Hungary remains the only EU member state that has not yet received approval for its loan plan under the SAFE defense program. It is worth over 17 billion euros. Bulgaria received approval back in January.
Hungary remains the only EU member state that has not yet received approval for the loan plan under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defense program, financed with European funds. The Hungarian application is for a loan worth 17.4 billion euros.
The European Commission announced on Wednesday, March 25, that it had approved the applications of France (15 billion euros) and the Czech Republic (2 billion euros). These were the last two plans from the 19 member states that had applied for favorable loans under the SAFE program, introduced last year. It aims to strengthen the defense industry and military readiness across the EU to counter the threat from Russia. Under the plan, member states benefit from better financing conditions than when borrowing individually from capital markets.
Bulgaria has requested 3.2 billion euros
Bulgaria was one of the first countries to receive approval from Brussels for a loan under the SAFE mechanism. Sofia requested over 3.2 billion euros to modernize its armed forces. On January 15, 2026, the defense plans of Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Romania also received approval along with the Bulgarian application.
Brussels' official argument for the lack of approval of the Hungarian plan is "delay in assessment". However, it is assumed that the real reason is different. According to the correspondent of the Polish radio station RMF24 Katarzyna Szymanska-Borginon, who received information from sources in diplomatic circles in Brussels, the EC does not want to grant this loan because Viktor Orbán "violates the principle of loyal cooperation" and blocks financing for Ukraine. We are talking about the loan for Kiev in the amount of 90 billion euros, although it had supported it at the meeting of the European Council in December 2025. In Budapest, they say that they will not lift their veto until Ukraine restores the transit of Russian oil through the "Druzhba" pipeline.
"It is difficult for the EC to agree to billions of euros for Viktor Orbán while he violates the principle of "loyal cooperation" and blocked the money for a country that is fighting Russia," an EU diplomat told the RMF24 correspondent.
According to information from RMF24, the European Commission had planned to freeze Budapest's application for the SAFE program as early as February 2026. Brussels hopes that after the April elections in Hungary, Orban can vacate the post of prime minister.
Hungary's relations with the EU are at their lowest point
Relations between Budapest and Brussels have been deteriorating recently. Last weekend, the "Washington Post" published reports that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó exchanged sensitive information with the Kremlin during confidential EU meetings dedicated to foreign policy.
Brussels described the accusations as "extremely worrying" and called on Hungary to provide a quick explanation. Szijjarto described the claims as "conspiracy theories" and "fake news". And Viktor Orbán said that his foreign minister's phone calls had been tapped.