Hungary wants 750m euros to stop importing Russian oil. This became clear from the words of Foreign Minister Peter Siarto to the Spanish newspaper “El Pais”.
He said his country could not support the EU’s proposal to ban all imports of Russian crude oil and refined fuels without a “solution” to the cost of adapting energy supplies and infrastructure.
The minister’s words are “the closest that Hungary has come to in naming its price in support of the sixth package of EU sanctions,” Politico reported.
For now, however, there is no guarantee that Budapest will approve or that other EU countries will agree to fund Hungary so that it can agree to the sanctions.
Hungary opposes the proposed embargo on Russian oil and warns that the impact of such a ban will be severe for its economy.
Siarto pointed out that the different national energy situations within the EU must be taken into account.
He pointed out that Hungary is not only a landlocked country but also dependent on Russian oil and gas because of its historically built infrastructure.
According to him, the EC proposal creates a huge problem for the country. “Our refinery is designed for Russian oil. To process other types of oil, we will have to invest between 500 and 550 million euros – this will take about four years. To replace the oil pipeline from Russia, we will have to expand the capacity of the Adriatic Sea pipeline. “That would mean 200 million euros, and we don’t know how long that will take. The price of gas in Hungary will increase by 55%,” he said.
He said Hungary could not support the current package of sanctions unless Brussels offers a solution.
“What we told the President of the Commission on Monday was that her proposal was a problem for us. Without a proposed solution, Hungary cannot support the package of sanctions,” Siarto said.
He reiterated Hungary’s proposal to exempt pipeline supplies from the oil ban and focus sanctions on ship supplies.
