European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a press conference at the end of a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium, Friday 20 March 2026;
Credit: REUTERS/Yves Herman
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU will find ways to pay out the promised €90 billion loan to Ukraine despite Hungary's ongoing resistance, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said early on Friday 20 March 2026.
"We will deliver one way or the other," von der Leyen told reporters after a summit in Brussels, where EU leaders failed to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to lift his blockade on the vital EU loan to Ukraine.
EU leaders had condemned the "unacceptable" resistance by Hungary during their meeting, EU Council President Antonio Costa said.
"A deal is a deal; we need to honour our word. And no one can blackmail the European Council," Costa said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the European Commission had been asked by leaders to find ways to pay out the loan and called Orban's veto an unprecedented "act of serious disloyalty".
"This will leave its mark," he said. "This is a serious violation of the principle of loyalty of the member states amongst each other and it damages the standing of the European Union."
