Hungary refuses to play by EU’s pro-Armenian rules Military aid to Yerevan blocked

Armenian media have erupted in outrage over Hungary's decision to block the European Union's allocation of an additional €20 million in so-called “non-lethal” military aid to Armenia through the much-criticised European Peace Facility (EPF).

Hungary first exercised its veto power over military financing for Armenia back in 2024, later lifting it in exchange for equal assistance to Azerbaijan. This time, however, Budapest is blocking the tranche for a second time, refusing to support the new initiative unless the principle of balance is upheld.

"We believe that if Armenia receives a €10 million aid package from the European Peace Facility, the same amount should be provided to Azerbaijan," stated Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, at that time.

Radio Free Europe, citing diplomatic sources in Brussels, reports that over the past six weeks, Hungary has blocked the European Union's provision of €10 million in military aid to Armenia. The €10 million tranche for Armenia was supposed to be allocated from the European Peace Facility (EPF) for sending military assistance outside the EU bloc.

The military support for Armenia from the European Peace Facility (EPF) was proposed by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, who visited Yerevan earlier this month.

Armenian media report that in July of last year, Armenia received its first-ever military aid from the EU, amounting to €10 million. This aid was supposedly planned to be used over the next two and a half years to establish a field hospital and auxiliary facilities for an Armenian army unit of up to battalion size.

The EPF is formally intended to strengthen the defence capabilities of countries outside the EU, prevent conflicts, and promote peace. In practice, however, the EPF has turned into a financial tool for creating points of tension in the South Caucasus.

The European Peace Facility (EPF) was established by the European Union in 2021 with a budget of €5.6 billion through 2027. Essentially, it is a scaled-up version of previous military aid mechanisms, such as the "African Peace Facility."

As reported earlier by Caliber.Az, the fund is intended to provide military assistance to foreign entities. However, in practice, it has not contributed to solving any security issues.

In contrast, France — one of the leading EU members and a key ally of Armenia — has facilitated the supply of arms to Yerevan through the EPF. This fact highlights the double standards of Brussels, which Hungary opposes by blocking financial transfers to Armenia from the EPF.

The Hungarian government fully understands that the financial injections from the so-called European Peace Facility are not intended to maintain stability but rather to destabilise the region.

This pragmatic approach by Budapest clearly confirms the EU's double standards and its commitment to the principles of international law, which the Old Continent often appeals to — and increasingly misapplies. This is a key factor supporting Hungary's just stance regarding Azerbaijan. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Hungary is also involved in the process of rebuilding the Karabakh region — a territory fully reclaimed by Azerbaijan in 2023.

The strategic partnership between Baku and Budapest was initiated in November 2014 during a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. As a result of the meeting, the two sides signed a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Hungary.

It is noteworthy that Budapest actively participates in the work of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS). In November 2024, during the OTS summit in Bishkek, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was awarded the "Supreme Order of the Turkic World" for his significant contribution to strengthening the unity of the Turkic world. It is worth remembering that Hungary is an observer state in the OTS, alongside Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Therefore, Viktor Orbán’s participation in the recent Antalya Diplomatic Forum was a natural development.

Naturally, Hungary's rapprochement with Turkic states has caused dissatisfaction within the EU and created additional challenges for Budapest. A prime example of this is Orbán's participation in the informal OTS summit in Azerbaijan in July 2024.

The then High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s participation in the summit in Shusha was purely within the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS). He pointed out that Hungary had not received a mandate from the EU to promote relations with the OTS.

However, this fact did not become an obstacle for Hungary in maintaining friendly ties with Azerbaijan and other Turkic world countries, further confirming Budapest’s independent foreign policy course — both in general and within the EU framework.

Hungary’s strong criticism of the European Parliament (EP), which openly supports a pro-Armenian stance, is also logical. In October of last year, Hungary condemned the irresponsible and one-sided EP resolution RC-B10-0133/2024, which called for reducing diplomatic channels with Baku and suspending the "Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Energy Partnership" signed by Azerbaijan and the European Union in 2022.

"Since Hungary is committed to maintaining communication channels, we are concerned about such developments and would like to emphasise that a solution ensuring the long-term security of the region cannot be found without the participation of both sides. The Hungarian government is a strong supporter of the development of the partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan, and therefore condemns yet another irresponsible and one-sided resolution adopted by the European Parliament," stated Hungary’s Secretary of State for Security Policy and Energy Security, Péter Sztaray, at that time.

Budapest’s fair position is not only due to Hungary being a friendly country to Azerbaijan. It is also significant that Hungary is one of the few European countries that advocates for peace rather than war. This is where the approaches of Baku and Budapest align, which makes the two countries close within the framework of a strategic partnership.

"Hungary is our number one partner in the European Union, and in some cases, when certain unfounded accusations are leveled against Azerbaijan, Hungary is the first to come to our defense. I am also aware that Hungary is also facing pressure from some European countries because of this. However, Hungary's principled position, the fact that it is on the side of right and justice and respects international law greatly enhances its international reputation," said President Ilham Aliyev during a meeting with the heads of parliaments of the TURKPA member states.

There is nothing more to add to President Aliyev’s well-founded assessment of our friendly partner, Hungary.