The European Commission expects Hungary and other EU member states to uphold a political agreement reached by EU leaders in December 2025 and proceed with the adoption of a €90 billion ($105 billion) loan package for Ukraine for 2026–2027.
The statement comes after Hungary blocked the approval of the package and signaled it would continue to do so unless Kyiv restores the transit of Russian oil to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline.
Commission cites December political agreement
According to European Pravda, European Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári said Brussels expects Budapest to stand by the commitment made at the European Council meeting on Dec. 19, 2025.
“At the European Council meeting in December, a unanimous political agreement was reached to provide €90 billion in resolute support for Ukraine’s budgetary and military needs over the next two years,” Ujvári said.
He emphasized that the agreement had already been translated into concrete legislative steps.
“On this basis, on January 14, the European Commission adopted a package of legislative proposals,” he noted.
“We expect all member states to respect this political agreement with a view to the final adoption of the loan,” the spokesperson added.
The Commission’s statement underscores the distinction between political endorsement by EU leaders and the formal legislative approval required to activate the financial instrument.
Hungary links approval to oil transit
Hungary has openly linked its opposition to the €90 billion package to the oil transit dispute. In a post on X, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote: “We are blocking the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes.”
He accused Ukraine of “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.”
Szijjártó further claimed that by blocking oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, Ukraine was violating the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and breaching its commitments to the EU. “We will not give in to this blackmail,” he wrote.
Ukrainian authorities have said the Druzhba pipeline was shut down after being damaged during a Russian attack near the western Ukrainian city of Brody. Kyiv, for its part, has proposed an alternative route for oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia via the Odesa–Brody pipeline.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday threatened to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if Kyiv does not reopen the pipeline. Fico declared a state of emergency over oil supplies and said he had ordered the release of 250,000 tons of oil from Slovakia’s emergency reserves.
Hungary and Slovakia had requested that Croatia allow the supply of Russian oil through the Adria pipeline as an alternative route. Croatia, however, signaled it would not facilitate such shipments. In a post on X, Energy Minister Ante Šušnjar criticized continued purchases of Russian oil. “A barrel bought from Russia may appear cheaper to some countries, but helps fund war and attacks on Ukrainian people,” he wrote. “It’s time to stop that war profiteering.”
The Hungarian government has constantly argued that the suspension of oil flows affects energy security in Central Europe. Orbán and Fico have maintained closer ties to Moscow than most EU leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Orbán recently described Ukraine as an “enemy” of the state, highlighting the deep strain in relations between Budapest and Kyiv.
Background of the loan plan
The European Council agreed on Feb. 19, 2025, to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan for 2026–2027, financed through EU borrowing on capital markets and backed by guarantees from the EU budget. The funds are intended to support both Ukraine’s state budget and its military needs during the ongoing war with Russia.
At the time, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic declined to participate in the scheme but pledged not to obstruct it.
The Commission’s response reflects concern in Brussels that a commitment endorsed unanimously by EU leaders could unravel at the legislative stage.
By invoking the December agreement and the subsequent legislative proposals, the Commission signaled that it views the matter as one of honoring a collective decision already taken at the highest political level.
Whether Hungary will lift its veto remains unclear. For now, the approval of one of the EU’s largest financial support packages for Ukraine remains tied to an unrelated dispute over oil transit.