EU summit fails to rally Orban behind stalled Ukraine loan

EU leaders failed to persuade Hungary’s Viktor Orban to lift his blockade on a huge loan to support Ukraine’s war effort at summit talks on Thursday, leaving much-needed financing uncertain.

The nationalist prime minister, Moscow’s closest partner in the bloc, has long resisted helping Kiev repel Russia’s invasion, halting EU aid and repeated sanctions.

This time, Orban is holding a 90 billion euro ($104 billion) loan as leverage in a fight over damage to a pipeline through Ukraine that is blocking the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.

“Hungary’s position is very simple. We are ready to support Ukraine when we get our oil, which is blocked by them,” Orban said upon arriving at the summit, addressed by Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky via video link. he said.

Orban has made clear that he plans to act harshly, infuriating EU leaders, as he turns to anti-EU and anti-Ukraine rhetoric ahead of contentious national elections on April 12.

And despite intense pressure from his Brussels counterparts, he refused to back down.

“There is no movement from Orban,” summarized an EU diplomat after the Ukraine talks ended. “We all know this has to do with elections; we’re going to have to get creative.”

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, had previously warned that it was “really time” to show support for Ukraine by providing funding for this year and next, which the Hungarian leader signed with the rest of the bloc in December.

But only 25 of the bloc’s 27 leaders confirmed Thursday’s summit results, confirming their intention to start distributing funds next month; Diplomats confirmed that these stops were in Budapest and Bratislava.

Leaders decided to revisit the issue, which requires unanimity, at the next meeting scheduled for the end of April.

– The ‘weapon’ of choice –

At the root of this dispute is a weeks-long dispute in which landlocked Hungary and Slovakia accused Ukraine of delaying pipeline repairs. Zelensky, on the other hand, described associating the issue with support for Kiev’s war effort as “blackmail”.

The European Commission this week moved to remedy the situation by sending a team to help reorganize the oil transit, but Orban described the plan as a “fairy tale”.

“We are waiting for oil,” Orban told reporters, describing the issue as “existential” for Hungary.

Many of his counterparts see the bloc as directly motivated by national politics.

“He is using Ukraine as a weapon in the election campaign and that is not a good thing. We had an agreement,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters in Brussels.

Belgian Bart de Wever likewise described the U-turn as “unacceptable”, saying Orban’s veto appeared to be “part of the election campaign”.

– Deficiency –

This is a well-worn routine in Brussels, where Orban has opposed numerous decisions on Ukraine and ultimately found solutions; In the famous case of Orban walking out of the room while the bloc was approving the start of membership talks with Kiev.

However, it remains unclear when it might wink this time.

“He doesn’t look like he’s ready to be convinced,” a second EU diplomat said after the talks.

Complicating matters further, leaders are wary of giving Orban, who is trailing his main rival Peter Magyar in the election polls, a chance to boost his maverick image on the EU stage by openly opposing him.

Facing a budget deficit four years after the start of the war, it is estimated that Kiev will need an infusion of funds in early May; This points to the decision to release the EU loan by mid-April.

Failure to resolve the impasse could result in the matter being postponed until after the vote in Hungary, regardless of the outcome.

Can Ukraine hold out until then? EU diplomats say this is unclear.

bur-ec/st