Brussels, Feb. 23, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese minister of foreign affairs said on Monday that the European Union will not reach an agreement on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine or on a new package of sanctions against Russia by Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union (EU) ministers of foreign affairs in Brussels, Paulo Rangel said that the intention was for the President of the European Council, António Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to arrive in Kiev on Tuesday with both measures approved, on the day marking four years since the start of the war in Ukraine.
"But I wouldn't say we are at risk, I would say it won't be possible, because we won't resolve either issue by tomorrow [Tuesday]," he lamented.
At issue is Hungary's veto of the two measures, both justified by accusations that Ukraine is preventing Russian oil deliveries to Budapest via the Druzhba pipeline.
Rangel said that at today's meeting of ministers, "great concern" was expressed about the Hungarian veto and stressed that, with regard to the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, a meeting of EU ambassadors was scheduled for tonight to "try to iron out differences and overcome this deadlock".
"It is possible that, with some more negotiations, the sanctions block can be overcome. But I don't know, in fact the High Representative [of the EU] spoke this morning and said what she had already told us, and today she reiterated in very detailed terms that there would be no solution today for either case," said the head of Portuguese diplomacy.
Regarding the €90 billion loan to Ukraine, Paulo Rangel said that member states still expect Hungary to "change its position" and seek "a solution that would not alter the framework in which this was approved".
However, if Budapest does not raise this objection, the minister of foreign affairs said that it is "possible to go ahead with this loan, even with Hungary's reservations", although he did not want to dwell on the subject, as it is "a different legal solution" which it is premature to discuss at present.
"But it is not impossible for it to go ahead even with this objection because, as you know, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are not participating in this scheme. They have been exempted from participating in the eventual repayment of this loan, which means that, despite everything, they are in a different position than they would be if they were 100% members of this solution," he said.
When asked, however, whether the EU runs the risk of being present in Kiev on Tuesday and telling Ukraine that what it was promised is at risk, Rangel indicated that the European bloc "has all the necessary conditions" to be present in the Ukrainian capital to mark the four years of war.
"Because it has been, by far, the largest bloc supporting Ukraine. Therefore, that is out of the question," he stressed.
Rangel argued, however, that the EU cannot "fail to give Ukraine its full support" to ensure its "survival, military and even humanitarian response capacity, given the severe winter the country is experiencing, with serious power failures due to attacks on civilian infrastructure by the Russian Federation".
"It is clearly essential that we send this signal of support," he said.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on 24 February 2022, has plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
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