Orbán’s blocking of Ukraine loan to have serious consequences – Merz
German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s continued blocking of the EU €90 billion loan for Ukraine constitutes a serious breach of loyalty among EU member states and will have consequences, including during the formation of the new budget.
The German Chancellor made the statement following the European Council meeting in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.
“At the European Council on December 19, just days before Christmas, we reached a consensus on this loan. All 27 heads of state and government agreed that within the framework of enhanced cooperation among 24 of the 27 member states, we would conclude this agreement. But all 27 agreed, including the Prime Minister of Hungary. He also agreed that we would need to amend the regulation of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) once again so that this loan could be disbursed. Orbán has now revoked this consensus. He is thereby violating one of the fundamental principles of our European cooperation,” Merz said.
The Chancellor pointed out that EU member states are bound by treaty to provide mutual loyal support and “agreed that we can rely on each other’s word.”
“I very much hope that we will return to a situation where we can rely on the fact that unanimously adopted decisions are also implemented. This is a serious breach of loyalty between member states and damages the EU’s capacity to act and its overall reputation,” he stressed.
Merz said the European Commission has been tasked with exploring additional options “for how we can proceed with disbursing this loan.”
“I hope we will be able to make the payment, and that it will happen as quickly as possible, and that sufficient support for Ukraine will be ensured in the meantime – with the objective we associated with this loan, namely two-thirds for military and one-third for civilian equipment,” he said.
The German Chancellor emphasized that “in many respects we are currently being blocked by him,” referring to Orbán, and added that he would raise the issue during budget negotiations.
“This also concerns the opening of further chapters in accession processes. These must be adopted unanimously unless we unanimously agree that they can be adopted by qualified majority. And here Viktor Orbán has so far not been willing to allow such a decision. I will raise this issue during budget consultations. However, we agree that what happened at the European Council is not something we will accept. And this will have consequences that go far beyond this individual event,” Merz stated.
According to him, during the “formation of the budget and everything that follows from it, we will have to fundamentally revisit this issue.”
“I have the impression that colleagues who have been in this European Council much longer than I have are deeply outraged by what has happened. This is an act of gross disloyalty in the European Union, and I am firmly convinced that this will leave a deep mark,” the chancellor added.
As reported, President of the European Council António Costa called Orbán’s behavior in connection with blocking the loan for Ukraine unacceptable and stressed that it is inadmissible to link its unblocking to circumstances beyond the control of the EU or Ukraine.
Photo: Bundesregierung.de