Hungary’s veto stalls Ukraine funding, EU looks for quick fixes – Politico
Illustrative photo: EU tries to unblock the loan (Getty Images)
As is known, all 27 EU member states must approve the loan, which will be financed through joint borrowing. The pro-Russian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán initially agreed to this step, but later Budapest changed its position.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Brussels has various options for fulfilling its promise of financial aid to Ukraine. At the same time, EU diplomats acknowledge that there is currently no quick legal way to bypass Hungary’s veto.
Budapest links its stance to the dispute over the Druzhba pipeline, through which Russian oil is supplied to Central Europe. Hungary insists that Ukraine must supposedly resolve the issue with the damaged section of the pipeline before the EU considers providing funds to Kyiv.
Brussels is considering sending a mission to inspect the pipeline, which has been non-operational since early January. Hungary and Slovakia support this idea.
At the same time, Ukraine has stated that the pipeline was damaged by a Russian strike and that repairing it in a combat zone involves serious risks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv could agree to restore the pipeline if this becomes a condition for unblocking the aid.
"To be honest, I would (rather) not restore it. (But) since the EU loan for Ukraine for €90 billion will be blocked without the restoration of the oil pipeline, the restoration of Druzhba is possible within a month and a half," he said.
The EU hopes to find a solution by the leaders’ summit on March 19, where they plan to discuss the first payment to Ukraine at the beginning of April. So far, there is little hope for unblocking the funds, but the European Commission wants to at least do something.
Sabotage by Orbán
Pro-Russian Hungary under Orbán has blocked the EU from providing Ukraine with a €90 billion loan. Budapest is demanding the restoration of Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.
Because of Budapest’s sabotage, Ukraine could be left without funding as early as spring. On March 5, Zelenskyy said he would provide the address of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to the Ukrainian Armed Forces if Budapest continues to block the €90 billion loan.
In response, Orbán stated that he considers these words not as a threat to him personally, but to all of Hungary. After that, the ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin again dared to accuse Ukraine of allegedly blocking oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline and threatened to restore its operation by force.
