EU unblocks Ukraine loan
- The EU moved to unblock a roughly €90bn loan package for Ukraine after months of Hungarian opposition. - Ukraine reopened the Druzhba pipeline and Russian oil resumed flowing toward Hungary and Slovakia, easing the deadlock. - The deal shows large-scale European financial support can still be assembled but remains conditional on energy and bilateral bargaining (nytimes.com).
European Union envoys cleared a €90 billion loan for Ukraine on April 22 after Hungary dropped a months-long veto tied to Russian oil transit through Ukraine. (apnews.com) The package is meant to cover about two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs in 2026 and 2027, with formal sign-off by member states expected on April 23. Hungary had blocked it even though the loan does not require Budapest to contribute money itself. (reuters.com) The immediate change was in the Druzhba pipeline, a Soviet-era route that carries Russian crude across Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. Oil transit resumed on April 22, and Slovakia said crude began arriving after 2 a.m. on April 23. (politico.eu) The stoppage began in late January after a Russian strike damaged pumping infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. Kyiv said it completed repairs this week, while President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia could target the line again. (apnews.com) The dispute left Ukraine in the position of restoring a route for Russian oil exports while asking Europe to tighten sanctions on Moscow and keep financing Kyiv’s war effort. European Union ambassadors also advanced a 20th sanctions package against Russia alongside the loan. (nytimes.com) Hungary and Slovakia had argued that the outage threatened their energy security because both still rely on crude delivered through the southern branch of Druzhba. Hungarian refiner Mol said the first deliveries were expected on April 23. (bloomberg.com) The loan shows the European Union can still assemble very large support packages for Ukraine, but only after bargaining that mixed war finance with pipeline repairs and national energy interests. The money now moves ahead as Kyiv faces heavy military and budget pressure in the third year after Russia’s full-scale invasion. (dw.com)
