In December, EU heads of state and government decided on an urgent and necessary loan to Ukraine of 90 billion euros - almost 1,000 billion Swedish kronor.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán then promised not to block the loan, only that Hungary itself would not be included.
But he is no longer keeping that promise - much to the anger of the other leaders.
"It is unacceptable for Hungary to block decisions that they once helped make. I hope that we will resolve this issue during the day," says Ulf Kristersson in Brussels.
Oil halted
However, Hungary does not intend to give in.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán links his refusal to the fact that no Russian oil is flowing to Hungary through the pipeline that runs through Ukraine. According to Ukraine, this is due to damage from Russian attacks - something Hungary does not believe.
As long as the oil doesn't arrive, Hungary will not give its approval.
"Hungary's position is very simple: We are ready to support Ukraine when we receive the oil that is blocked by them," Orbán himself says on his way into the summit.
Election campaign
According to Orbán, it is a matter of survival.
"Without oil, Hungarian households and companies will go bankrupt," the Prime Minister claims.
At the same time, he is in the middle of a heated election campaign where, in the parliamentary elections on April 12, he will face a real challenger for the first time in many years in the form of the increasingly popular opposition leader Péter Magyar.
That battle is seen by many EU leaders as the real reason for Orbán's veto.
"My definite impression is that he is doing it for domestic political reasons in Hungary. If this issue is not resolved today, Ukraine will have serious problems and I am afraid that this is exactly what Hungary is looking for," says Kristersson.
Facts: The quarrel over the Druzhba pipeline
The Druzhba pipeline routes Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, the only countries exempt from the EU's ban on Russian oil imports in light of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The pipeline runs through Ukraine and was damaged in late January in a Russian attack, stopping the flow of oil.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has cited the oil embargo as a reason for blocking the disbursement of the €90 billion loan to Ukraine that EU heads of state and government, including Orbán, agreed to at a summit in December.
Ukraine needs the money by the beginning of May at the latest.
Both Hungary and Slovakia accuse Ukraine of delaying the repair of the pipeline and also cite this as a reason for not supporting the EU's 20th package of sanctions against Russia.
