Hungary v Council – European court rejects Hungary’s challenge to use of profits on Russian assets for Ukraine saying it lacks jurisdiction

14 September 2026

The General Court of the EU has dismissed Hungary’s challenge to a European Peace Facility (EPF) decision allocating profits generated from frozen Russian central bank assets to military support for Ukraine – Hungary v Council of the EU and EPF Committee Case T-457/24. 10 member states intervened in support of the Council, as did the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Russian Central Bank assets in the EU were frozen in 2022. In 2024, the Council adopted a decision providing that part of the profits on Russian Central Bank funds would be transferred to the EPF for the benefit of Ukraine. Hungary abstained when that decision was adopted. The EPF Committee decided that Member States that had abstained from voting on the Council decision could not participate in subsequent votes implementing it, and approved the use of the funds to finance military equipment for Ukraine. Hungary applied to the General Court of the EU to annul that decision, arguing that it retained the right to participate in the EPF Committee’s implementing decisions. It argued that the EPF disregarded the voting rules and the fundamental principles of EU law.

There is an interesting discussion in the judgment of jurisdiction and the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP, the EU’s framework for foreign policy and security measures, including sanctions, military assistance and other external action).  Under Article 24(1) TEU and Article 275 TFEU, EU courts do not have jurisdiction to review CFSP decisions, subject to limited exceptions. The General Court held that the decision formed part of the implementation of political and strategic choices within the CFSP. The Court distinguished the case from sanctions listing and delisting challenges, for which Article 275 TFEU expressly permits judicial review. It noted that Hungary’s challenge concerned the allocation of funds for military support to Ukraine, which it considered to be a political and strategic CFSP decision. Since the dispute did not fall within any of the exceptions to the jurisdictional limits set out in Article 275 TFEU, the Court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the case.