No breakthrough on Hungary’s veto of EU’s €90bn loan to Ukraine – as it happened

No breakthrough on Hungary's veto for Ukraine loan so far
The European Council’s conclusions on Ukraine from today’s meeting have just been published and they are once again signed by just 25 countries.

This means that there is still no movement from Hungary and Slovakia as they continue to block any movement regarding Ukraine until the Druzhba pipeline issue gets resolved.

The document includes the usual praise for Ukraine and declaration of “firm and unwavering” support for Kyiv, and the EU leaders’ backing for potential peace talks that would respect Ukraine’s borders and provide “robust and credible security guarantees.”
But on the thorny issue of the EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine , the statement only reaffirms the intent of the 25 member states to begin disbursing the funds in April – with no change of heart from Hungary or Slovakia .

Similarly, on the 20th sanction package against Russia , it focuses on intentions and hopes for “swift adoption,” but does not actually move towards it.

One to watch if there is any later movement on this as the talks on other issues continue during the day, but as things stand it does not look like there will be a breakthrough on this issue.

Remember: the Hungarian election – in which Ukraine plays an important role in Viktor Orbán’s campaign – is less than four weeks away.