EU leaders left a Brussels summit without resolving a bitter standoff after Hungary refused to approve the release of a pledged €90 billion aid package to Ukraine unless deliveries via the Druzhba oil pipeline are restored.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, campaigning for a fourth consecutive term in Hungary’s April 12 election, vetoed summit conclusions that would have enabled the payout to Kyiv. He demanded that the EU tie the loan disbursement to the resumption of pipeline flows, which have been suspended since January after Ukraine said parts of the Druzhba line were damaged in Russian attacks. Budapest has challenged that account and pressed for an EU inspection and repairs before agreeing to the aid package.
“We stood our ground,” Orbán said after what he described as a “tough debate,” accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “blackmailing us with oil” and asserting that Hungary would not allow the loan unless its energy supplies were secured. “If there is oil, there will be money; if there is no oil, there is no money,” he said.
The veto drew sharp criticism across the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed the bloc would “find a way to pay out” the support for Ukraine, while European Council President António Costa said “no one can blackmail the European Council.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz labeled Orbán’s action an unprecedented “act of serious disloyalty” that threatened EU cohesion.
Leaders asked the Commission to explore technical options to deliver the funds despite Hungary’s refusal, but no immediate workaround was agreed. Twenty-five member states backing the loan said they would return to the issue at the next European Council in late April, leaving the outcome dependent on possible developments — including Hungary’s election, progress on repairing the pipeline, or shifts in the broader security context.
Speaking to the summit by video from Kyiv, President Zelenskyy described the €90 billion package as “critical,” warning that delays risked Ukraine’s solvency and urging Europe to implement decisions already taken. He said Kyiv was cooperating with the EU on efforts to inspect and repair the pipeline but lamented that the dispute showed how hard it can be for the bloc to follow through on commitments.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has also criticized EU handling of the Druzhba issue and is under domestic pressure over energy shortages, announced he would not back summit conclusions “fully supporting Ukraine” because the text did not meet his demands on the pipeline. Slovakia has declared a state of emergency over oil supply concerns and, like Hungary, had been granted a temporary exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil because of its landlocked reliance on pipeline deliveries.
The dispute highlighted wider tensions within the EU between collective support for Ukraine and national energy-security needs. Hungary and Slovakia received derogations from the bloc’s Russian oil ban; closing those exemptions prematurely would have significant domestic consequences.
Beyond the Ukraine row, the summit was dominated by the fallout from the widening Middle East conflict. EU leaders issued a call for a moratorium on strikes targeting energy and water infrastructure and condemned Iran’s “indiscriminate” military strikes in the region. The European Council urged 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 the EU naval mission in the Red Sea into the Strait of Hormuz, although several European navies signalled readiness to assist in securing passage through the strait once a ceasefire or peace deal allows it. Key partners expressed willingness to participate in “appropriate efforts” under an international mandate.
Economic and policy items also featured. The European Central Bank held its key interest rate at 2%, warning that the Iran conflict could raise near-term inflation through higher energy costs and that longer-term impacts would hinge on the conflict’s intensity and duration. The European Parliament’s trade committee provisionally advanced steps toward a transatlantic trade agreement with the US, contingent on binding American commitments on steel and aluminium tariffs.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened partners to discuss competitiveness, energy market impacts from the Middle East, and migration management. Several leaders, including Germany’s Merz and Finland’s Petteri Orpo, accused Orbán of exploiting the pipeline issue for electoral gain and of breaking a prior understanding.
With no breakthrough on the Ukraine loan and the Druzhba dispute unresolved, the summit ended with leaders agreeing to continue seeking solutions while acknowledging political constraints. The impasse leaves Kyiv’s immediate financing prospects uncertain and exposes divisions within the EU over how to reconcile collective commitments with member states’ energy vulnerabilities in a volatile international environment.