Costa calls Orban's behavior unacceptable over blocking Ukraine loan

Costa made this statement at a press conference after the European Council meeting in the early hours of Friday, March 20, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The European Council president recalled that the decision to grant Ukraine a EUR 90 billion loan, to be guaranteed by the EU budget, had been adopted in December 2025 by all EU leaders, including Hungary's prime minister.

According to him, at the previous day’s meeting, leaders took the floor to "clearly condemn the attitude from Viktor Orbán to remind him that a deal is a deal."

"All the leaders need to honor their word, and nobody can blackmail the European Council," Costa emphasized.

He welcomed "the public commitment from President Zelensky to repair [the Druzhba pipeline] in the coming six weeks" and noted that the European Commission had offered Ukraine technical and financial support in this context.

At the same time, commenting on Hungary's actions, the European Council president described it as "not acting in good faith when you put a condition that neither the EU nor the member states can ensure, because only Russia is willing to decide if they try again to destroy the Druzhba pipeline." He recalled that Russia had already struck the Druzhba pipeline 23 times, and Ukraine had repaired it each time.

Thus, Costa stated, this is not the responsibility of Ukraine or EU institutions.

He stressed that Hungary’s behavior is "unacceptable, and this behaviour can not be accepted by the leaders."

At the same time, Costa recalled the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who assured that the EU would "one way or another" fulfill its commitments to Ukraine regarding financing for 2026–2027.

As Ukrinform reported, in the final document following the European Council meeting, 25 leaders expressed support for the loan to Ukraine for 2026–2027 and voiced hope that the first payment would take place in early April 2026.

Hungary continues to block the technical launch of the loan, insisting on the restoration of Russian oil transit through Ukraine.