BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders are expected to put intense pressure on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday to lift a blockade on a vital 90 billion euro ($103 billion) EU loan to Ukraine to continue fighting Russia’s incursion.
EU leaders agreed to the loan in December, but Orban, who maintains friendly relations with Russia and has repeatedly clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, blocked its implementation last month, citing disputes over war-damaged pipelines.
The Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia, was damaged in a Russian attack in January, officials said. Ukraine says repairs will take some time, but Hungary insists it is ready to operate.
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, other leaders of the 27-nation bloc are expected to point to a deal Zelensky struck this week to repair the pipeline with EU technical help and funding and urge Orban to drop his opposition to the loan, diplomats said.
Credibility of Kyiv and EU leaders at risk
Orban’s stance has sparked anger among other EU leaders as funding shortfalls are expected within weeks if Kyiv does not receive new funding, and his about-face has raised questions about the credibility of the European Council, the bloc’s top decision-making body.
Diplomats say Orban, a nationalist ally of U.S. President Donald Trump in his tough re-election campaign, has often been a thorn in the side of mainstream EU politicians but has never before reneged on a deal struck by EU leaders.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday: “In December we took a political decision – a political decision at the level of the European Council. Now it is time to deliver on the promise.”
“I don’t want to imagine a situation where the EU takes some decision at the level of the European Council, at the level of the 27 leaders, and this political decision is not implemented,” he told an event in Brussels hosted by the European Policy Center think tank.
Many EU officials are particularly angry at Orban’s blockade because he joins the Czech Republic and Slovakia in opting out of loan payments.
However, Orban has so far shown no sign of backing down. “No oil delivered? No money. Simple as that,” he posted on X on Tuesday.
(1 USD = 0.8726 Euro)
(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Stephen Coates)
