Germany, Belgium warn Hungary to drop veto on EU loan for Ukraine
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Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot (left) and German counterpart Johann Wadephul addressing a joint press conference in Berlin on Feb 25
PHOTO: AFP
- Germany and Belgium criticised Hungary for blocking a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia.
- Hungary demands Ukraine re-open a damaged oil pipeline, though ministers call this unrelated to the aid and warn "patience is wearing thin".
- Ministers accuse PM Orban of holding Ukraine's destiny hostage for election gain, calling it "crossing a red line" amid stalled EU unanimity.
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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.
EU sanctions require unanimous approval, but Mr Orban’s decision to single-handedly block the package has drawn ire from the rest of the bloc.
Mr Wadephul said that Mr Orban himself had previously agreed to the EU-backed loan to Ukraine.
“Hungary cannot explain this inconsistency,” Mr Wadephul said, adding that the loan deal has “no connection to the damaged pipeline, which of course needs to be repaired”.
Mr Prevot, speaking alongside Mr Wadephul during a visit to Berlin, urged Hungary “to change course”.
The Belgian minister suggested that Mr 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.” AFP
