Visegrad Group in March 2026: the most important developments in economy
In March 2026, the dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline between Hungary and Ukraine dominated the economic news of the Visegrad countries. On March 6, Budapest gave Ukraine three days to restore oil transit, blocked some fuel deliveries to Ukraine and seized a Ukrainian state bank convoy carrying cash and gold; Kyiv accused Hungary of taking hostages and stealing money. Hungary returned the vehicles on March 12 but kept the cash and gold. On March 17 and 18 the EU offered to pay for pipeline repairs, and Ukraine accepted an inspection and agreed to resume pumping Russian oil. On March 19, Hungary, with support from Slovakia, blocked approval of a EUR 90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán set conditions tied to Russian oil imports. On March 25 and 26 Hungary began a gradual halt of natural gas supplies to Ukraine until oil flows through the pipeline resume. The European Central Bank warned that the seizure of Ukrainian cash risks the credibility of the euro.
Governments also took measures on fuel prices. On March 9 Orbán asked the European Commission to suspend EU sanctions on Russian energy, and Hungary capped gasoline and diesel prices and banned exports of crude oil and certain fuels. Slovakia withdrew from an emergency energy pact with Ukraine, stopped electricity exports to it, limited diesel sales in some border regions and introduced temporary dual diesel prices. Poland planned to cut VAT and excise taxes on fuels.
Defense financing was the other main theme. On March 12 Polish President Nawrocki vetoed a law that would have unlocked EUR 44 billion in EU defense loans. Poland's central bank governor said he was weighing gold sales to fund defense. The Czech government cut a tank loan program by 18 billion crowns. The European Commission cleared French and Czech plans under the EU's SAFE defense fund but skipped Hungary's.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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