Hungary has threatened to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union if draft law No. 12380 is adopted. This law prohibits the transit of Russian oil and gas through Ukraine during martial law, Focus reports.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, commented on the situation on Facebook, emphasizing that each EU member state has the sovereign right to choose the sources and routes of its energy supplies.
According to him, Ukraine must understand that closing gas or oil routes is unacceptable and contradicts the expectations of a country that wants to be part of the European Union.
Szijjártó and the EU: Unanimity in decision-making
Szijjártó reminded the Ukrainian authorities that decisions on the admission of new members to the EU are taken unanimously by all member states. This means that each country has the right to vote “for“ or “against“ enlargement of the Union.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister stressed that such a decisive vote is mandatory and recalled the need to fulfill obligations on energy security and securing transport routes.
Orban's proposal for a “way out“
In December 2024 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed a solution to continue the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.
According to him, if it is guaranteed that the gas will be owned by the buyers before it reaches the territory of Ukraine, the problem of Russian energy dependence would be solved.
In this case, according to Orban, Russian gas will become “Hungarian”, as part of a compromise plan to preserve transit through Ukraine.
Expiration of the agreement and future steps
The agreement on the transit of Russian gas between "Gazprom" and "Naftogaz" through Ukraine expired on January 1, 2025, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already stated that the country will not extend this contract.
Tensions on the issue are growing, as it is still unclear how the situation with gas transit will develop in the future and how this will affect relations between Ukraine, Hungary and the EU.