00:02The 27 leaders of the European Union are heading into a stormy summit on Thursday,
00:07with Hungary's veto of a €90 billion loan for Ukraine,
00:11the widening war in the Middle East and persistently high energy prices set to dominate the talks.
00:17From the moment leaders arrive, all eyes will be on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
00:23whose decision to block the support loan for Ukraine at the very last stage of the legislative
00:27process has caused widespread outrage. Another major point on Thursday's agenda
00:33will be the widening war in the Middle East and the far-reaching consequences it has triggered
00:38worldwide. Europeans were caught off guard when U.S. President Donald Trump last week
00:44asked for their help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for energy exports that Iran has
00:49closed off. The 27 leaders agree that energy prices, which have remained stubbornly high
00:55since the 2022 disruption, are a major problem but disagree on how to tackle them.
01:01As an immediate solution to offset high energy bills, Brussels recommends that governments
01:07either lower taxes or roll out subsidies, both of which affect revenues.
01:12The long-term recipe, however, is far less clear,
01:15as leaders remain fiercely divided on the need for structural reforms of the energy market.
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