Hungary will support an EU loan for Ukraine in the amount of 90 billion euros if oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline is resumed, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on his Facebook page.
“We are blocking an EU loan for Ukraine in the amount of 90 billion euros until oil transit to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline is resumed“, the publication says.
He believes that Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by “obstructing oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition“. The diplomat claims that in this way Kiev is trying to disrupt supplies to Hungary and raise fuel prices before the elections.
“By blocking the transit of oil to Hungary through the “Druzhba“ pipeline, Ukraine is violating the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine, ignoring its obligations to the European Union. We will not succumb to this blackmail“, Szijjártó added.“
Earlier, the Financial Times, citing its sources, reported that the Hungarian ambassador to the EU had opposed the bloc's borrowing of 90 billion euros to help Ukraine. The decision requires unanimity of all 27 EU member states.
Last week, on February 11, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Mezzola announced that the European Parliament had approved a loan of 90 billion euros for Ukraine. 458 members voted “in favour“, 140 voted “against“ and 44 abstained.
However, this is only the first step in the decision-making process. In order for the first tranche to be transferred at the beginning of the second quarter of 2026, approval by the Council of the European Union is also required. The European Parliament stressed that the approval of the support package by the Council is a prerequisite for the start of financing.
Previously, the European Union discussed the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to finance aid to Ukraine.
Szijjártó said yesterday, quoted by BTA, that the European Union does not need Ukraine to guard its own borders against Russia.
"It is often said that Ukraine protects the EU. This is not true. Europe is protected by NATO, and Russia has not attacked a single EU member state. This is not our war. Ukraine is fighting for its own security," Szijjártó wrote on social media.
Earlier, Hungarian representatives, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, called on the European Union to stop funding and arming the Ukrainian army, saying that this did not correspond to Hungary's national interests.
Orbán also expressed disagreement with the idea of Ukraine's accession to the EU, arguing that this would not bring peace to the continent, but on the contrary - would increase the risk of military conflicts in Europe.