Orban may use the legal confrontation for his campaign.
Leaders of the European Union countries may promise Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to resume oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline, which transports crude from Russia to Eastern Europe. This, European diplomats believe, could allegedly allow him to win the elections and abandon blocking funding for Ukraine, while the European Union would avoid a full-scale legal battle between Brussels and Budapest.
At the same time, one EU diplomat stated that "the story with Druzhba is by no means trustworthy." However, several European politicians agree that there is "no time" to resolve the dispute legally, that is, to file a lawsuit against Budapest for blocking EU funds for a loan to Ukraine, as Kyiv may soon face a cash shortage. Meanwhile, the EU believes that Orban may use the legal confrontation with Brussels during his election campaign.
In this regard, diplomats believe that a more feasible way to solve the problem would be to develop a document containing a promise to "save face" and restore oil supplies through Druzhba. Europe noted that this would echo the workaround found in the EU in October 2025 in response to Slovakia's opposition to the phased abandonment of Russian gas. At that time, Bratislava lifted its veto after leaders added a promise in their joint statement after the summit that Russian energy should continue to flow to Slovakia.
Parliamentary elections in Hungary will take place on April 12. According to Politico magazine, the ruling Fidesz party may lose the elections for the first time in 16 years.
Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Parliament approved an additional loan of 90 billion euros for Ukraine. However, the permanent representative of Hungary to the EU then opposed the allocation of financial resources to Kyiv, leading to the cancellation of this decision due to the lack of necessary unanimity.
After that, Foreign Minister and Minister of Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto stated that Hungary would block the EU loan to Ukraine until Kyiv starts allowing Russian oil to flow through Druzhba.
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