EU will find ways to get loan to Ukraine, von der Leyen says


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa (not pictured) at the end of a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 20, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) - ⁠The EU will find ways to pay ⁠out the promised 90 billion euro ($104.2 billion) ‌loan to Ukraine despite Hungary's ongoing resistance, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said early on Friday.

"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."

($1 = 0.8636 ​euros)

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Bart Meijer; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Stephn Coates)

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