Macron says ‘reasonably optimistic’ loan with go through after election defeat of pro-Russian Hungarian PM. What we know on day 1,518
European Union countries will on Wednesday move to unlock a €90bn loan for Ukraine as the defeated Viktor Orbán exits power in Hungary. The now-caretaker Hungarian prime minister, friendly to Vladimir Putin, had been blocking the loan but will soon be replaced by Peter Magyar, who won a sweeping electoral mandate. Magyar has promised smoother relations with Brussels and criticised Orbán for bowing to Russian influence.
Orbán said that Hungary would lift its objections to the loan as it had “received an indication from Ukraine” via Brussels that Kyiv was ready to restore oil deliveries to Hungary via the damaged Druzhba pipeline that passes through Ukraine from Russia.
“Once oil deliveries are restored, we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan,” said Orbán – who claimed to be blocking the loan because of the pipeline, but had repeatedly impeded European support for Ukraine well before the pipeline became an issue. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said on Monday that with Orbán’s departure, “we can be reasonably optimistic about the sound progress and implementation” of the EU loan.
