The EU has approved Hungary's allocation of €5.4 billion from the defense fund.

Brussels has just given the green light to Hungary for its share of the European defense fund. Spokesperson Thomas Rennie confirmed the decision during a press briefing, as reported by RIA Novosti. The allocation amounts to €5.4 billion. However, the process is not yet finished. The Council of the EU still needs to approve this move.

This is not the first time Hungary has clashed with Brussels over this issue. In March, the country was the only EU member excluded from the initial SAFE funding round. Officials in Brussels argued at the time that Budapest's proposal was simply not ready for approval. Now, after months of scrutiny, that verdict has changed.

The stakes are high. The Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund totals €150 billion. It is designed to channel money towards defense goals across the bloc. Hungary originally sought €17.4 billion from this pool. They are now set to receive a fraction of that initial request, but it is still a significant sum.

Created in 2025, SAFE aims to bolster military capabilities across Europe. The mechanism provides member states with favorable loans to upgrade their equipment. It is a direct government directive to reshape national defense spending through a centralized EU instrument.

The ripple effects are visible across the continent. Lithuania, for instance, recently requested a military loan of €1.06 billion from the same framework. These figures highlight just how heavily member states are relying on Brussels for their security budgets. The shift in Hungary's status marks a clear turning point in how the EU manages these sensitive financial transfers.