EU leaders fail to convince Hungary's Orban to lift block on Ukraine loan
The Straits Times
BRUSSELS, March 19 - European Union leaders failed to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday to lift his blockade on a vital 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, officials said. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BRUSSELS, March 19 - European Union leaders failed to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday to lift his blockade on a vital 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, officials said.
"They tried. They failed," one European official said of the efforts by other EU leaders to convince Orban at a summit in Brussels.
EU leaders agreed to the loan in December but Orban, who has cordial ties with Russia and has clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has blocked its implementation, citing a dispute over a war-damaged pipeline.
Orban's stance has angered other EU leaders as Kyiv could run short of money in weeks if it does not receive new funding and his U-turn has called into question the credibility of the European Council, the EU's highest decision-making body.
"It was intense, a lot of pressure on Orban that (EU summit) decisions are respected by all," another European official said after the leaders discussed the Ukraine loan.
A third European official, referring to Orban, said: "Discussion was tough and rough, but Viktor is still not budging." A fourth said: "Everyone is increasingly angry with Orban."
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