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Europe News

'Nobody can blackmail us': Leaders excoriate Orbán's veto

The Hungarian leader ups the rhetoric ahead of an April election, pushing the limits of EU rules close to breaking point. António Costa sees his authority challenged in the biggest test yet as European Council president.

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Belgium: EU leaders meet as Ukraine loan remains blocked

EU leaders show unity but fail to approve €90bn loan for Kyiv as Hungary’s Viktor Orban vetoes over oil transit dispute with Ukraine.

Europe News

Ukraine finance minister laments Orbán veto

Kyiv says it is doing 'the best we can' after Hungary threw a critical loan into disarray, maintaining a veto on the country over a damaged pipeline.

Europe News

EU summit: Leaders urge 'moratorium' on energy strikes in Middle East

Thursday's summit of EU leaders was dominated by Hungary's veto on the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, the spiralling war in the Middle East and the high energy prices that continue to weigh down the economy.

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Europe News

Orbán's veto, Iran war and energy prices set to dominate EU summit

Thursday's summit will see EU leaders try to convince Viktor Orbán to lift his controversial veto on the €90 billion to Ukraine. But hopes for a resolution before the Hungarian elections on 12 April are low.

Europe News

Europe’s far-right unites around Orbán

The event dubbed "the first Patriotic Grand Assembly" will include speeches from far-right leaders Marine Pen and Matteo Salvini as well as Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. According to media reports, US Vice President JD Vance is planning to visit Hungary soon.

Europe News

Hungary's oppostion leader Péter Magyar call Orbán 'traitor'

Opposition leader Péter Magyar called Viktor Orbán a traitor at a Budapest rally, accusing him of enlisting Russian agents to interfere in Hungary's April elections, as polls show Tisza ahead of Fidesz.

Europe News

Our sons will not die for Ukraine, Orbán says ahead of April elections

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán rallied supporters in Budapest, framing April's election as a choice between peace and war, while lashing out at Ukraine's Zelenskyy and the EU over the Druzhba pipeline dispute.

Europe News

Will Orbán lift his veto before the elections? Brussels wants to know

Officials and diplomats in Brussels are seriously contemplating a scenario in which Viktor Orbán's veto on the €90 billon loan for Ukraine drags on until after the Hungarian elections on 12 April. It's unclear what happens after.

World News

Fico says he will block Ukraine loan if Orbán loses election

Slovakia’s prime minister said Bratislava could "take the baton from Hungary" and block the EU’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine if oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline are not restored. Fico also condemned what he called "cowboy style" behaviour by international powers in Iran.

Europe News

Hungary expels seven Ukrainians after raid on convoy carrying cash

Hungary detained seven Ukrainians and opened a money laundering probe after a raid on two security vans carrying cash. Ukraine has accused Hungary of kidnapping and warned citizens against travel to Hungary, and the row between Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reached breaking point.

Europe News

Brussels urges Orbán and Zelenskyy to 'dial down escalatory rhetoric'

"That type of language is not acceptable. There must not be threats against EU member states," Brussels said after Volodymyr Zelenskyy floated giving Viktor Orbán's address to Ukrainian soldiers

Europe Today

Newsletter: Orbán-Zelenskyy dispute spirals to new heights

Also in this newsletter: European Commissioner for crisis management Hadja Lahbib reacts to the war gripping the Middle East.

Ukraine

Zelenskyy says Druzhba pipeline could be restored in month and a half

"Ukraine can repair the Friendship oil pipeline in a month or a month and a half, although it sees no technical or safety reason to do so," Zelenskyy said. "I will be frank: my position, which is shared with European leaders, is that I would not repair the pipeline."

Europe News

Orbán tightens border controls as Iran crisis hits Hungary's campaign

Hungary's prime minister has raised the country's security alert level and increased checks as the Iran conflict spirals. Analysts say he is successfully using the crisis to boost his party ahead of the April election.

Europe News

Orbán and Zelenskyy clash again over Druzhba, with Brussels in between

As the dispute over the Druzhba pipeline persists, EU officials are hoping that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make a move.

Europe News

'Something has to give': EU weighs options to lift Hungarian veto

Officials in Brussels are scrambling to find a solution to lift the Hungarian veto on the €90 billion loan to Ukraine. What options are on the table?

The Cube

Did the EU bypass Hungary's veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?

On 24 February, the European Parliament announced that it had signed off on a €90 billion loan to support Ukraine. On social media, some users claimed this showed Brussels had overridden Hungary’s opposition to the loan. However, this is only one part of the legislative process.

Europe News

Brussels welcomes mission to Druzhba, hoping to lift Hungarian veto

"We need to take the next steps to see what shape and form this fact-finding mission will take," Brussels said about the Hungarian-Slovak proposal.

Europe News

Orbán and Fico set up Druzhba investigative team

Hungary and Slovakia set up a joint team to investigate the Druzhba pipeline and demanded that Ukraine allow experts on-site. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Ukraine of lying and of “state terrorism” in a new attack.