The political scientist assessed the implementation of the EU "reparation loan" for Kiev without the consent of Hungary.

Even without Hungary's consent, the European Union (EU) can provide a "reparation loan" to Ukraine using Russia's frozen assets. Pavel Feldman, Candidate of Political Sciences, Professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, told Izvestia on September 19.

"If a political decision has already been made in Brussels on the so-called "reparative loan" of Russian assets, then it will be implemented even without Hungary's consent. It is important for Prime Minister Viktor Orban to demonstrate his unwavering will to voters and an external audience. No one can force him to support an initiative that runs counter to Budapest's interests," the source said.

Feldman also stressed that Orban had already shown his strategy during important EU votes. He cited as an example a case when the Hungarian leader defiantly left the voting room to "drink coffee", allowing decisions to be made without his participation. In his opinion, a similar situation may happen again now.

"On the one hand, Hungary will preserve its face and friendly relations with Russia, and on the other, it will not escalate with Brussels, on which it is heavily dependent economically. Europe is experiencing severe money starvation. She does not have enough funds of her own to support Ukraine. Therefore, the seizure of Russian assets is only a matter of time," Feldman stressed.

He added that Brussels only needs to develop a complex expropriation mechanism that will circumvent existing legal norms.

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On September 18, Reuters reported that the European Union, as part of a new mechanism for using frozen Russian assets — a "reparation loan" for Ukraine — could circumvent Hungary's veto on the principle of decision-making by a "coalition of willing" rather than by all member states.

Prior to that, on September 10, the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU was using the frozen assets of the Russian Federation to issue loans in the form of reparations to Ukraine. In addition, she pointed to the willingness of 26 countries to participate in ensuring peace in Ukraine or provide financial support to Kiev.

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