Hungary blocked the adoption of financial changes to the EU budget, which effectively stopped the process of allocating a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine. It was precisely because of Budapest’s position that it was not possible to agree on one of the three key documents necessary to launch financing, namely changes to the EU’s long-term financial framework for 2021–2027.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Budapest would continue to block the 90 billion euro EU auxiliary loan to Ukraine until the pumping of oil to Hungary through the Druzhba oil pipeline is resumed. He wrote about this on the social network X.
According to Szijjarto, Ukraine is allegedly putting pressure on Hungary and has specifically limited the transportation of oil through the Druzhba pipeline in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition in order to create supply disruptions and raise fuel prices before the elections.
“Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary”, he stressed.
Szijjarto also claims that Kyiv allegedly violated the association agreement with the EU when it blocked the transit of Russian oil through the aforementioned pipeline. At the same time, Szijjártó did not explain what exactly constitutes a violation of the agreements and did not provide specific legal details.
The fact that Russia has launched a full-scale war against Ukraine and regularly shelling energy infrastructure, in particular facilities related to the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline, was not mentioned in Szijjártó’s statement.
To provide Ukraine with 90 billion euros for 2026–2027, the EU had to approve three legislative acts: on enhanced cooperation to create credit support for Ukraine for 2026 and 2027, updating the Ukraine Facility program, and correcting the EU’s long-term budget. All documents have already been supported by the European Parliament, and the final decision was to be adopted by the EU Council. The first two acts can be approved by a qualified majority, while budgetary changes require full unanimity of member states. It was this condition that Hungary did not support on Friday, February 20.
The package of documents was planned to be signed on February 24, symbolically on the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
