{"id":7137,"date":"2026-03-19T10:27:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T10:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/7137\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:27:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T10:27:21","slug":"no-oil-no-money-orban-brings-ukraine-standoff-to-brussels-national-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/7137\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No oil, no money’: Orban brings Ukraine standoff to Brussels | National"},"content":{"rendered":"

EU leaders converge on Brussels Thursday hoping to unlock a massive loan for Kyiv, with the much-needed funding ensnared in a standoff between Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/p>\n

Moscow’s closest partner in the bloc, the nationalist Hungarian leader has long resisted helping Kyiv to repel Russia’s invasion, stalling EU aid and repeated rounds of sanctions.<\/p>\n

This time around, Orban is holding up a 90-billion-euro ($104 billion) loan as leverage in a feud over damage to a pipeline running through Ukraine — which has choked the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.<\/p>\n

As the Hungarian prime minister leans into anti-EU and anti-Ukrainian narratives ahead of close-fought national elections on April 12 — he appears intent on playing hardball.<\/p>\n

“No oil, no money,” he warned this week. “If President Zelensky wants to get his money from Brussels, then the Druzhba pipeline must be reopened.”<\/p>\n

The weeks-long spat has seen landlocked Hungary and Slovakia both accuse Ukraine of stalling on pipeline repairs — while Zelensky has called it “blackmail” to link the issue to support for its war effort.<\/p>\n

The European Commission moved this week to unblock the situation by sending a team to help restore oil transit, but Budapest dismissed the initiative as “theatre” and refused to budge.<\/p>\n

Cue a looming showdown in Brussels — and a tricky balancing act for Orban’s EU counterparts.<\/p>\n

– ‘No Plan B’ –<\/p>\n

It’s a well worn routine in Brussels, where Orban has held up countless decisions on Ukraine, and solutions have ultimately been found — in one famous case having him leave the room while the bloc approved the start of membership talks with Kyiv.<\/p>\n

But the frustration is palpable that Orban should renege on a loan he personally greenlit at a previous summit in December.<\/p>\n

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“Everybody wants this to be resolved,” summed up an EU diplomat, saying fellow capitals were “more or less fed up” with the Hungarian leader’s behaviour.<\/p>\n

A German government official described a “certain momentum” on the pipeline issue — seeing a chance of a breakthrough when leaders come face-to-face on Thursday.<\/p>\n

But the message from other capitals was less optimistic.<\/p>\n

“Will we make progress? I have strong doubts,” said the EU diplomat, predicting Orban was “not going to budge” on a stance playing well with his voter base at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Complicating matters, leaders are wary of offering Orban — who is trailing main rival Peter Magyar in the polls — a chance to bolster his image as a maverick on the EU stage by publicly ganging up on him.<\/p>\n

Failure to break the deadlock this week would most likely push the issue back until after the Hungarian vote, whatever its outcome.<\/p>\n

Can Ukraine hold out till after Hungary’s election? Unclear, say EU insiders.<\/p>\n

Facing a budget shortfall four years into the war, Kyiv is estimated to need an influx of funds in early May — implying a decision to unlock the EU loan by mid-April.<\/p>\n

As Orban has dug in, there has been talk of alternative solutions to help keep Ukraine afloat — but a second EU diplomat poured cold water on the notion.<\/p>\n

“There’s no bridging solutions or Plan B. There’s only one plan, and that’s Plan A,” they said. “Orban should deliver on his promise.”<\/p>\n

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