Hungarian foreign minister accuses Ukraine of sabotage and says his country will block financial assistance for Kyiv until transit of Russian oil resumes. Ahead of a key election, Budapest ups its anti-Ukraine rhetoric.Hungary said it will block a €90 billion emergency loan for Ukraine as it accused the war-torn country of “blackmail” over a damaged pipeline used for the transit of Russian oil, escalating a confrontation ahead of a general election in April.Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Kyiv, Brussels and opposition forces were working in coordination to disrupt energy flows for political reasons ahead of a key vote in which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is trailing in polls by double digits.
“We are blocking the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes,” Szijjártó said in a social media post on Friday.
“Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to create supply disruptions in Hungary and push fuel prices higher before the elections,” which are set to take place on April 12.Budapest negotiated an exemption alongside Slovakia and the Czech Republic at a summit in December, which means the three countries are exempted from contributing financially to the loan financed by common debt backed by the EU budget.
The legislative piece blocked by Hungary is subject to unanimity because it amends the EU budget rules to allow borrowing for Ukraine, a non-EU member.
The other two regulations, outlining the structure and conditions for the assistance, were approved on Friday without any issues, as they only needed a qualified majority.
Ambassadors intend to revert to the matter as soon as the Hungarian reserve is lifted, which is often the case as Budapest tries to negotiate last-minute concessions.
The three-part package has already been approved by the European Parliament and was pending final approval by member states. It is extremely rare for legislation to be derailed this late in the process, particularly after EU leaders themselves agreed to it.
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