The Foreign Minister has said the construction of an LNG terminal on the island of Krk, Croatia, is in Hungary’s interest.
Following talks with Tomislav Coric, Croatia’s energy and environment minister, in Zagreb, Péter Szijjártó said the issue of long-term energy supplies was a critical issue for Central Europe in light of various uncertainties, such as the lack of a transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia from 2020.
According to MTI, the question remains as to how central Europe can guarantee access to secure gas supplies in the next few years. “It is vital for Hungary that new transport routes and new sources of gas become available from the south,” Minister Szijjártó said.
The Minister added that the best option currently on the table was that Croatia was at last building the LNG terminal, enabling gas to be delivered to Hungary. He noted the Hungarian government has decided to offer to acquire a 25 percent-plus-one share of the holding company that operates the LNG terminal. Hungarian companies will also own capacity in this terminal.
“Currently, this cannot be price-competitive,” Minister Szijjártó said, adding that the price offered was much higher than the price of gas currently available in Hungary.
Minister Szijjártó said he had proposed that Hungary and Croatia’s energy markets should therefore cooperate more closely than ever before and integrate their gas markets, eliminating the need to pay gas transport tariffs on the border of the two countries, resulting in a larger gas market and higher consumption.
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