With Viktor Orban Gone, Hungary Lifts Veto For EU To Approve $106B Ukraine Loan

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday approved a 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years after oil began flowing through a key pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, ending months of political stalemate.

The EU also approved new sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine. The measures were drawn up earlier this year and were due to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move.

Hungary and Slovakia is locked down One fight Since Russia’s oil shipments to two EU countries were halted in January, pipeline damaged. Ukrainian officials blamed the damage on Russian drone strikes. Both countries confirmed the resumption of deliveries on Thursday.

Ukraine desperately needs the loan package to shore up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay. Hungary angered its EU partners by rejecting an agreement on funding in December. The credits are expected to become available in the coming weeks and months.

“Promised, fulfilled, implemented,” European Council President António Costa said on social media. A few hours later, when he arrived to chair a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, Costa told reporters that the priority should now be to advance Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc.

Standing next to him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his European partners for their support. “We will work to ensure that the funds are delivered as soon as possible,” he said. “This, of course, will first of all strengthen our army, Ukrainian forces and allow us to increase production.”

The political green light for the loan package came after Russian oil started flowing again to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline passing through Ukraine. Populist Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico welcomed this development as “good news”.

“I hope a serious relationship has been established between Ukraine and the European Union,” Fico said.

Hungarian energy group MOL said it “received crude oil from Fényeslitke and Budkovce pump stations early on Thursday. Crude oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline system have resumed to Hungary and Slovakia after a break of nearly three months.”

Ukraine and most of its European supporters oppose imports of Russian oil, which helps finance Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, which is in its fifth year. But unlike the rest of the European Union, Hungary and Slovakia are still dependent on Russia for their energy needs.

Nationalist Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbanwho was it recently defeated In one election he accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying repairs; Zelenskyy denied this claim.

Fico said Thursday he still did not believe the pipeline was damaged and claimed the pipeline and oil were “being used in the current geopolitical war.”

The debate has raised even more troubling questions about the decision-making process in the EU, where national interests can often be held hostage when a unanimous vote is required. Many senior officials have called for greater majority voting in recent months.

The 27-nation bloc initially aimed to: use frozen Russian assets as collateral for the loan. However, this option was blocked by Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held.

Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia in December agreed not to stop The three countries banned their EU partners from borrowing from international markets unless they were forced to participate in the programme.

However orbanRepeatedly blocking EU aid to Ukraine, furious They later abandoned this agreement due to the pipeline dispute and joined 24 other countries as campaigns heated up before the April 12 elections. lost in landslide.

The EU has also been trying to implement a new set of measures since February. Sanctions against Russia He was trying to undermine the war effort, but Hungary and Slovakia were also blocking these measures because of their oil fight.

More than 40 ships are thought to belong to Russia shadow fleet Those carrying smuggled oil were targeted.

Oil revenue is The cornerstone of the Russian economyIt allows Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for ordinary people and currency collapse.

Numerous banks were targeted and Europeans were banned from using Russian cryptocurrency.

The freeze of assets of about 60 “institutions” (usually corporations, government agencies, banks or other entities) adds to a growing list of more than 2,600 Russian officials and entities already under sanction, including Putin, his political associates, oligarchs and dozens of lawmakers.

Spike reported from Budapest. Janicek reported from Prague.