 been used to support Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression.
The funds would compensate Poland for some of the roughly €4 billion worth of military aid it has provided to Ukraine, reports Defence24, an industry news service.
Hungary’s decision to block the disbursement of funds is hindering both further Polish aid to Ukraine and Poland’s plans to modernise its armed forces and fill gaps left by the equipment it has donated to Ukraine, adds Defence24.
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Under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, Hungary has been the EU member state most friendly towards Russia and most sceptical of supporting Ukraine during the ongoing war. That has often led to conflict with Poland, which has been among Kyiv’s staunchest allies.
Sikorski said that Hungary is behaving in an “unfriendly and hostile” manner towards Poland and “abusing our trust”.
Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Law and Justice (PiS), Poland’s main opposition party, also expressed concern at reports of Hungary’s blocking of funds for Poland. PiS was once a close ally of Orbán’s Fidesz party, but those ties have been strained by opposing approaches to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Asked about the issue today, Kaczyński said that, “if this is true, then I will comment on it very negatively. I mean, very negatively towards Mr Orban”.
Węgry blokują wypłatę Polsce ok. 2 mld euro, które mają być rekompensatą dla nas za wspieranie Ukrainy – ustalił Onet.
"Jeśli to prawda to bardzo źle to skomentuję. Źle dla premiera Orbana" -mówi prezes @pisorgpl, partii, która przyjaźni się z premierem Orbanem.@OnetWiadomosci pic.twitter.com/szMh1z5WjA— Monika Waluś (@MW_reporterka) July 11, 2024
Correction: this article originally reported that the amount of funds being blocked was €2 billion, as had been reported by various Polish media outlets. It has now been corrected to account for Radosław Sikorski’s clarification that the figure in question is around €500 million. We apologise for our error.
Main image credit: European Union
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
