Germany, Belgium warn Hungary to drop veto on EU loan for Ukraine
The Straits Times
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is also blocking sanctions on Russia. Read more at straitstimes.com.
BERLIN - The German and Belgian foreign ministers criticised Hungary on Feb 25 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 Mr 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 the Feb 24 fourth anniversary of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been stalling both the sanctions as well as a €90 billion (S$134 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, demanding that Kyiv re-open 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.
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