Hungary threatens to veto EU boycott of Russian energy

“We have made it clear that we will never support a proposal” to extend EU sanctions against Russia to the energy sector, Gergeli Golias told Hungarian broadcaster HirTV.

Bloomberg News reported on Saturday based on informed sources that the European Commission wants to phase out Russian oil imports this year. Hungary, which relies heavily on Russian energy, is one of the staunch opponents of extending sanctions.

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“Since such decisions require consensus, it does not make sense for the European Commission to propose sanctions on natural gas and crude oil that would limit Hungarian purchases,” Golias said.

Orban’s government agreed with Russia to pay for gas in rubles from now on, putting to the test the EU’s sanctions policy. Russia cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday because the two countries refused to pay in rubles.