Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said decisions made by Brussels have so far caused nothing but “damage” to Europe’s energy security, whereas measures taken by the Hungarian government have ensured continued supplies to the country.
After attending a meeting of EU energy ministers in Prague, the foreign minister welcomed the fact that “no concrete decisions have been made” on introducing a cap on gas prices. Hungary will not support any proposal on introducing such measures because it would pose a serious risk to the continent’s energy supplies and send energy prices skyrocketing, he said. Hungary supports diversification in the form of using additional resources, such as importing more gas from Azerbaijan and increasing the capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, Szijjártó said, adding that “the real solution” to the energy crisis is in infrastructure development including the construction of more pipelines and LNG terminals. Hungary supports keeping energy-related decisions in national competence, allowing member states the autonomy to decide whether to join mandatory community-level energy purchases, the foreign minister said. Minister Szijjártó said Hungary’s natural gas supplies were secure and its gas storage facilities were 48.2 percent full, as against the European average of 26.9 percent. The government is paying increased attention to the smooth “physical and legal operation” of the TurkStream gas pipeline through which gas flows are steady between east and west. He said the world was living “its first global energy crisis in history” and called for working out solutions for the long term.