European leaders express frustration over Hungary’s blockade of Ukraine loan
Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán stated that “no money” for Ukraine will be released until pipeline flows are resumed, causing frustration among European leaders.
European leaders are increasingly frustrated with Hungary’s stance, with Finnish PM Petteri Orpo accusing Orbán of using Ukraine to bolster his election campaign.
European leaders are urging a resolution on Ukraine’s funding before the next scheduled summit, amid ongoing tensions between Hungary and Ukraine regarding pipeline access.
Briefing summary
The European Commission announced that Ukraine has agreed to an external inspection to appease Hungarian concerns, yet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán insisted there would be “no money” for Ukraine until specific conditions are met.
Frustration among European leaders grew as Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo accused Orbán of using Ukraine as leverage for political gain. Orbán’s actions breached cooperative principles, according to European Council President António Costa.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko maintained a positive outlook for securing a loan, urging for discussions on reparations. He dismissed suggestions of giving up the reparations loan as Ukraine seeks durable financial support.
Ukraine finance minister laments ‘bad news from Brussels‘ as Hungary keeps veto on loan
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“Definitely not welcomed news from Brussels,” he told EU News Special Report on Thursday. “But I am confident that sooner rather than later we will secure this loan.”
In the run up to the summit, the European Commission said Ukraine had agreed to an external inspection in an effort to win over the Hungarians. But Orbán told reporters in Brussels there will be “no money” for Ukraine until flows resume.
“It’s not a joke; it’s not a political game. Zelenskyy should understand that!” he told reporters in Brussels Thursday. The two leaders have clashed for months all practically all subjects, from Ukraine’s accession to the EU to sanctions on Russia.
“We are doing the best we can,” Marchenko said, while refusing to criticise Hungary openly or its politics. “I don’t want to comment on anything that could question our credibility or give additional arguments to our opponents.”
Meanwhile, European leaders expressed frustration both privately and publicly at the impasse. On his way to the meeting, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters Orbán is instrumentalising the pipeline and vilifying Ukraine for political reasons.
“He is using Ukraine as a weapon in his election campaign. It is not good. We had a deal. And I think he has betrayed us,” Orpo said in an unusual display of frustration.
A European diplomat told EU News that the exchange among leaders, which lasted about 90 minutes, was severe. European Council President António Costa told the room that leaders had made a deal and accused Orbán of breaching the principle of good faith binding all EU member states on the basis of “sincere cooperation.”
Still, leaders agree a solution must be found as there is “no plan B” and there is no appetite to reopen a discussion of seizing Russia’s frozen assets to finance Ukraine. One diplomat told EU News that option was “politically buried” in December.
Marchenko disagreed.
“We are ready to open again this discussion,” he said. “In December, this intermediary step to provide €90 billion loan was a good signal. But the best signal would be the reparation loan. It is absolutely needed as Russia must definitely pay for the damage.”
“We have not (given up) on the reparations loan. Of course not,” Marchenko added.
Watch the full interview with Ukrainian finance minister Serhiy Marchenko across all EU News platforms, euronews.com and YouTube.