Hungarian PM threatens to block EU’s seven-year budget over frozen funds

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has issued a stark warning to the European Union, threatening to block the approval of the EU’s new seven-year budget unless Brussels releases all suspended funds earmarked for Hungary.

Speaking at a summer university in Baile Tusnad, Romania, Orbán emphasised the need for unanimity among EU member states to approve the €2 trillion budget for 2028-2034, Caliber.Az reports, citing Euractiv. 

“The approval of the new seven-year budget requires unanimity and until we get the remaining [frozen] funds, there won't be a new EU budget either,” he said.

Orbán’s nationalist government has long clashed with Brussels on multiple issues including migration policy, LGBTQ rights, and concerns about democratic backsliding in Hungary. The European Commission has suspended billions of euros in funding amid an ongoing rule-of-law dispute.

In his speech, Orbán also criticised the EU’s support for Ukraine and accused Brussels of plotting to install a “pro-Ukraine and pro-Brussels government” in Hungary ahead of next year’s national elections.

Turning to international relations, the prime minister condemned EU leaders for risking a trade war with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

 “The current leadership of the EU will always be the last to sign deals with the United States and always the worst deals,” Orbán said, calling for a change in the bloc’s leadership.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is scheduled to meet Trump on July 27 in Scotland, aiming to secure a trade agreement.

Meanwhile, Orbán faces mounting opposition ahead of Hungary’s 2026 elections. Peter Magyar, leader of the centre-right Tisza party, spoke at a rally on July 26, pledging to maintain Hungary’s place in the EU and NATO and promising to unlock all suspended EU funds if his party wins.

“Hungary is an EU member and our relations as allies cannot be built on a political style of putting a spoke in the wheel,” Magyar said. While his party does not support the proposed EU budget in its current form, Magyar expressed openness to negotiations.

“We need to make a clear and firm decision that our place has been and will be in Europe,” he added, also criticising Orbán’s close ties with Russia.

Hungary’s political future and its relationship with the EU remain uncertain amid growing economic challenges and increasing political polarisation.

By Sabina Mammadli