Overview
- At the Brussels summit, Viktor Orbán kept a legal veto on implementing the €90 billion loan and the EU’s 20th Russia sanctions package, conditioning consent on the resumption of Druzhba pipeline oil transit.
- Twenty-five of 27 leaders issued a joint statement reaffirming support for the package and urging a first disbursement by early April, a text not backed by Hungary or Slovakia.
- Ursula von der Leyen vowed to "deliver one way or the other" as leaders asked the Commission to devise options to pay out the funds without Budapest’s assent, including potential national guarantees.
- EU and Ukrainian authorities moved to assess and fund repairs to the war-damaged Druzhba pipeline, though Kyiv has said fixes will take weeks and has resisted prioritizing a route for Russian exports.
- Ukraine faces a financing squeeze by late spring, and the standoff is entwined with Hungary’s April 12 election; most leaders labeled Orbán’s tactic "blackmail" or disloyalty, while a report that Italy’s Giorgia Meloni voiced sympathy is disputed.