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Hungary, Croatia sign declaration of intent on reverse gas flows
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Hungary and Croatia signed a declaration of intent to enable reverse gas flows between the two countries on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference after the signing of the declaration, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called the document strategically important, arguing that it was crucial for Hungary’s energy security that the country has access to gas from the south as well.
Energy security continues to be a critical issue in central Europe, Szijjártó said, adding that the development of north-south gas infrastructures was both an economic and national security interest of central European countries.
He added, at the same time, that the development of gas infrastructures in the south “seriously lags behind” the development of infrastructures in the north, noting that Hungary currently has no access to gas from the south. The minister noted that both the Hungarian-Croatian and Hungarian-Romanian interconnectors only supply gas in one direction, from Hungary to Croatia and Romania, respectively.
The declaration of intent signed on Tuesday covers the timeline for Croatia to enable reverse gas flows through its interconnector with Hungary and plans are to have this done by the first quarter of 2019, Szijjártó said.
He said Croatia’s construction of its LNG gas terminal was a crucial requirement for Hungary being able to import gas from the south. Therefore Hungary intends to support this project by any means necessary, the minister added.
Szijjártó said joining the southern gas corridor that will supply gas to Europe is a strategic interest of Hungary. It is therefore conducting talks with Serbia and Russia on upgrading and connecting the three countries’ gas pipeline networks, he said. The minister noted that Hungary’s joining the southern gas corridor could be made possible with the construction of a gas pipeline that would partially mirror the route of the now abandoned South Stream pipeline. This pipeline will have a smaller capacity than the South Stream, he added.