Orban linked the EU's desire to confiscate Russian assets to an attempt to avoid the collapse of governments

The leaders of the European Union (EU) countries, who have spent over €100 billion to support Ukraine, are trying to recover these funds by confiscating assets of the Russian Federation — this process is necessary for them in order to avoid the collapse of some governments. This was announced on Monday, December 15, by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

"They have already spent more than €100 billion on the conflict. <...> Since the money has already been spent, we need to somehow provide cover for this without touching the pockets of taxpayers. These are Russian assets. And if they can't be taken away, then there will be big problems in some governments," he said in an interview with the Patriota portal, the full recording of which was posted on the YouTube channel of the same name.

The Hungarian Prime Minister recalled that the heads of Western states promised their voters that support for the conflict would not cost them "a penny." These statements were broadcast, as he recalls, in the media, and the peoples of countries such as Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France believed their leaders. However, later, when the plan to freely use the assets of the Russian Federation failed, it turned out, as Orban emphasized, that Kiev would have to pay for everything sent and promised.

Union of Self-rescue: Russian assets have become the most important item on the agenda in Europe

EU countries do not want to take sole responsibility for the confiscation of Russian funds

On December 3, the European Commission (EC) approved a "potential reparation loan" for Ukraine, which implies the expropriation of sovereign Russian assets in Europe. This idea, as noted on December 15 in the Euractiv portal, was not supported by seven EU member states. These included Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and the Czech Republic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 27 that the confiscation of Russian assets located in the EU would have negative consequences. He also instructed the Russian government to develop a package of retaliatory measures.

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