Orban under pressure domestically: polls predict a close race for the Hungarian parliamentary elections in April.Image: keystone
Mar 19, 2026, 11:29 amMarch 19, 2026, 11:30 a.m
At the start of the EU summit in Brussels, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban ruled out a quick withdrawal of his veto against billions in financial aid for Ukraine.
With a view to the conflict over interrupted Russian oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline, he said that his country would only support pro-Ukrainian projects again when oil came back to Hungary through the pipeline. Without oil, Hungarian households and companies would go bankrupt. There are no other options.
The conflict over interrupted oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline is about Hungary accusing Ukraine of preventing the line from resuming operations. This leads from Russia via Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine rejects the allegations and emphasizes that the pipeline is currently unusable due to the effects of Russian air strikes. On Tuesday, she estimated another month and a half for necessary repairs.
Merz & Co want to break the blockade
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and numerous other heads of state and government see the Hungarian blockade as unacceptable and point out that Orban had actually already agreed to the loan of up to 90 billion euros (around 82 billion francs) in December. They want to get Orban to give in at the summit and accuse him of fighting for his re-election with an anti-Ukraine campaign. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 12th in Hungary.
Merz said on Wednesday that no consideration should be given to a single EU country that sets up a blockade for domestic political reasons and because of an ongoing election campaign. Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto criticized this with the words: “The Germans only accept one answer: Yes.” As a Hungarian you can’t afford that. (sda/dpa/nil)