Hungary accuses EU of blackmail over Russian petroleum imports

Hungary's Foreign Minister has accused the European Commission of blackmail regarding the blocked petroleum supply to Hungary and Slovakia.

In June, Ukraine sanctioned Russian company Lukoil, halting the transit of Russian petroleum through Ukraine to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia owned by Hungary's MOL Group.

Hungary and Slovakia requested the European Commission to pressure Kyiv into reversing this decision.

Peter Szijjártó, Hungary's Foreign Minister, wrote on Facebook that the European Commission has taken no action in this regard. He claimed that despite the threat to the energy security of two EU member states and the clear violation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, Brussels has remained silent.

Szijjártó suggested that either the European Commission is too weak to evaluate the fundamental interests of member states or it may be the source of the dispute. He implied that Brussels, not Kyiv, might be responsible for this situation, accusing the Commission of using the issue to blackmail two peace-defending countries opposed to sending weapons to Ukraine.

In a written response, the European Commission stated that it had begun gathering information upon receiving requests from Hungary and Slovakia. The Commission posed detailed questions to both countries for a comprehensive analysis and contacted Ukrainian authorities. The questions pertained to the current volume of petroleum transit, the legal entities transporting petroleum through Ukraine, existing contracts, potential alternative supply routes, and associated costs. Supplies from other Russian providers have not encountered issues.

As the dispute escalates, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Slovakia would halt diesel supplies to Ukraine if Russian petroleum transit through Kyiv does not resume.

This conflict highlights the extent to which some European countries remain dependent on Russian energy more than two years after the Ukraine war began and the EU decided to stop importing petroleum from Moscow.