Hungarian minister outraged: Croatia to increase oil transit price brutally in 2023

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MOL's refinery in Százhalombatta. Photo: FB/MOL

Foreign minister Péter Szijjártó was the guest of the Spirit FM’s Harcosok klubja (Fighters’ Club) and talked about a recent Croatian decision concerning the Adria oil pipeline (Trans Adriatic Pipeline – TAP). He said that the Croatians would like to increase the transit price of crude oil 2.5 times from 2023 which is unacceptable for Hungary. Therefore, they reported the issue to the European Union and would like the European Commission to act in favour of the oil buyers: Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.

Mr Szijjártó said that the TAP pipeline through Croatia was Hungary’s sole crude oil source provided Russian oil deliveries through Ukraine on the Druzhba pipeline came to a halt. And that can happen because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, during which the Russian invaders have been intentionally attacking the Ukrainian energy network for weeks. The Hungarian foreign minister argued that under such circumstances, no country should take advantage of import-dependent states like Hungary, ATV wrote.

However, Croatia means to increase the transit price of the crude oil coming through their TAP from 2023 concerning the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian imports. Therefore, the Hungarian government wants the European Commission to act swiftly and make the Croatians drop that idea. Instead, Szijjártó would like the Croatians to increase the capacity of the TAP because, currently, it cannot to supply the three Central European countries. Furthermore, there will be a meeting of EU ministers responsible for energy issues in Brussels. Szijjártó would like to include the Croatian transit price increase in the agenda.

Energy emergency board discusses supply situation, prospects

The operative board handling the energy emergency on Friday discussed the situation of Hungary’s energy supplies and related prospects and import options, the energy ministry said.

The board set up by the government in the summer also reviewed topical issues in the energy industry under the helm of Energy Minister Csaba Lantos, the ministry said in a statement. The operative board’s tasks will continue to be to work towards ensuring the protection of utility price cuts, securing energy supplies for the country and protecting Hungarian families, the ministry said.

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Source: atv.hu, MTI

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