Merc: The EU blockade caused by Orban will not remain without consequences, Hungary could even lose some of its money

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has assessed that the blockade of the European Union (EU) caused by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will not remain without consequences and that Hungary could be left without some of the money from the next EU budget.

European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels failed to convince Orban to drop his veto on the disbursement of a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine, and early Friday morning, Merck called Orban's behavior an "act of gross disloyalty" to the EU.

He predicted that it would "leave deep traces" and "have consequences that will be far broader than this single episode," the dpa agency reported.

He specifically mentioned the upcoming negotiations on the EU's multi-year budget, which could see funds earmarked for Hungary reduced or tied to meeting strict conditions.

"We agree that what happened today in the European Council will no longer be tolerated," said Merc.

Dpa writes that he was alluding to the fact that Orban agreed to pay a loan to Ukraine at the EU summit in December.

The German chancellor said that even leaders who have been participating in European Council meetings longer than him have been "deeply angered" by Orban's behavior. In the context of budget negotiations, very careful consultations on this are necessary, Merz said.

European Council President Antonio Costa told reporters early Friday morning that the loan disbursement would not be possible for the time being, agencies reported.

Commenting on Orban's insistence on a veto, Košta said: "Nobody can blackmail the European Council, nobody can blackmail the European institutions," Euronews reported.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as reported by agencies, said that the loan will be paid to Ukraine, one way or another. She recalled that a loan for Ukraine was agreed in December last year, with the agreement that Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic would not participate in its financing.

"That condition has been met, and the loan is still blocked because one leader is not keeping his word. But to repeat what I said in Kiev - the loan will be disbursed one way or another," said Von der Leyen.

Orban refuses to budge and demands the reactivation of the Druzhba pipeline, which brings Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine and was damaged in Russian air strikes in January. EU experts have been in Ukraine since yesterday to assess the condition of the Druzhba pipeline.

Analysts believe that Orban's defiance is also related to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary and that he is trying to improve the ratings of his ruling nationalist party Fidesz, which is lagging behind the opposition according to polls.

Agencies write that Orban hurriedly left the summit while all the other leaders were still in their seats. Addressing a group of Hungarian journalists, he said that regarding the veto, "in legal terms, the situation is quite clear" and that "Hungary has the right to it."

"Because the decision-making process was not yet complete," he was quoted as saying by Hungarian media. "They threatened a little, and then they saw that it wasn't working," Orban said.

Dpa writes that individual demands to deprive Hungary of its right to vote at the summit did not play a major role, as Orban can be relatively certain that, if no one else, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico would prevent it with a veto. Slovakia, like Hungary, receives Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

The two countries have been blocking the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions against Russia for a long time, and at the summit they prevented the adoption of a joint declaration on the war in Ukraine.