On central Europe’s supplies of crude oil, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, noted that 19 million tons of Russian crude are delivered to Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia each year through the Druzhba pipeline. The only alternative route, the Adria pipeline, carries only 12 million tons annually, he said. “This has been common knowledge for at least half a year, yet nothing has been done to expand it,” he said, calling it a “huge mistake” on the part of the European Union.
Meanwhile, the minister said Croatia had made an “unfair” offer when it came to extending Hungarian oil and gas company MOL’s contract which expires at the end of the year, noting that the transit fee would balloon by 80%. He accused the Croats of “abusing” the war situation and their monopoly, as well as the energy security vulnerabilities of Hungary and Czechia. Hungary has turned to the European Commission on creating a proposal on ensuring that prices related to routes necessitated by the war should not exceed the European average, he said.