BRUSSELS — The flow of Russian oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline that crosses Ukraine has resumed, allowing Hungary to lift its veto on a EU loan urgently needed by Kyiv.
The European Union has given final approval to the €90 billion loan for Ukraine after Hungary lifted its veto, ending an explosive saga that saw Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in his last months in office, push the bloc’s internal norms to the breaking point.
The internal procedure was launched by ambassadors on Wednesday and finalized on Thursday. No objections were raised, and the last pending regulation, which needs unanimity to amend the EU budget, was approved.
The sought-after breakthrough came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the Druzhba pipeline, which carries cheap Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, had been repaired and could resume operations.
The Druzhba pipeline has become one of the most politically charged pieces of infrastructure in Europe since a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline in western Ukraine and stopped Russian oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia.
“The Economy Ministry informs that today at 2 am the reception of oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline was resumed,” Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Saková said on Thursday morning.
This confirmation puts an end to a months-long standoff between Ukraine, the EU and Hungary and Slovakia when the transit of Russian cheap oil stopped after a Russian strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure at the end of January.
The confirmation is set to unblock the €90-billion loan for Ukraine, which has been vetoed by Hungary and Slovakia since February, despite being initially agreed upon in December.
The disbursement is scheduled to begin between late May and early June.
Hungary’s energy giant MOL said on Wednesday it was informed by the operator of the Ukrainian section of the pipeline, Ukrtransnafta, that “the receipt of crude oil from Belarus via the Druzhba pipeline system began in Ukraine at noon today.”
Druzhba pipeline, which brings cheap Russian crude to Slovakia and Hungary, went offline in late January after being damaged in a Russian drone attack.
Budapest and Bratislava accused Kyiv of deliberately withholding transit. Ukraine said the halt was forced by the need to repair the pipeline. — Agencies
Source: Saudi Gazette