On Monday 21 July, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, announced that his country would be working with Serbia and Russia to facilitate the transfer of Russian oil between Hungary and Serbia by building a pipeline that could be operational as early as 2027.
This announcement comes as the European Union seeks to completely phase out the last Russian fossil fuel imports by the end of 2027 (see EUROPE 13661/5).
“While Brussels bans Russian energy, cuts links and blocks roads, we need more sources, more roads. Hungary will not fall victim to these disastrous decisions”, declared Péter Szijjártó on X. He was speaking after talks with Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović and Russian Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin.
According to a press release from the Serbian government, Serbia could start work on the project as early as the beginning of next year, and Hungary could begin work on its section as early as 2026.
For several months Hungary has been rejecting the European Commission’s REPowerEU ‘roadmap’ aimed at freeing itself from Russian energy imports, citing, like Slovakia, risks to security of supply and high energy prices (see EUROPE 13681/10). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)