The vast majority of Hungarians agree with the position expressed in the national consultation: two-thirds (69 percent) are against providing financial support to Ukraine until Hungary receives the EU funds it is entitled to, and three-quarters (74 percent) are against the idea of financing Ukraine’s armament with an additional EUR 20 billion.
For the thirteenth occasion since 2010, the Hungarian government has launched a national consultation in order to arm itself with the Hungarian people’s opinion on the main issues under debate with the European Commission. Two of the eleven questions in the consultation are related to Ukraine’s financial support. EU leaders in Brussels want to give Ukraine an additional EUR 50 billion in aid, which the Hungarian government will not support until Hungary receives the EU funds it is entitled to. On top of that, the EU would also provide an additional EUR 20 billion to arm Ukraine. Contrary to this plan, the Hungarian government would prefer to support initiatives to promote a ceasefire. It is important to know what Hungarians think about these issues, so the Nézőpont Institute has conducted a survey to find out whether Hungarians agree or disagree with these EU proposals.
While EU leaders in Brussels want an extra contribution of EUR 50 billion from Member States to support Ukraine, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of Hungarians do not agree with any further financial support until Hungary gains access to the EU funds, and only a fifth (22 percent) would find this acceptable.
It is not surprising that pro-government voters are united on the issue (94 percent disagree), whereas left-wing voters are divided on this issue as well. Four out of ten (38 percent) agree with the government’s position, and only a few more (45 percent) would support further financing Ukraine even at the cost of giving up Hungarian money. Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland Movement) voters are less divided on the issue, the majority of them (81 percent) are against the Brussels proposal, while 15 percent agree with it.
There are more people in all major social groups who are against the financing of Ukraine, including those living in the capital (46 percent) and those with higher education (52 percent).
Three-quarters of Hungarians (74 percent) oppose the idea that EU Member States should provide an additional EUR 20 billion to arm Ukraine, and just under a fifth (19 percent) agree with this proposal. However, not only pro-government voters (95 percent) agree with the Hungarian government’s pro-peace stance, but also a relative majority of left-wing voters (48 percent) as well, contrary to a minority of left-wingers (41 percent) who agree with the Brussels proposal. It is also an unpopular proposal among Mi Hazánk (Our Homeland Movement) voters, 89 percent of them are against it and only 7 percent are in favour of purchasing weapons.
Even among those with higher education (58 percent) and those living in the capital (54 percent), who are generally more supportive of the EU’s position than others, there is a majority of those who oppose the financing of armaments; and on this issue there is no major social group that agrees with the need to further finance war efforts.
Methodology
The latest opinion-poll of the Nézőpont Institute was conducted between 20 and 22 of November, 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 participate in the elections.