EU approves €90B loan to Ukraine
Hungary and Slovakia lifted their vetoes after oil flows resumed through the Druzhba pipeline.
BRUSSELS ― The EU agreed to release the €90 billion loan to Ukraine on Thursday following months of tense negotiations.
"The European support loan for Ukraine has been unblocked ― €90 billion over two years," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Hungary and Slovakia ― who had previously blocked the financial package ― failed to object before a 3 p.m. deadline, clearing the final hurdle to approve the loan.
The two countries lifted their vetoes after oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which was damaged by Russian strikes earlier this year, resumed on Thursday.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen celebrated the news on her way to Cyprus, where she is meeting with European leaders to discuss the energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.
"While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation enabling Ukraine to defend itself," von der Leyen wrote on X.
Hungary's outgoing prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, conditioned their support for the loan to the restoration of oil flows through the pipeline.
The restart ends a months-long standoff that blocked the EU’s largest financial package for Kyiv, and which sparked fears the war-battered country would run out of money.
Zelenskyy announced his country would repair the Druzhba pipeline shortly after Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar defeated Orbán in national elections held earlier this month.
In a sign that the loan would be approved, Slovakia’s Economy Minister Denisa Saková on Thursday confirmed crude was flowing through the Soviet-era infrastructure.
“As of 2:00 a.m. today, the intake of oil into Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline has resumed,” she wrote on Facebook. “Oil deliveries are currently proceeding in line with the agreed plan.”
In a note to investors seen by POLITICO, Hungarian oil company MOL said the pipeline's supply to pumping stations in Fényeslitke, in northern Hungary, and Budkovce, in eastern Slovakia, had been restored.
The European Commission is expected to disburse the funds in late May or early June after EU countries complete technical checks.
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