Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that building on their previous successes, Hungary and Serbia are ready to build a new oil pipeline. This major investment will improve the energy security of both countries.
Following talks with Dubravka Dedovic, Serbia's energy minister, Minister Szijjártó said the feasibility study for the pipeline has already been completed. According to it, some 180km of pipelines need to be built in Hungary and 120km in Serbia, with a capacity of approximately 5m tonnes per year.
"In Hungary, this practically means construction along the Szazhalombatta-Algyo-Roszke line, with the construction of an international measuring station also necessary," he said.
"On the Hungarian side, this is an investment of around EUR 320m, which will take three years, and we are currently negotiating the contract that will guarantee the utilization of this new oil pipeline," he added.
The minister also noted that preparations are progressing for an investment that will double the electricity transmission capacity between the two countries by 2028.
Minister Szijjártó said that energy crises are quite common nowadays and often caused by "political hysteria". In such situations, there is a great need for close cooperation and continuous consultation between countries with limited resources.
"It is no longer an exaggeration to say that there is no Hungarian energy security without Serbia, and there is no Serbian energy security without Hungary," he added.
"Almost 100pc of Hungary's natural gas supply comes through Serbia. Last year, we set a brutal record with 7.6bn cubic meters of natural gas arriving in Hungary through Serbia via the Turkish Stream pipeline," Minister Szijjártó said, adding that Serbia has proven once again that it is a reliable transit country which is sadly not true of all our neighbours.
Minister Szijjártó called the sanctions on the Russian company that supplies oil and fuel to Serbia a common problem for the region, as this could cause challenges in other countries as well.
"It could easily cause a price increase if Serbian refining capacities are cut off from regional supplies. Then there is a real risk that the people of Central Europe would pay the price of the Biden administration's revenge," he said but expressed hope that with a new administration in the US he is hoping that we will be able to resolve this situation in the short term.