Orban and Fico refused to back European Council summit conclusions on aid to Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico did not sign the conclusions of the European Council summit on Ukraine, which referred, among other things, to a €90 billion loan for Kyiv. They were the only two among the 25 EU leaders to oppose them.
The document was published on the European Council’s website, Censor.NET reports.
Position of Hungary and Slovakia
"Following the December 2025 decision to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion support loan for 2026-2027, the European Council welcomes the adoption of this loan by the co-legislators and looks forward to the first tranche for Ukraine in early April," the conclusions state.
The European Council also called for stronger engagement with third countries to help cover Ukraine’s remaining €30 billion financing gap.
The European Council also "looks forward to the swift adoption of the 20th sanctions package" and again stresses the importance of "further reducing Russia’s energy revenues and further restricting the Russian banking system".
Analysing the document, The Guardian noted that it contains the usual praise for Ukraine and a statement of "firm and unwavering" support for Kyiv, as well as EU leaders’ backing for potential peace talks that would respect Ukraine’s borders and provide "robust and credible security guarantees".
Ahead of the summit on 19 March, Orban said he would not support any decision in Ukraine’s favour until Hungary receives Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. According to Aktuality, before leaving for Brussels, Fico also stressed that he would not support the conclusions on Ukraine because they made no mention of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Hungary continues blocking measures
Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto earlier said that Budapest would continue to block both the 20th sanctions package against Russia and the allocation of the loan to Ukraine.
According to him, Hungary’s position will remain unchanged until Ukraine restores oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.
- Earlier, the European Commission said the issue of the €90 billion loan for Ukraine could be resolved by 19-20 March.
