Orbán against gas embargo

Hungary has reached an agreement with the European Union on every sanctions package imposed on Russia so far, but Hungary recommends that the EU “shouldn’t run into the wall” that is an embargo on gas imports, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Vienna on Thursday.

Hungary is not alone on this stance, Orbán told a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. The EU’s founding treaty makes it clear that all member states are free to decide on their own energy mix, Orbán said, adding that “if Brussels interferes … it will always be seen as a negative by Hungarians”, regardless of Brussels’ intentions.

“But there’s nothing we can do”, because European unity is also important, Orbán said. It often happens that Hungary disagrees with something but acknowledges the decisions it considers unfavourable for the sake of European unity, he said. “This is such a situation,” Orbán added.