Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó gave a live update from Luxembourg, where the European Union’s Energy Council was holding a meeting. The council’s agenda, according to the Hungarian minister, includes the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan, which aims to radically transform Brussels’ energy policy.
Stating that “Brussels is in bed with Kyiv,” he claimed a significant number of member states support cutting off cheap energy sources, which would drive up utility prices, hitting those living in Central Europe, including Hungary, particularly hard.
Hungary’s foreign minister said the plan aims to make it impossible for European countries to purchase cheap natural gas and crude oil.
“Hungarian people and Hungarian families will have to pay double, triple, or even quadruple the current utility costs,” Szijjártó warned.
Specifically, he claimed that the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan would force the Hungarian economy to face an annual additional expenditure of HUF 800 billion (€2 billion).
“All this means that the utility bills of Hungarian families will increase by two to four times. That is why we must do everything we can to prevent the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan from being pushed through,” the Hungarian foreign minister said.
Further calling the council meeting “a demagogic debate,” the foreign minister said it is clear that “not only the European Commission but also many member states view the issue of energy supply as a political issue.” Meanwhile, for Hungary, he said it is purely a physical reality.
At a press conference following the EU Council meeting, Szijjártó noted that more and more member states are, nevertheless, expressing serious reservations about the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan, partly for economic reasons and partly over legal concerns.
“Geography matters. Unfortunately, not everyone here understands this, especially those countries with coastlines,” he said, noting that countries in Central and Eastern Europe face a completely different situation.
The von der Leyen-Zelensky plan, Szijjártó said, would “seriously violate our sovereignty, as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the highest level of legislation of the European Union, states that energy policy decisions are a national competence.”
In other words, “it is everyone’s own business who they buy from, from what energy source, when and for how much. And no one has a say in that,” he added. Other countries may have decided to stop importing Russian energy, but according to him, this does not give them the authority to force other member states to do the same.
According to Szijjártó, Brussels argues that the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan serves to eliminate dependence, but in the case of Hungary, the exact opposite would happen.
“Mainly because preventing the use of energy sources from Russia means that Hungary’s energy supply is seriously endangered,” he warned.
“If the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan passes, Hungary will find itself in a serious situation of dependence,” he stated. As he detailed, oil transportation currently takes place via two routes, but the draft proposal discussed would block one of them, leaving only one pipeline.
“It is obvious that if one of the two remains, then we will depend on that one, then we will depend on the Croats,” he said, reminding listeners that Croatia has already increased transit fees fivefold, becoming a monopoly and charging even more.
The situation is similar with natural gas. The pipeline through Ukraine was blocked last year, and the largest currently operating pipeline, the Turkish Stream, would now also be targeted by the plan.
“This means that they want to close the two largest natural gas pipelines leading to Hungary within practically a year,” Szijjártó said, stressing that the proposal on the table would eliminate Hungary’s sovereignty and create a unilateral energy dependence that “endangers humanity.”
The minister also criticized EU leaders’ claims of solidarity, which he said were not supported by their actions. He cited as an example that when Ukraine blocked the gas pipeline to Hungary, “no one said anything.” The same thing happened when they partially blocked oil shipments, or when Croatia raised transit fees to an extreme level.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade pointed out that the European Commission now wants to put forward proposals that would fundamentally rewrite EU energy policy, while tensions are growing on the global market.
The foreign minister also pointed to the new Israeli-Iranian conflict as increasing uncertainty and market prices. Hungary, together with Slovakia, vetoed an EU Council resolution that would have called on the EU commission to make further progress on implementing the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan this month.
“The veto is a clear signal: We cannot allow Hungary to be exposed to serious energy supply risks,” he said, adding that Brussels is nevertheless preparing to push the legislation through quickly.
“Brussels has clearly fallen behind Kyiv on this issue,” he said. And yet they ignore another inconvenient truth: Ukraine’s dependence on Hungarian electricity.
“Today, 40-42 percent of Ukraine’s electricity imports come from Hungary,” he said. “If our country’s supply becomes uncertain, it would not only pose a danger to Hungarian families, but would also fundamentally shake Ukraine’s energy security.”
“Together with Viktor Orbán, we are ready to fight for as long as necessary,” he concluded.
At the press conference held after the Luxembourg Council meeting, Szijjártó was questioned by journalists on several issues. Both M1 and Hír TV staff were curious about the current level of EU resistance to the plan to phase out Russian energy sources, and whether Hungary can really count on any exemption or reprieve.
In his response, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that more and more member states are expressing serious reservations about the von der Leyen-Zelensky plan. These are partly economic and partly legal, but the issue of the nuclear industry is a particularly sensitive point.
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