The Hungarian head of government fears for his country’s economy.
(Photo: IMAGO/ANP)
Budapest Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized the EU Commission’s proposal for sanctions on oil imports from Russia in clear terms. “It is tantamount to an atomic bomb being dropped on the Hungarian economy,” said the right-wing politician on state radio on Friday. Nor could his country replace Russian oil imports within the 20-month period that the proposal explicitly envisages for Hungary.
“According to our own calculations, we need five years for the conversion (to oil without Russian imports), a delay of one or a year and a half does not help,” Orban continued. The Commission’s proposal would not only mean that energy would become more expensive in Hungary, but that the country would no longer have any energy sources at all. “That’s why I say: Return it to the sender!”
The EU Commission has now adapted its proposal for an embargo on Russian oil at short notice in order to accommodate critics of the project among the 27 member states. According to EU diplomats, she wants to extend the transition period of a Russian oil embargo for Hungary and Slovakia until the end of 2024.
For the Czech Republic, the deadline is to apply until mid-2024, unless the Transalpine pipeline is completed earlier, it is said. The derogations should only apply to pipeline oil, diplomats said. Orban’s comments about a “nuclear bomb” are tactical maneuvers, said one of the diplomats. Negotiations will continue in Brussels, and Hungary has not yet vetoed it.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
MEP Markus Ferber (CSU) criticized the EU Commission’s approach: “Sanctions are most effective when they come as a surprise to those affected. Negotiating a new package of sanctions for more than a week now and documenting every negotiation step publicly is not a recipe for success.” If Europe really wants to hit Russia, it must act quickly and in a united manner.
Orban has governed Hungary since 2010. Last month, his Fidesz party won the general election, giving him his fourth consecutive prime minister. Under his rule, the country has closely approximated Russia. However, Budapest supported the EU’s previous sanctions packages, which it had issued in response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
>> Also read here: Why Hungary and other Central Europeans fear an oil boycott
“But even then we said that there is a red line that must not be crossed. That’s the energy sector,” Orban said earlier in the radio interview. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the EU Commission with its oil embargo plan “attacked the (in this situation) created unity of Europe”.
On Wednesday, the EU Commission presented a draft of a sanctions package that envisages the extensive suspension of Russian oil supplies to the EU by the beginning of next year. The proposal can only be decided unanimously.
With agency material.
More: Does an oil embargo against Russia make sense?