On Monday, Hungary vetoed an EU draft legislation on phasing out Russian energy sources.Continue reading
“Hungary is facing serious threats from both Brussels and Kyiv, as the Von der Leyen-Zelenskyy plan poses a threat to our country’s energy security and could lead to a significant increase in utility costs”, stated Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Athens on Wednesday.
The Minister held talks with his Greek counterpart, Yorgos Gerapetritis, and then reported at a joint press conference that in this age of danger, when devastating wars are raging in Europe’s neighborhood and in the Middle East, stable, reliable and friendly relations, such as those between Hungary and Greece, are becoming increasingly valuable.
He said that following the meetings, he would also be attending a major energy conference in the afternoon, as Hungary is currently facing serious threats from both Brussels and Kyiv.
In this context, he also criticized the fact that banning imports of cheap and easily accessible Russian energy sources would leave Hungary defenseless and seriously dependent, and that this would also violate our country’s sovereignty, as the composition of the national energy mix is the exclusive competence of the Member States.
“The REPowerEU package reduces the number of oil pipelines to Hungary from two to one and also closes the largest capacity entry point for natural gas flowing into Hungary,” he warned.
He also criticized the hypocrisy of the initiative, recalling that Hungary, together with Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Slovakia, had previously approached the European Commission to request financial support for expanding the capacity of the Southeast European pipeline network, but their request was rejected.
“Therefore, on the one hand, we are forced to gradually phase out certain energy sources, and on the other hand, there is no support whatsoever for the creation of new transport routes and new sources. That is why I would like to strongly defend Greece, which takes a practical approach to energy issues, is ready to cooperate, and does not allow energy issues to become overly politicized and ideologically driven,” he said.
Péter Szijjártó also pointed out that Budapest and Athens fully agree on the need to protect the external borders of the European Union.
“We are not allowing illegal migrants to enter Hungarian territory, and sixteen Hungarian police officers are currently serving in Greece to help protect the borders,” he recalled.
The minister concluded by describing bilateral relations as a success story and pointing out that Hungarian exports to Greece reached a record high of EUR 800 million last year, while the number of tourists visiting Hungary from the southern European country also reached a new peak, approaching 100,000 per year.
“We are very proud of the Greek community in Hungary, which we will continue to support so that they can preserve their identity and cultural heritage,” he said.
He also expressed his hope that the current cooperation between the two governments and the two countries, based on mutual respect, would continue.
Via MTI; Featured photo: Facebook/Péter Szijjártó