EU leaders explicitly condemn Viktor Orbán for blocking vital €90B loan to Ukraine

He recalled that the decision to finance Ukraine was adopted by a consensus of the European Council on Dec. 18.

"Now we need to execute this, and, as [European Commission] President [Ursula von der Leyen] said, one way or another we will execute it," Costa said.

"Today, of course, we did not discuss what we already discussed in December, but leaders took the floor to explicitly condemn Viktor Orbán's attitude, so that he remembers that an agreement is an agreement, and all leaders must keep their word."

He added that "no one can blackmail the European Council" and the institutions of the European Union.

According to Costa, EU leaders welcomed Ukraine's readiness to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline, over which Orbán is blocking the funding. Russia has attacked the pipeline's infrastructure 23 times, and the suspension of its operations is not Ukraine's responsibility, he emphasized.

"Of course, this is not Ukraine's responsibility, it is not the European Union's responsibility, it is not the responsibility of the Commission, the European Council, or any member state," he added.

"And therefore, what Hungary is doing is absolutely unacceptable, and this behavior cannot be accepted by the leaders. And that is exactly why the leaders at the Council today spoke clearly, explicitly condemning Hungary's behavior on this issue."

Orbán reiterated on March 19 that he will not support any decision in favor of Ukraine until oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline are restored. This concerns, in particular, the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, a decision agreed upon at the EU Council on Feb. 24. Hungary is blocking the final adoption of documents related to the allocation of funds.

EU leaders failed to convince Orbán to drop his blockade of the loan during the first day of the summit on March 19, with an hour-and-a-half discussion yielding no results, Politico wrote.

Druzhba oil pipeline is out of operation due to damage to internal equipment, caused by Russian strike on the Brody oil pumping station, Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal earlier reported.

EU leaders stated on March 17 that Brussels offered Ukraine technical support and funding to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline. Kyiv accepted the offer.

EU experts reportedly arrived in Ukraine on March 19 to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline and discussed the rebuilding of the Brody station with Naftogaz representatives.