Headlines
Hungary protests 'unlawful' step by EU to freeze Russian assets, Orban says
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 12, 2025
Global Banking and Finance Review
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Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 12, 2025
BUDAPEST, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Hungary protests against what it calls an "unlawful" step planned by European Union governments to freeze Russian assets indefinitely using a qualified majority vote, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a Facebook post on Friday.
"Brussels will step over the Rubicon today, with a written voting starting which will cause irreparable damage to the Union," Orban said. "Hungary protests the decision and will do its best to restore a lawful situation."
An agreement to freeze the Russian assets indefinitely would eliminate a risk to the plan of using them to finance Ukraine because Moscow-friendly Hungary and Slovakia would no longer have the power to veto an extension of the freeze every six months as now.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Asset freezing is a legal process where an individual's or entity's assets are temporarily restricted from being accessed or transferred, often due to legal or regulatory actions.
Freezing Russian assets is intended to prevent the use of those assets for financing activities that may be deemed harmful or unlawful, particularly in the context of international sanctions.
A veto is the power of an individual or group to reject or prohibit a decision or proposal made by a legislative body, often requiring a supermajority to override.
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