Eight out of ten Hungarians (77 percent) are against the idea of supporting Ukraine with an additional EUR 50 billion from EU Member States’ extra contributions. 64 percent of Hungarians oppose the European Commission’s plan even if it is not financed from EU funds entitled to Hungary.

The European Union has so far provided EUR 77 billion in aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, and the European Commission is now proposing to increase this by a further EUR 50 billion over the next four years. This money would have to be paid into the common budget by the Member States. The Nézőpont Institute has conducted a survey to find out whether Hungarians agree with the Commission’s proposal.

Around two-thirds (64 percent) of Hungarians oppose the European Commission’s proposal for additional payments, which would require EU Member States to provide an additional EUR 50 billion in aid over the next four years. Only 28 percent of Hungarians find this acceptable. At the same time, nearly half of those who support the Brussels plan (13 percent of Hungarians) reject financial aid to Ukraine if it would negatively affect Hungary’s access to EU funds. A total of three quarters of voters (77 percent) therefore do not consider it fair that the European Union would finance aid to Ukraine using the funds that Hungary is entitled to receive.

Half of left-wing voters (52 percent) agree with the Commission’s proposal demanding an additional payment, but more than a third (36 percent) reject it. Even 50 percent of left-wing voters would oppose it if the aid to Ukraine were to result in cutting off funds from Hungary.

Criticism over Ukraine’s financial support does not mean that Hungarians are against Ukraine. 88 percent of voters agree that our eastern neighbour needs an immediate ceasefire (3 percent were in favour of continuing the war) in order to end the senseless killing that has already claimed more than 200,000 lives.

Methodology

The latest opinion-poll of the Nézőpont Institute was conducted between 3 and 5 of July, 2023, by interviewing 1,000 respondents by phone. For all surveys, the sample is representative of the adult population (18 years and older) by gender, age, region, type of settlement and education. In case of a sample size of 1000 respondents and a confidence level of 95 percent, the sampling error is ± 3.16 percent. Respondent base = Hungarian voters, respondents who are willing to vote in the elections.

The Nézőpont Institute asked three questions in its survey: 1. “The European Commission has proposed that EU countries should provide an additional EUR 50 billion in aid to Ukraine over the next four years. Do you agree with this plan or not?” 2. “Do you agree with Ukraine’s financial support if at the same time Hungary does not have access to European Union funds?” 3. “Do you think an immediate ceasefire or the continuation of the war in Ukraine is the right thing to do?”