The EU shrugs off Hungary’s opposition to Ukraine support at a summit. What’s Orbán’s next move?

BRUSSELS (AP) — All European Union nations but Hungary signed a joint statement Thursday backing Ukraine, the second time in a month that Budapest was the bloc's sole member to decline to sign such a statement of support.

Conclusions reaffirming the EU's “continued and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity” were “firmly supported” by 26 out of 27 leaders, according to the press statement issued at Thursday's summit in Brussels.

It’s a symbolic move that makes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán look more isolated than ever. He is unable to hold up real EU assistance to Ukraine, and Hungary’s European partners are coming up with workarounds to avoid any veto.

At the same time, Orbán is also emboldened by U.S. President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump has blamed Ukraine for Russia’s unprovoked invasion, all while accusing Kyiv of unnecessarily prolonging the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.

As a matter of principle, the 27 EU member nations strive for unanimity on big decisions. When it comes to sensitive foreign affairs questions, it is often a legal necessity.

Under stridently nationalist Orbán, Hungary has drifted ever further from the EU fold over the war in Ukraine, repeatedly holding up the passage of multibillion-euro aid packages and sanctions. But the rest of the bloc is growing more inclined to proceed without him, as an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday is expected to underline.

Orbán is the closest to Russian President Vladimir Putin of all EU leaders, and is backing U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace talks with Moscow, which have largely sidestepped Kyiv and the EU. Two weeks ago, Hungary already refused to put its name to a joint EU statement that referred to Ukraine achieving “peace through strength” by counting on continued European military and financial support.

Orban didn't speak at his arrival at the summit on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Hungary's European Affairs Minister Janos Boka indicated that Budapest would refuse to sign the joint statement. “The part on Ukraine in several points is against the strategic interests and the strategic vision of Hungary on how to create the new European security architecture,” Boka said Monday.

Ahead of the summit, EU officials and diplomats from other countries made clear they wouldn’t spend time being drawn into hours-long debates with Budapest when agreement on Ukraine was impossible.

Two weeks ago, at an emergency summit, European Council President Antonio Costa described Hungary as “isolated”. “We respect Hungary’s position,” he said. “But it’s one out of 27, and 26 are more than one.”

Hungary can take the symbolic step of blocking joint statements and holding up proceedings, but it cannot block a major EU defense loan package or stop countries from spending more on their military budgets — two courses of action that will directly benefit Ukraine.

Still, with talks on the future of Ukraine unfolding day by day, the rest of the EU is looking for ways to signal support for Kyiv. On Tuesday, six northern countries urged the European Commission to find ways to help Ukraine join the EU more quickly. Kyiv got the green light to open membership negotiations last year, after Hungary dropped a veto, but the talks are yet to start.

Ministers and representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which are close to or share borders with Russia, called for “concrete proposals on how to decisively advance Ukraine’s accession process” in a letter seen by The Associated Press.

Sweden’s European Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz told AP that supporting Ukraine’s journey to EU membership was “an investment in the security of our entire continent.”

Joining the EU typically takes years or even decades of difficult reforms, though European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has suggested Kyiv could possibly join by the end of the decade.

In Hungary, Orbán has threatened to block Ukraine's membership, and he is planning to hold a public opinion survey on whether the country should be allowed in. Enlargement decisions require unanimity, which has seen other EU membership bids, notably Turkey's, grind to a halt.

Future U.S. support for Kyiv is far from certain following a bust-up between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

At a gathering of far-right EU politicians on the eve of the summit, Orbán said he does not support giving money to keep Ukraine fighting. “In our understanding, there is one simple mission to be done by the European Union: to support Donald Trump, President Donald Trump’s efforts to make peace,” he said.

While EU leaders ponder long-term measures to back Kyiv, it is the United States that is shaping the course of the conflict. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after Trump spoke to both presidents, though it remains to be seen when and how it might take effect.

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AP Journalist Sylvie Corbet contributed.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, left, speaks with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, speaks with Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

From left, Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, speaks with European Council President Antonio Costa during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Larson is tired of his weekends at Homestead-Miami Speedway ending in disappointment.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver has won a NACAR Cup Series race and Xfinity Series race in his career at the South Florida track, but he mostly just remembers the heartbreaks there.

