“How long does Brussels want to continue its sanctions policy, which runs totally contrary to Europe’s interests?” Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, asked after a meeting of EU counterparts, adding that sanctions had “failed”, while the war was escalating and energy prices were at a record high.
In addition, the minister said energy supplies are more and more problematic. Introducing a price cap would be a political decision “but we know no political reason to give up the security of Hungary’s energy supplies”, he said. No political reason could make the government “put Hungarians in a humiliating position in which they could not heat, cook or have hot water”, he said, adding however that no decision had been made in Friday’s debate. The European Commission will submit a written proposal on the subject in the next few weeks. Concerning current supplies, the minister said Hungary’s gas storage facilities contained 38 percent of the country’s annual consumption, as against 22 percent in the EU. He said Hungary’s was the third highest rate in Europe, and noted that the EU’s directive was 35 percent. Deliveries of gas purchased on top of contracted volumes are continuous, Minister Szijjártó said, adding that 60 percent of all deliveries were received from the south.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter