“We believe this is in line with the commitments of other EU member states, especially Hungary, which has blocked certain decisions that are important to us,” he added, referring to the loan.
The Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia has been at the center of a dispute between the European Union and Hungary. After being destroyed during a drone attack in January, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán canceled his support for a €90 billion loan that Kyiv needs to sustain its war effort as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its fifth year.
But the resounding victory of Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar last weekend led to European leaders’ hopes for swift change in Budapest – with Magyar himself. showing On Monday he is ready to remove the blockade of Budapest.
“We also want to quickly get the EU loan for Ukraine – agreed in December – to continue,” Merz said of the money. “Military aid funds must be released quickly now. Ukraine needs them urgently.”
Merz and Zelenskyy met in Berlin with senior ministers from both governments for their first intergovernmental consultations in more than 20 years, and sealed several deals, including jointly developing new weapons systems and becoming less dependent on US exports.
