Hungary to block a key EU loan to Ukraine over oil flow
Hungary will block a planned 90 billion euro (A$150 billion) European Union loan to Ukraine until Russian oil resumes its flow through the Druzhba pipeline, the Hungarian foreign minister said.
Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been disrupted since January 27 after Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone attack damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude from Ukrainian territory to Central Europe.
Hungary and Slovakia, both of which received temporary exemptions from EU policy banning imports of Russian oil, accused Ukraine – without providing evidence – of deliberately cutting off supplies.
In a video posted on social media on Friday evening, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukraine of “blackmailing” Hungary by not resuming oil shipments.
He said his government would block the massive interest-free loan the EU approved in December to help Kiev meet its military and economic needs for the next two years.
“We will not give in to this blackmail. We do not support Ukraine’s war, we will not pay the price,” Szijjártó said.
“As long as Ukraine blocks the resumption of oil supplies to Hungary, Hungary will also block important and positive decisions of the European Union for Ukraine.”
Hungary’s decision to block major financing to Ukraine comes two days after it suspended diesel shipments to its embattled neighbor until oil resumes flows from Druzhba, and just days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Since Moscow launched a war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, nearly every country in Europe has significantly reduced or completely stopped energy imports from Russia.
However, Hungary, a member of the EU and NATO, continued and even increased its oil and gas supplies from Russia.
Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long argued that Russian fossil fuels are indispensable to its economy and that switching to energy from elsewhere would lead to economic collapse; Some experts also oppose this claim.
Widely seen as the Kremlin’s biggest defender in the EU, Orbán has fiercely opposed the bloc’s efforts to impose sanctions on Moscow over its invasion and strongly condemned attempts to hit Russia’s energy revenues that help finance the war.
His government has frequently threatened to veto EU efforts to aid Ukraine.
All 27 countries of the EU did not agree to participate in the 90 billion euro ($150 billion) loan package for Ukraine.
Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic opposed the plan, but an agreement was reached that they would not block the loan and promised protection against any financial downside.
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