… and so on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
The European Union is in the process of formally approving a €90bn loan for Ukraine after the restart of the Druzhba pipeline and reports that Hungary has dropped its longstanding veto (15:16), finally clearing the way for the funds to be disbursed (13:14, 15:45).
The formal written procedure for voting on the loan is due to be completed by Thursday afternoon, just as EU leaders are expected to meet in Cyprus (13:28).
The process should be a mere formality at this stage (17:21).
The Hungarian oil giant MOL reported earlier that its Ukrainian counterpart started receiving crude oil form Belarus around midday, with first deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia expected tomorrow (10:03, 10:40, 12:27).
Slovakia’s prime minister Robert Fico warned Ukraine against any attempts to disrupt the flow of Russian oil once the money is approved (12:02).
Meanwhile,
Russia has confirmed plans to suspend the shipment of Kazakh oil to Germany from 1 May, citing “technical reasons” (14:38, 15:09,
The EU will cut electricity taxes and provide consumers with fresh incentives to ditch fuel-burning cars and boilers, the European Commission has announced, as the energy crisis from the Iran war speeds a shift to a clean economy.
British holidaymakers face new rules when taking their pet into the EU involving paperwork costing up to £200 (16:15).
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Meanwhile, the Hungarian government has confirmed to Hungarian media outlet Telex that it “has agreed to the adoption … by written procedure,” which seems to imply there will no be last minute surprises and the process should be a mere formality then.
Technically, the outgoing prime minister Viktor Orbán said earlier this week that “once oil deliveries are restored, we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan,” and they appeared to be (in the process of being) restored this afternoon, so…
Let’s see.
Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and all that.
Updated
