Hungary has blocked a EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine that would have helped the country stabilize its financial situation within two years. It was reported by the British edition of the Financial Times (FT) on Friday, February 20.
Four unnamed sources told the newspaper that on Friday, Hungary's ambassador to the European Union opposed the bloc's borrowing of EUR 90 billion for Ukraine. The decision requires the unanimous consent of all 27 EU members.
The loan was agreed in December by EU leaders as a "lifeline" for Ukraine, which will face a budget deficit in April. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic agreed to help Kyiv only on the condition that they would not be responsible for interest costs or repayment of the loan.
FT notes that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) EUR 8 billion program for Ukraine, which is currently under negotiation, also depends on Kyiv receiving a European loan. Due to Hungary's veto, Ukraine may be left without this program.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on February 18, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Budapest has suspended diesel fuel supplies to Ukraine because of the situation with the Druzhba oil pipeline.
And on February 19, Hungary said that the country is considering the possibility of a complete halt to electricity and gas exports to Ukraine.
Today, on February 20, Szijjártó said that Ukraine is allegedly engaged in "political blackmail" and is trying to artificially raise fuel prices in Hungary to influence the election results.
In late January, the aggressor country russia damaged an infrastructure facility during another massive attack on Ukraine, which led to the suspension of russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia receive oil through the pipeline. Both countries accused Ukraine of being unwilling to repair the pipeline.
Recall that the day before, the European Union said that Brussels does not impose requirements and deadlines on Ukraine to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline.
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