Last year it was a 13th-place finish in the playoff race. On Saturday, it was a late collapse in the Xfinity Series that cost him a chance of sweeping the weekend.

Larson, who is competing in the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck races at the 1.5-mile track in Homestead, was hoping to join Kyle Busch as the only drivers to sweep a triple-header weekend — Busch did it at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2010 and 2017.

Larson got off to a good start, rallying from a late-race spinout to pull off a comeback win in the Truck Series on Friday.

In the Xfinity Series on Saturday, it looked like he was on his way to a dominant win. He held a 16-second lead in the race before a late spin by Taylor Gray caused a caution with seven laps to go. On the overtime restart, Sam Mayer's No. 41 Ford made contact with the back of Larson's No. 17 Chevrolet, costing him the win.

“Bummer, again, to have another Homestead race play out that way," Larson said. "I can't go when my rear tires are off the ground. So I know it looks like I choked another one away, but I did everything I thought I could (to win). The 41 just lagged back and slammed me.”

Larson led 132 of 201 laps and finished fourth. It was another disappointing end at one of his best tracks.

Larson has five top-five finishes in 11 Cup starts in his career at Homestead — two driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He’s led the most laps (626) of any active driver, and his 12 stage wins in the Next Gen car is a series best. No other driver has more than five stage wins.

Larson finished fourth in 2021 and won the race in 2022 but left frustrated the past two years.

He was out of the race at Lap 214 in 2023 after slamming into the pit road barriers trying to overtake Ryan Blaney for the lead. Last year, Larson’s winning chance ended when he spun while racing Blaney for the lead with under 20 laps to go.

“I feel like every time I go there (to Homestead) you leave disappointed because you feel like you have the best car or truck, and things don’t work out,” Larson said this week. “Whether it’s mistakes on my end or ill-timed cautions combined with a hiccup on pit road, or whatever late in the race, and you end up losing.

“Literally all but maybe two or three races at Homestead I felt like we had the best car, best chance of winning, and we don’t have the wins to show for it.”

NASCAR sent out a clarification to race teams in all three national series on pitting in another team’s pit stall after Christopher Bell stopped in the pit stall of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe to have a loose left wheel tightened during the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas last weekend.

If a vehicle gets service in another team’s pit stall to fix a safety issue, it will receive a flag status penalty, NASCAR said, and they’ll either have to restart at the tail of the field or receive a pass-through for pitting outside the assigned pit box.

The left-front wheel was loose on Bell’s No. 20 Toyota when he was exiting pit road last week. If the wheel came off after he exited pit road, Bell would have been penalized two laps and had two pit crew members suspended for the next two races. He stopped in Briscoe’s stall for service instead, was dinged for pitting outside the box and only had to restart at the back of the field. He finished 12th.

NASCAR listed tightening loose wheels, removing a fuel can or a wedge wrench as examples of safety issues.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that the organization signed an agreement with Progressive Insurance to sponsor Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry in 18 NASCAR Cup Series races this season, starting with Sunday’s race in Homestead.

Progressive’s name and blue branding will be displayed on Hamlin’s car and race suit, and his crew will wear Progressive branded gear.

“It’s good for them (Joe Gibbs Racing) to have an anchor partner,” Hamlin said, “and certainly for my fans’ sake, they’re going to be able to identify me week-to-week. And I think that’s something that certainly is very important. So feeling out those 18 races is going to be a big deal for myself and Gibbs throughout the year.”

Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman won the pole for Sunday’s race while driving a No. 48 Toyota that promotes the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled, which just wrapped up its inaugural season in Miami.

It’s the sixth career pole for Bowman, who was followed by Josh Berry — the winner at Las Vegas last weekend — Noah Gragson, Briscoe and William Byron.

Larson (+375) is the BetMGM Sportsbook favorite, followed by Tyler Reddick (+600). Larson’s 1,286 total miles led on the 1.5-mile tracks is almost double that of any other driver. Bell is second with 614. ... Reddick won the race last year, while Hamlin leads active drivers with three wins (2009, ’13, ’20).

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Kyle Larson drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)