Germany, Belgium warn Hungary to drop veto on EU loan for Ukraine

BERLIN (AFP) — The German and Belgian foreign ministers criticized Hungary on Wednesday for blocking a major European Union loan to Ukraine as well as the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia.

"All I can say is that I remain appalled by Hungary's behaviour," Germany's Johann Wadephul said in Berlin, adding that Hungary's decision to veto the sanctions "betrays its own struggle for freedom."

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, meanwhile, warned that "Hungary must understand" that for other EU countries "the patience is wearing thin very quickly."

The 27-nation European Union has been pushing to impose a new round of economic punishment on Moscow over the Ukraine war after Tuesday's fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

But Orban has been stalling both the sanctions as well as a 90 billion-euro ($106 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, demanding that Kyiv reopen a key oil pipeline first.

According to Kyiv, the Druzhba pipeline — which carries Russian oil across Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary — was damaged by Russian strikes in late January.

EU sanctions require unanimous approval, but Orban's decision to single-handedly block the package has drawn ire from the rest of the bloc.

Wadephul said that Orban himself had previously agreed to the EU-backed loan to Ukraine.

"Hungary cannot explain this inconsistency," Wadephul said, adding that the loan deal has "no connection to the damaged pipeline, which of course needs to be repaired."

Prevot, speaking alongside Wadephul during a visit to Berlin, urged Hungary "to change course."

The Belgian minister suggested that Orban was trying to use EU aid for Ukraine as a campaign issue ahead of upcoming elections in which he is trailing in the polls.

"But to go so far as to dare hold the destiny and the needs of Ukraine and its people hostage in a time of war — that seems to me to be crossing a red line."

Oil will keep flowing

Hungary and Slovakia do not currently run the risk of a shortage of oil despite the interruption of Russian deliveries from a key pipeline running through Ukraine, the EU said Wednesday.

Alternative sources were keeping them in supplies, said an EU spokesman after a meeting of experts to discuss the situation.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday that Ukraine had again postponed the resumption of oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline from Thursday to March 3, slamming the delay.

Both Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have accused Ukraine of deliberately dragging its feet over re-opening the pipeline, which Kyiv says was damaged by Russian strikes in January.

Orban, one of the few EU leaders who is close to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, has vetoed a 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) EU loan to Ukraine as well as a fresh round of sanctions on Russia until Kyiv re-opens it.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the repairs were not yet finished.

He suggested Budapest take up the matter with Moscow, which he said had bombed the pipeline several times as part of its air campaign against Ukraine's infrastructure.

Hungary and Slovakia have been forced to start drawing on their emergency stocks of oil, which are limited to three months of imports.

But they do have other sources of supply, such as the Adria pipeline that passes through Croatia, said European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen following the experts' meeting.

"Croatia confirmed at the meeting that non-Russian crude oil is being transported through the Adria pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia," she said.

"It remains the main alternative pipeline for Hungary and Slovakia to cover their needs, and the pipeline has sufficient capacity to increase volumes to fully cover the Hungarian Slovakian requirements."

It was still not clear, however, what it would take to persuade Hungary to lift its veto on the EU loan to Ukraine, although high-level talks were ongoing, she added.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday the bloc would make good on the loan "one way or the other," despite the opposition from Budapest.

"We have different options, and we will use them," she said.

Both Hungary and Slovakia have said they need Russian oil or energy prices would increase in their countries.

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By Agence France-Presse