We have learned that Hungary has not vetoed the Putin decree, the effects are being investigated.
British Sun and Telegraph correspondents in Brussels reported on their Twitter account a few minutes apart on Thursday that only one of the 27 members of the Hungarian government opposed an EU resolution condemning the Russians’ plan to pay in rubles. for gas. Noting the information Immediate he summed up all this in a Friday article entitled “the Hungarian government has vetoed the EU saying no to blackmail Putin”.
It was strange from the outset how journalists from the non-EU UK could find out about the “outcome” of such an EU consultation, no other authoritative source has reported such a thing. So we also asked what actually happened, so
According to the Portfolio’s reliable information in Brussels, there are a number of misunderstandings on the subject.
For example, the fact that there was no veto, because the issue was not discussed in an official body, on the other hand, not only the Hungarian government expressed its caution about the Russian plan, which was not officially announced on Wednesday, and the informal body met again today (Friday). and even today, only the Hungarian side has taken the view that in the light of the decree signed by Putin, it is necessary to examine how all this affects the valid gas purchase agreements.
We know that the Russian plan is being prepared On Wednesday, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy held an extraordinary video call meeting with its government members and gas companies responsible for energy. (typically attended by secretaries of state or deputy secretaries of state from some) and this was also referred to by a Sun journalist in his post (“at a meeting of top officials from the 27 capitals”). As it is an informal coordination forum, it cannot make a decision, so the word veto is meaningless in the first place. to our knowledge not only did the head of the Hungarian government warn on Wednesday that we should wait for the specific Russian plan promised for Thursday with the required statement, but several other representatives did so, therefore, there was no question of the Hungarian government being left alone with its position.
Moreover, to our knowledge, the formation on Friday is the same today, so he also held another videoconference meeting at which he will now revisit the issue in the light of the decree announced by the Russians and signed by the Russian President.
According to our information Representatives of several other Hungarian members (Italian, German and Austrian) also emphasized that the companies concerned should investigate that what is in their own gas-fired gas contracts, and what is the impact of the new Russian regulation on the performance of their contracts. it will then be possible to return to the question if the new situation is of any material concern to anyone at all.
As we pointed out in our analysis on Thursday evening and in our podcast on Friday, and confirmed by most of our sources in Brussels:
the whole Russian plan, after all, had more smoke than flame and nothing meaningful would change for previous gas buyers.
Thus, money can still be transferred in euros or dollars to Russia, where it will be exchanged for rubles in an account to be opened with Gazprombank and this amount will be sent to Gazprom. Along with the rhetorical confrontation has remained between the Russians on the one hand, the European gas buyers on the other, and the European Commission because it is voicing its own truth on both sides. The Russians say they have managed to force Westerners to reverse their gas bills in rubles, and the Westerners say that nothing will change in their contracts and they will continue to pay in euros and dollars.
A good example of the rhetorical confrontation is that, following the Energy Coordination Meeting on Friday night, a spokesman for the European Commission stressed, according to Reuters, that they must not allow European gas companies to claim Russian claims. The spokesman called for gas companies to insist that the supply contract continue to be paid in euros and dollars.
This remaining rhetorical opposition and the involvement of Gazprombank in the process of managing gas bills, more twists and turns in gas transport, and that is why the gas price may have remained high yesterday, although it has now fallen by 11%.
Cover image source: Shutterstock