Hungary keeps blocking EU loan for Ukraine at Brussels summit
The Facts
- EU leaders met in Brussels on March 19 to discuss the Iran war, energy prices, migration, and a loan for Ukraine that Hungary was blocking.
- Hungary continued to block a €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine at the summit.
- The loan package had been approved by EU leaders in December 2025.
- Orbán linked Hungary’s support for the loan to the restoration of oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline.
- Only 25 of the EU’s 27 leaders endorsed summit conclusions reaffirming their intent to begin disbursing the funds in April.
- The two holdouts on the summit conclusions were Budapest and Bratislava, according to diplomats.
- EU leaders publicly criticized Orbán’s veto, accusing him of using the Ukraine loan in domestic politics.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would still deliver the loan package despite Hungary’s opposition.
Context
Why is Hungary blocking the Ukraine loan?
Orbán says Hungary will not back the loan until oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline are restored, arguing that Hungary’s oil supply has been disrupted ANSA.it,IL TEMPO,Investing.com.
Did the EU already agree to support Ukraine financially?
Yes. EU leaders approved the €90 billion support package in December 2025, and summit conclusions in March reaffirmed the bloc’s intent to start disbursing the funds in April ANSA.it,Українська …,Daily Mail.
What happens if the impasse continues?
Sources say EU officials are discussing alternatives, and von der Leyen said the money would be delivered “one way or the other,” though the loan remained blocked at the summit Українська …,Daily Mail.
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