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EU leaders have welcomed the end of diplomatic deadlock over a long-awaited €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine, after the bloc finalised the agreement along with a 20th sanctions package against Russia.
After weeks of delay, the EU signed off on the loan on Thursday, in time for summit talks in Cyprus that are scheduled to begin in the evening and will include talks over a dinner with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ursula von der Leyen wrote on social media: “We are on our way to Cyprus with good news.” The European Commission president welcomed both agreements, finalised after Hungary lifted its veto.
Von der Leyen said: “While Russia doubles down on its aggression, we are doubling down on our support to the brave Ukrainian nation, enabling Ukraine to defend itself and putting pressure on Russia’s war economy.”
Hungary lifted its vetoes over the long-delayed loan and sanctions after a dispute over a damaged oil pipeline that traverses Ukraine came to an end. Russian oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia resumed on Thursday, the Hungarian energy group MOL reported, after both countries – heavily dependent on Russian crude – dropped their objections to EU support for Ukraine.
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister who was defeated by his Conservative rival, Péter Magyar, earlier this month, will not take part in what would have been his final EU summit.
Zelenskyy will join the other leaders in the Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa for talks over dinner. “It matters that Ukraine is securing this level of financial certainty,” he wrote on social media highlighting spending priorities that included arms production, “the procurement of necessary weapons from partners that do not yet produce in Ukraine,” and preparing the energy sector for next winter – a response to Russia’s devastating attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months.
EU leaders will also discuss how to respond to surging energy prices and the wider ramifications of war in the Middle East, amid uncertainty over a definitive end to the conflict.
Regional leaders including the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun; the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi; the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa; and Jordanian crown prince Hussein bin Abdullah, are expected to take part in discussions on Friday.
Speaking earlier this week, before Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran, an EU official said the discussion was dependent on “very volatile and fast-paced events” in the Middle East, adding “we certainly hope the ceasefire is kept and maintained”.
EU leaders are also expected to discuss ideas to respond to a rise in energy prices, including a proposed cut to electricity taxes and incentives to accelerate the shift to green energy. Despite a boost to wind and solar power since the energy crisis of 2022, the EU has been slower to scale down the use of oil and gas in other parts of the economy, such as transport and housing.
The European Commission warned on Wednesday of the EU’s “dangerous dependency on fossil fuels” as it said that the bloc had paid an additional €24bn in oil and gas imports since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in February.
