Thursday’s emergency European Council meeting ended without a unanimous conclusion on the continuation of military support for Ukraine, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed the pro-war push to fill the void left after US President Donald Trump halted all military aid to Kyiv. The disunity and its public exposure are a major blow to the European Union, which has been trying to project strong and united support for Ukraine to reinforce its stance on continuing the war and undermining peace talks.
‘Hungary’s position remained the same today as it has for the past three years. We believe that there is no solution on the battlefield and support the US peace plan,’ Orbán wrote in a post on X after the meeting. He added that European leaders—both Brussels bureaucrats and the heads of member states—oppose Trump’s push for peace and prefer to continue the war for as long as necessary.
The remaining 26 member states issued their own conclusions without Hungary, stating:
‘Achieving peace through strength requires Ukraine to be in the strongest possible position, with Ukraine’s own robust military and defence capabilities as an essential component. The European Union remains committed, in coordination with like-minded partners and allies, to providing enhanced political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military, and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people.’
The statement also pledged to increase pressure on Russia by imposing further sanctions and improving enforcement of existing ones ‘to weaken its ability to continue waging its war of aggression.’
‘If anyone is isolated here, it is the European Union’
Before the meeting, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had also threatened to veto the conclusions but withdrew his opposition in exchange for a change in the wording of the text to include a commitment from the EU to support Bratislava in its efforts to pressure Ukraine to restart Russian gas pipelines running through Slovak territory.
After the meeting, POLITICO asked Orbán whether he felt isolated as the only EU leader refusing to endorse the conclusions. The Hungarian prime minister responded that it is the EU’s position, not Hungary’s, that is increasingly isolated. ‘If anyone is isolated here, it is the European Union. Hungary has good relations in all three directions—China, the US, and Russia—so we are not isolated at all,’ Orbán said.
Speaking to Hungarian media, Orbán also announced that the Hungarian government will initiate a public opinion vote on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The prime minister stated that Ukraine’s EU membership would fundamentally reshape the bloc’s entire management system. ‘We are not prepared for that, so I believe we need to slow down, and we definitely need to gather people’s views on this issue,’ he said.
Defence Wins over Ukraine
According to POLITICO, the closed-door discussions on Ukraine lasted only 15 minutes, which highlights the gap between pro-war EU leaders’ rhetoric and their actual willingness to step up support for Kyiv. In contrast, talks on ramping up European defence capabilities—another major agenda item—took up most of the 10-hour session.
On defence, EU leaders reached unanimous agreement to increase military commitments, signing off on a move to loosen budget restrictions so that willing member states can expand their defence spending. They also urged the European Commission to explore new ways to ‘facilitate significant defence spending at the national level in all member states,’ according to the final statement.
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