Boycott against Hungarian companies in Ukraine: foreign minister outraged

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday that it was “unacceptable” that while Hungary was making every attempt to support Ukraine, the operation of several Hungarians companies was rendered impossible in Ukraine simply because they are also present in Russia.

Szijjártó told a press conference after a meeting of EU foreign trade ministers that several products of Richter had been banned on the Ukrainian market, and procedures had been initiated against Egis products, too, while some people had already called for a boycott against oil company MOL. “These companies operate fully in line with the law, and have not violated any regulations … their only ‘sin’ is that since they are international companies, they are also present in Russia,” he said. He insisted that the latter had not violated any international legal regulations because participation in the pharmaceuticals and energy sectors was not subject to any sanctions.

“We expect the European Union to take action with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that the operation of companies from EU member states is not rendered impossible,” he said.

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Szijjártó said that the EU had lifted all customs fees on Ukrainian products and services in May this year until mid-2023 in order to help the war-ridden country, and Hungary had no objections against extending this.

In response to a question, he reiterated that the government was ready to offer its part of EU financial support to Ukraine next year but was against taking out a joint loan.