Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the European Commission wants to make Hungary, among other countries, pay the price of its "senseless and immeasurable" support for Ukraine by banning Russian energy imports, adding that this would pose a "serious threat" to the country’s energy security.
Speaking in reaction to a fresh announcement by European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, Minister Szijjártó said in Tiszaujvaros, in north-eastern Hungary, that after the "complete failure" of its sanctions on Russia, the EC was "making another serious mistake by banning energy imports from Russia".
"The forced, artificial and ideological ban on Russian energy causes serious difficulties for the economies of many European countries; it causes serious problems for some European companies in terms of international competitiveness, and poses a serious threat of price increases on the energy market," the minister said.
"It’s totally clear what this decision by the European Commission is about," Minister Szijjártó said. "This decision is about the European Commission wanting to make countries that operate in a sensible way and pursue sensible policies, like Hungary, pay the price of its senseless and immeasurable support for Ukraine, meaning the price of quickly pushing Ukraine into the European Union."
"We reject this, we refuse to pay the price of the senseless and immeasurable support going to Ukraine," he said. "We refuse to pay the price of Ukraine’s extra quick EU accession."
He said the EC’s decision was also a "grave violation" of the sovereignty of member states, including Hungary, arguing that EU law made it clear that member states are free to determine their own energy mix and decide where they buy energy from.
"This decision by the European Commission poses a serious threat to the security of Hungary’s energy supply, because energy security is not a political issue, but a rock-solid political one," Szijjarto said. "You can buy natural gas and crude oil from where there are pipeline connections. You can’t buy natural gas and crude oil from places which there aren’t."