Hungary only supports a solution that does not jeopardize a secure energy supply
There is no agreement between Hungary and the European Commission on energy issues. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last Wednesday that they wanted to impose an oil embargo, so they would be banned from buying Russian oil. The Hungarian government immediately indicated that it could not support this. The chairman of the committee traveled to Budapest on Monday evening, and today he agreed with the French chairman by telephone with Viktor Orbán, but no agreement has been reached yet. Hungary only supports a solution that does not jeopardize a secure energy supply, M1 News reported.
Péter Szijjártó: Don’t pay the Hungarian people the price of war!
After the President of the European Commission, Viktor Orbán met with the French President. The Prime Minister spoke by telephone with Emmanuel Macronon about Europe’s energy security. On Monday evening, Ursula von der Leyen was received by Viktor Orbán at the Carmelite Monastery. The Prime Minister discussed with the head of the European Commission the individual oil embargo and its effects on the Hungarian economy.
Ursula von der Leyen later wrote on her community page that we have made progress, but more work is needed.
The discussion was constructive. The issues of oil transportation, storage and refining were discussed at the hearing in Budapest – the leading spokesperson of the European Commission, Eric Mamer, has already spoken about this.
“The chairman of the committee, together with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, wanted to find solutions in response to legitimate Hungarian concerns about energy supply. We have said several times: we recognize that Hungary and others do not have a coastline and are heavily dependent on Russian oil, they are in a special situation, and this requires special solutions. ” Eric Mamer said.
Responding to a question, the spokesman said that the chairman of the committee did not promise anything to Viktor Orbán, and that was not the purpose of the visit. He also said that no timeframe had been set for the agreement. He added that the aim was to find common solutions at the political and technical level in the spirit of mutual understanding.
“We cannot allow the Hungarian people to pay the price of this war”Péter Szijjártó stated after the consultation. The foreign and foreign minister added that some progress, a small amount of progress, has been made on another sanctions package against Russia.
“During the meeting, we briefed the European Commission in detail on the effects on Hungary, and in detail on the problems that are causing the President to impose a package of sanctions on Hungary. We asked that these problems be considered. Until the European Commission offers a solution to these, of course Hungary cannot support this package of sanctions. ” M1 quoted the Foreign Minister.
Journalists were also asked about the oil embargo at a press conference in Péter Szijjártó in Brussels. The foreign minister said
Hungary’s energy supply is on a secure footing today, ensuring the country’s functioning, but the European Commission’s proposal would destroy this, which the government cannot allow.
If the European Commission’s proposal were adopted, it would be impossible to obtain the amount of crude oil needed to operate the Hungarian economy.
“Not because we don’t want to, not because we’re not ready for it, not because we’re not brave enough, or I don’t know, but because it’s simply out of the question, impossible and therefore obvious that we can only support a proposal on our part, which can also address this problem caused by the European Commission “, said Szijjártó.
He said that the adoption of sanctions would require serious infrastructure investments in Hungary, and the effects of the measures on rising prices would also have to be addressed.
Last week, the European Commission observed that it wanted to impose an oil embargo, meaning it would ban them from buying Russian oil. The proposal is a source of serious tension in the Union. The Hungarian government has stated that it does not support the plan because it will ruin the Hungarian economy.