German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed hope that the issue of the EU loan for Ukraine, blocked by Hungary and amounting to 90 billion euros, will be resolved in the medium term. At the same time, he acknowledged that this is an extremely challenging task.
This is reported by Finway
Blocking Aid to Ukraine: Conditions and Prospects
In response to questions from Bundestag deputies, Friedrich Merz did not mention any alternative scenarios for financial support to Ukraine if Viktor Orban’s party remains in power. Despite Ukraine’s urgent need for external financing amid the ongoing war with Russia, EU member states were unable to convince Hungary to lift the blockade on the aid program during the European Union summit on March 19.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that he supports the loan agreed upon at the December summit for 2025 only after the resumption of Russian oil supplies through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline. This supply was halted in January following Russian shelling. Slovakia also supports Hungary’s position. Estimates suggest that repairing the pipeline could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. The European Union has already offered assistance in restoring this infrastructure. Meanwhile, experts believe that the issue of lifting the blockade is unlikely to be resolved before the parliamentary elections in Hungary, scheduled for April 12.
TAURUS Missiles and Military Support for Ukraine
Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union Friedrich Merz reminded that he had previously suggested using frozen Russian assets in the EU to finance aid to Kyiv. However, he stated that this option “rightly raised serious doubts,” which he also shares. Merz emphasized that the decision by European leaders to provide a two-year loan to Ukraine is the best way forward, but its implementation is only possible with the agreement of all 27 EU member states.
“The fact that among 27 countries there is one that blocks all decisions is a new phenomenon in the history of the European Union.”
During the discussion on military aid to Ukraine, the Chancellor was asked about the possibility of transferring German TAURUS cruise missiles. Merz explained that he had previously supported this idea when he believed that the Bundeswehr had a sufficient number of operational missiles to transfer. Currently, according to Merz, Ukraine already possesses its own long-range weapons, which are more effective than the relatively small number of TAURUS missiles that Germany could provide.
Merz also emphasized that Ukraine is currently better armed than ever before, but the country is facing serious financial difficulties. In his opinion, the issue of aid to Ukraine can be addressed through funding for weapons production rather than supplying additional arms.
The TAURUS cruise missiles, resulting from German-Swedish cooperation, can be compared in characteristics to the British Storm Shadow and French Skalp EG, which are already being supplied to Ukraine. At the same time, TAURUS has a more powerful warhead and can cover a distance of up to 500 km. The Bundeswehr is equipped with several hundred such missiles.