EU leaders left a summit in Brussels without resolving a bitter standoff after Hungary blocked the payout of a promised €90 billion loan to Ukraine, insisting the funds be tied to the restoration of Russian oil flows via the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who is campaigning for a fourth consecutive term in a general election on April 12, refused to approve conclusions that would allow the funds to be disbursed to Kyiv unless deliveries through the pipeline resume. The Druzhba line, which previously supplied Hungary and Slovakia under special exemptions to EU sanctions on Russian oil, has been offline since January after Ukraine said it was damaged in Russian attacks. Budapest has questioned that account and demanded an EU inspection and repair.
“We stood our ground,” Orbán said after a “tough debate,” accusing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “blackmailing us with oil” and insisting Hungarians were united in refusing the loan unless their energy needs were assured. “If there is oil, there will be money; if there is no oil, there is no money,” he said.
The move prompted sharp rebukes from other capitals. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would “find a way to pay out” the loan “one way or the other.” EU Council President António Costa declared that “no one can blackmail the European Council.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Orbán’s veto an unprecedented “act of serious disloyalty” that undermines the union’s cohesion.
Leaders instructed the European Commission to explore possible mechanisms to deliver the aid despite Budapest’s refusal, but no immediate technical fix was agreed at the summit. Twenty-five EU members who back the loan agreed to revisit the issue at the next European Council in late April, leaving open whether political developments — including the outcome of Hungary’s election, further progress on pipeline repairs, or shifts in the wider security context — might change the calculus.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing the summit by video link from Kyiv, described the €90 billion package as “critical.” He warned that delays put Ukraine’s solvency at risk and urged Europe to honor decisions already made. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was working with the EU to facilitate repair and restoration of the pipeline but lamented that the situation showed how difficult it can be for the EU to implement previously agreed decisions.
Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, who has also been critical of EU handling of the pipeline and faces his own domestic pressures, announced he would not support summit conclusions that “fully support Ukraine” because they did not address the Druzhba issue to his satisfaction. Fico said Slovakia had declared a state of emergency over oil shortages and that he had challenged leaders on why Kyiv had not allowed an immediate inspection and repair of the damaged pipeline.
The dispute underscored broader tensions between solidarity on Ukraine and national energy security concerns. Hungary and Slovakia had been granted derogations from the EU’s Russian oil ban because they are landlocked and historically dependent on pipeline deliveries; closing those exceptions ahead of agreed timetables would have major domestic implications.
Beyond Ukraine, the summit was dominated by fallout from the widening war in the Middle East. EU leaders issued a statement urging a moratorium on strikes against energy and water infrastructure and condemned Iran’s “indiscriminate” military strikes in the region. The European Council called for de-escalation, maximum restraint, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and full respect for international law.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was “no appetite” among leaders to expand an EU naval mission in the Red Sea — established in response to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping — into the Strait of Hormuz. Several European navies, however, signalled readiness to help ensure safe passage through the strait once a ceasefire or peace deal is reached, and key partners issued a joint statement indicating willingness to participate in “appropriate efforts” under an international mandate.
Economic and policy matters also featured at the summit. The European Central Bank held its key interest rate at 2%, warning that the conflict in Iran could materially affect near-term inflation through higher energy prices and that its medium-term impact would depend on the conflict’s intensity and duration. European Parliament trade committee members provisionally moved ahead with implementing a transatlantic trade deal with the US, conditioning progress on binding US commitments on tariffs for steel and aluminium products.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, highlighted talks on European competitiveness, energy market impacts from the Middle East conflict, and migration policies, convening like-minded member states to discuss returns and asylum management. Several leaders, including Germany’s Merz and Finland’s Petteri Orpo, accused Orbán of using the pipeline issue for domestic election purposes and of betraying an earlier agreement.
With no breakthrough on the Ukraine loan and the pipeline dispute unresolved, the summit ended with EU leaders agreeing to continue pressing for solutions while acknowledging the political constraints. The impasse leaves Kyiv’s immediate financing needs uncertain and exposes fault lines within the EU over how to balance collective commitments with national energy vulnerabilities in a volatile global environment.