The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico (l.) speaks with Viktor Orbán on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Alden Biesen: Hungary’s Prime Minister is already blocking EU aid for Ukraine. (archive image)Image: keystone
Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán blocks EU aid to Ukraine. His Slovakian counterpart Fico believes: Orbán is right. Slovakia could join the blockade.
March 22, 2026, 2:31 p.mMarch 22, 2026, 2:31 p.m
Simon Cleven / t-online
Slovakia has threatened to block further EU aid to Ukraine. Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Bratislava could join the Hungarian blockade in the future. This is reported by the Slovakian portal “Aktuality”.
The background is an EU loan for Ukraine worth 90 billion euros blocked by Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Fico expressly defended Orbán’s course and explained that it was politically correct. At the same time, he accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of not being able to determine the European Union.
Fico refuses to meet Zelensky
However, Fico did not give any specific conditions as to when Slovakia would actually support a blockade of aid to Ukraine. Rather, he repeated his criticism of the interruption of Russian oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline. This was politically motivated and an expression of hostility towards Russia, he said. Fico also once again refused a trip to Ukraine. A meeting with Zelensky in Kiev is out of the question for him because, in his own words, he doesn’t want to put himself in danger.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico speaks during a media conference at the Slovak mission in Brussels. (archive image)Image: keystone
Merz: “This will leave deep traces”
The Hungarian Prime Minister prevented an early payment of billions of euros to Ukraine through his resistance at the EU summit in Brussels. Despite pressure from his EU colleagues, the right-wing nationalist stuck to his no to the Ukraine loan worth 90 billion euros that had long been approved.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) called Orbán’s attitude on Friday night a “gross violation of the loyalty of the member states” and expected consequences. The recent dispute with Orbán “deeply upset” many EU summit participants, said Merz. Its attitude damages the EU’s ability to act and its reputation. “I am firmly convinced that this will leave a deep mark,” he added. Orbán’s behavior will “Have consequences that extend far beyond this single event”warned Merz.
Orbán probably has “domestic political reasons” to block the payment, said Merz, with a view to the upcoming election in Hungary on April 12th. If long-term Prime Minister Orbán loses the election, this could be his last EU summit in Brussels.