00:02EU leaders clash with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his use of the veto to block a crucial lifeline
00:08of 90 billion euros to Ukraine.
00:10Orban is insisting either Ukraine or the European Union pay for the reconstruction of part of the Druzhba pipeline,
00:17a Soviet-era pipeline transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
00:23At a major EU summit in Brussels, which was overshadowed by the war in Iran,
00:27EU member states expressed their deep disapproval of Orban's behaviour,
00:31which has been described as blackmail by President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
00:37The leaders take the floor to clearly condemn the attitude from Viktor Orban,
00:45to remember that once a deal, a deal is a deal, and all the leaders need to honour their word.
00:56And nobody can blackmail the European Council, nobody can blackmail the European Union institutions.
01:04All 27 countries were meeting to primarily discuss the EU's slow economy,
01:08but pressing issues such as gas and oil prices and supply were top of the agenda.
01:13The EU says it won't send a mission to the Strait of Hormuz, given the safety concerns,
01:17but have agreed to try and find a solution to the situation in the coming weeks.
01:21Meanwhile, the economic impact of the conflict is worsening by the day.
01:25But the EU says it will continue the path of fully phasing out Russian gas by 2027,
01:30despite ongoing supply issues due to the war.
01:33So we have our clear targets, and we're sticking to our targets.
01:39Very important was the discussion, and you just reiterated it,
01:45how important it is that we do the transformation in the energy sector
01:51to the clean, homegrown energy sources.
01:55This is, for us, extremely important.
01:58The EU is in a very tricky situation, on the one hand, having nothing to do with the war in
02:02the Iran,
02:02on the other hand, under somewhat of an obligation to ensure the safe passage of Gulf oil and gas
02:07through the Strait of Hormuz.
02:08European leaders, as well as the Japanese, have said that they have tried to find a path forward
02:12over the coming weeks and days, but they're operating somewhat in the dark,
02:16given that there's very little consultation from allies, the US,
02:19about how this war is going to proceed.
02:22Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.
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