“There are still some technical and procedural steps to be completed on the Ukrainian side. And for us, what remains to be done is to verify if the conditions linked to the first disbursement under the macrofinancial assistance programme for Ukraine are met or not met,” Lammert admitted.

The loan agreement followed a diplomatic breakthrough in late April, when Slovakia and Hungary eased opposition to key EU measures supporting Ukraine. Hungary had previously blocked the package under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban amid disagreements linked to the Druzhba pipeline.