Hungary’s rejection came hours before a dinner between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in Brussels to discuss the loan.
Merz said he was planning to use the event to bring De Wever on board.
“I take the concerns and objections of the Belgian prime minister very seriously,” Merz told reporters on Thursday night. “I don’t want to persuade him, I want to convince him that the path we are proposing here is the right one.”
Germany is offering a backstop on 25 percent of the funds to convince Belgium to send the frozen billions to Ukraine, but De Wever wants a broader guarantee from the whole EU that Belgium will be insured for the full amount, or more.
The Commission proposed eurobonds on Wednesday as one of two options, along with the Russian asset-backed loan, to ensure that Ukraine’s war chest doesn’t run bare as soon as next April.
Raising debt through the EU budget to prop up Ukraine requires a unanimous vote, however. Hungary’s rejection now raises the stakes for what are expected to be intense negotiations on the loan before EU leaders gather in Brussels on Dec. 18.
