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In September and October, Gazprom will deliver up to 5.8 million cubic meters more gas per day to Hungary via Serbia than the amount stipulated in the long-term contract, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
The Minister was speaking from Prague on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, where he said that in August the maximum additional gas supply over and above the long-term contract was 2.6 million cubic meters. This will be increased to a maximum of 5.8 million cubic meters per day from today, September 1. The Foreign Minister also indicated that Hungary has signed a contract about this with the Russian gas company Gazprom.
The delivery of the extra gas depends on technical and technological issues, Szijjártó said. He added that
the increased volume will also contribute to Hungary’s energy security and in avoiding the need to introduce restrictions in the country due to natural gas shortages.
Szijjártó stressed that there will be enough natural gas in Hungary in the coming period.
The Hungarian foreign minister also said that Hungary is in a good position in terms of gas storage capacity, which stands at 36.5 percent of consumption, compared to an average of 21.5 percent in EU countries. However, Hungary’s geographical location and the position of its pipelines make it necessary to purchase Russian gas, Szijjártó said.
Commenting on the EU foreign ministers’ meeting, the Foreign Minister said it was chaotic and confusing, but that a general visa ban on Russian citizens would not be introduced, after several speakers, including Szijjártó, spoke out against it. However, he added that the European Union will terminate the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, with a qualified majority of Member States being sufficient for a decision.
Featured photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr. / Bloomberg.com