CDU politician calling Hungary a "maffia state" does nothing to ease suspicions of an ideological radicalization in Berlin.Continue reading
The European Union is dominated by “an atmosphere of war,” with the vast majority of member states in favor of speeding up the delivery of even more weapons to Ukraine, while “pro-peace actors are under serious attack,” the foreign minister said.
Several EU member states believe the bloc has still not done enough to support Ukraine, Péter Szijjártó told a news conference during a break in a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
Those who speak out in favor of peace are facing severe political and verbal attacks,
he added.
On Ukrainian grain exports, he noted that the government had agreed to set up so-called solidarity corridors to ease the global food crisis. But most of the grain and agricultural products exported by Ukraine were stuck in Central Europe, he said. The European Commission has a duty to remedy the situation immediately and clarify that the EU-Ukraine agreement applies to transit shipments, Szijjártó said. Hungary is sticking to the original concept by banning direct grain imports from Ukraine while allowing transit shipments, he said.
On another issue, Szijjártó criticized planned sanctions against Russia’s nuclear energy sector, saying Hungary was already paying the price of the war regarding energy supplies. Hungary can buy oil via Croatia or Ukraine, and transit fees have increased significantly in both directions, the minister said.
Hungary needs 2,400 MW of new energy sources by the beginning of the next decade, which can only be produced in an environmentally friendly way with nuclear reactors, he said. If the modernization of the Paks nuclear power plant becomes untenable, Hungary will not be able to produce the electricity needed for households and the functioning of the economy by the beginning of the next decade, Szijjártó said.
Photos via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter