EU General Court rejects Hungary challenge over Russian asset profits
The EU General Court dismissed Hungary’s challenge to a decision allocating profits generated by frozen Russian assets to military support for Ukraine, ruling that the matter falls outside EU courts’ jurisdiction.
LUXEMBOURG, September 9, 2026 — The European Union’s General Court has dismissed Hungary’s legal challenge against a European Peace Facility decision allocating the first installment of extraordinary revenues generated from frozen Russian assets to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The court ruled that EU courts do not have jurisdiction to examine the legality of the decision because it is directly related to political or strategic choices made under the bloc’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, or CFSP. The dispute stems from two Council decisions adopted on May 21, 2024, establishing rules for directing profits generated by extraordinary cash balances arising from frozen Russian assets toward Ukraine and determining how those amounts would be allocated. Hungary supported the first decision but used a “constructive abstention” on the second, allowing it to be adopted without Hungary voting in favor.
On June 21, 2024, the EPF Committee approved the allocation of the first installment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The committee determined that Hungary could not participate in the vote because of its earlier constructive abstention. Hungary subsequently sought to annul the decision and the minutes recording its adoption. Budapest argued that the procedure breached applicable voting rules and failed to respect EU principles concerning the rule of law, equality among member states and democratic functioning. The General Court did not rule on the merits of those claims. Instead, it concluded that the contested decision involved political or strategic CFSP choices, including determining the allocation of funds for equipment “of a military nature” for Ukrainian forces and selecting the assistance measure receiving the money. Those features placed the dispute outside the EU judiciary’s jurisdiction, the court said.
Hungary may appeal the judgment to the EU Court of Justice on points of law within two months and 10 days of notification of the decision.
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