The European Commission has signalled that discussions on a €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine could move forward before this week’s European Council meeting, after Kyiv accepted European technical and financial support to restore operations on the Druzhba oil pipeline.
The offer was confirmed on 17 March in a joint statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, who said Ukraine had accepted EU help and that European experts were available immediately.
The Commission’s intervention is intended to address the shutdown of the Druzhba route supplying Hungary and Slovakia. Von der Leyen and Costa said renewed Russian strikes on 27 January had interrupted crude deliveries through the pipeline and described the restoration of flows as an immediate priority for European energy security. They also said the EU would continue work on alternative routes for non-Russian crude supplies to Central and Eastern Europe.
Reuters reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told EU leaders in a letter that repair work was nearing completion and that the relevant pumping station could be restored within around six weeks, provided there were no further Russian attacks. That same report said Hungary had linked the issue directly to wider EU decision-making, maintaining its opposition to both the €90 billion Ukraine loan package and a further sanctions round against Russia while Druzhba flows remain suspended.
That position has now been restated in sharper terms by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. Szijjártó said the EU proposal to assist Ukraine with repairs was a “political game” and dismissed Brussels’ move as belated. He argued that Hungary and Slovakia had been subjected to an “oil blockade” for almost 50 days and claimed that the steps now being taken had been coordinated between Kyiv and Brussels.
Good morning, Ursula von der Leyen! After nearly 50 days, the @EU_Commission has noticed that two member states are under an oil blockade by Ukraine, now promising to resolve the situation.
Don’t be fooled. This is a political game. Every step was coordinated between Kyiv and… https://t.co/lLtMGKozEc
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) March 17, 2026
Szijjártó also called on Zelenskyy and von der Leyen to end what he described as “political theatre” and to restore oil transit to Hungary. His intervention underlines the degree to which the pipeline dispute has become part of a broader confrontation between Budapest, Kyiv and Brussels over sanctions, energy dependency and EU financial support for Ukraine. Hungary intended to block the €90 billion package until deliveries through Druzhba resumed.
For the Commission, the immediate priority is the technical restoration of the pipeline, not political messaging. Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa said in their joint statement that EU experts were ready to assist immediately. In Brussels’ view, repairing the route is necessary both to safeguard market stability and to allow Ukraine to meet its transit obligations. At the same time, EU leaders reaffirmed the bloc’s longer-term goal of ending remaining Russian oil imports by the end of 2027.
The affair illustrates the overlap between energy infrastructure and EU decision-making on Ukraine. AP reported that the Commission’s offer to fund repairs was aimed in part at easing a dispute that had become a focal point in the feud between Hungary and Ukraine. According to that report, Viktor Orbán has accused Kyiv of withholding supplies intentionally, while Zelenskyy has denied that and insisted the disruption stemmed from Russian attacks.
The political timing is significant. EU leaders are due to meet on 19-20 March, and the Commission has indicated that it would prefer visible progress before then. If the pipeline issue is stabilised quickly, Brussels may hope that Hungary’s objections to the loan package soften. There is, however, no indication yet that Budapest has changed its position. On the contrary, Szijjártó’s latest remarks suggest Hungary is continuing to frame the dispute as deliberate political pressure from both Kyiv and the EU institutions.
No final decision on the €90 billion package had been announced on Tuesday afternoon. What is clear is that the Druzhba outage has moved beyond a technical repair issue and become a test of EU unity on Ukraine. Brussels is presenting the restoration effort as a practical solution to an energy disruption caused by Russian attacks. Hungary is portraying the same process as a politically managed exercise designed to force its hand on sanctions and financing. The outcome may now shape not only oil flows to Central Europe, but also the EU’s next major financial commitment to Kyiv.
