Budapest opposes measures “that might have a negative impact on EU gas market” — a stance that could kill the EU’s effort to squeeze Moscow’s gas revenue.
The EU’s unprecedented effort to penalize Russia’s lucrative gas sector is already crashing into a familiar sanctions foe: Hungary.
The country expressed significant reservations about the new proposal during initial conversations among ambassadors last week, according to several people in the room — refusing to oppose the measure outright but making its wariness evident. Hungary’s top envoy said his country would block any penalties that raise energy costs in Europe.
“We are going to analyze the package but do not support anything that might have a negative impact on [the] EU gas market,” the Hungarian official said during a meeting of diplomats on Wednesday, according to two diplomats with knowledge of the discussions.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó made similar comments in Moscow last year, insisting that Hungary’s energy security “requires uninterrupted transportation of gas, oil and nuclear fuel.”
You mean 2021 Russian Order of Friendship recipient Péter Szijjártó? That guy? Same guy who has a random young male football player who is not related to him show up on every intimate family portrait recently, overshadowing his wife in most of them, yet he is a top minister in a government that fights against the rights of sexual minorities? Same person?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The country expressed significant reservations about the new proposal during initial conversations among ambassadors last week, according to several people in the room — refusing to oppose the measure outright but making its wariness evident.
The push is a significant shift in EU strategy, coming as evidence mounts that its efforts to slash the Kremlin’s fossil fuel revenues — used to finance its war in Ukraine — are falling short.
And Europe’s LNG markets are far more stable than they were right after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, giving Brussels a freer hand to impose restrictions, said Tom Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at intelligence firm ICIS.
However, Marzec-Manser cautioned, while energy markets in Central European countries like Hungary have stabilized in recent months, any changes to supply could make prices for consumers “very, very volatile.”
Last week, as the latest sanctions proposal — the EU’s 14th wartime package — started circulating, Hungary reiterated its opposition to targeting Russia’s energy sector.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó made similar comments in Moscow last year, insisting that Hungary’s energy security “requires uninterrupted transportation of gas, oil and nuclear fuel.”
The original article contains 629 words, the summary contains 184 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
They are looking out for the average Hungarian using energy. The smug stupidity of the EU is amazing.
Have you been to Hungary? It’s pretty fucking clear that Orban’s government doesn’t give a fuck about the average Hungarian.
Oh yeah, then why did people elect him? Are you saying there is a dictatorship within the EU? Wow. Viktor Orbán makes sense. Ukraine is going to lose, and the EU will lose Russian energy, all because they wanted to militarize Ukraine. Be prepared to see many wind turbines and solar panels covering up all of your country. Stupidity is contagious, it is mob mentality. That is what you see in the EU and NATO. To justify their unity, they need to be stupid together.
Lol
