EU envoys meet over Ukraine loan delay
European Union envoys gathered on Wednesday with the majority cautiously optimistic that a massive loan to help meet Ukraine’s military and financial needs for the next two years may soon be approved after months of deadlock.
At a meeting in Brussels, the envoys assessed whether Hungary might lift its veto on the 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) loan package, which Ukraine desperately needs to prop up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay.
Hungary has insisted that it must start receiving supplies of Russian oil again via Ukraine before it will unblock the funds. Hungary and Slovakia rely on Russian oil to meet their energy needs.
They have both accused Ukraine of failing to repair a damaged pipeline that ships the oil.
Ukraine and most of its European backers oppose imports of Russian oil, which have helped to fund President Vladimir Putin’s war, now in its fifth year.
In a post on social media, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine has now completed repairs on the Druzhba pipeline.
He said it “was damaged by a Russian strike” but “the pipeline can resume operation.”
But outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has signalled that he would only approve the Ukraine loans once the oil starts flowing again, so the envoys are awaiting a clear signal from Budapest that his veto will be lifted.
Orban, who has repeatedly blocked EU aid to Ukraine, lost an election on April 12 and is due to leave office next month, to be replaced by the pro-European opposition leader Peter Magyar.
Cyprus, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, intends to launch a written procedure to approve the final piece of the puzzle in the loan package.
That would require Hungary or any other objecting nation to state in writing why they oppose it.
