Orbán sticks to the Russian oil making Hungary vulnerable?
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Márton Gyöngyösi, the new president of the opposition party Jobbik and a Non-attached member of the European Parliament, believes Viktor Orbán makes Hungary vulnerable by sticking to Russian oil instead of accepting EU money and investing in diversification.
Problems with Russian deliveries
Gyöngyösi wrote in a Facebook post that the European Union offered a lot of money for its member states to create alternative oil delivery routes. As a result, the country could reduce its dependence on Russia and Russian deliveries.
The question became a hot topic after oil ceased to come following a quarrel between Russian Transneft and the Ukrainian UkrTransNafta. The Russians claimed they wanted to pay, but their money was rejected because of the sanctions imposed by the European Union after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As a result, oil transfers to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic stopped on 4 August. However, the press discovered the fundamental change only on 9 August. Afterwards, the shares of MOL started to plummet. Therefore, the Hungarian gas and oil giant announced they would pay the transit fee to be paid by the Russian side, so oil is once again arriving via the Friendship pipeline.
Orbán wants Russian oil
“The normal month-change shutdown in supply was scheduled for the 4th of August. With Hungarian intervention, the technical, and accounting obstacle to the restart was removed within a short time by assuming the transit fee. Thus, the delivery started yesterday, and from the night hours, oil will be arriving again continuously from Russia via Ukraine to Hungary via the Friendship pipeline,” they said in a statement published on 11 August.
Gyöngyösi slammed the decision and suggested that Hungarian taxpayers would have to pay for the transfers instead of the Russians. He also added that the European Union would cover the costs of diversification. However, PM Viktor Orbán rejected that money and sticked to oil from Russia, Gyöngyösi instists. Because of that, Hungary became more vulnerable and exposed to Russian deliveries.
Jobbik would choose EU money
Furthermore, the Friendship pipeline goes through war-torn Ukraine. Even though neither Russians nor Ukrainians harmed it during the war, that can change and would endanger the operation of MOL and the supply of Hungary.
Gyöngyösi wanted the government to create a national emergency board in July because of the energy crisis, the inflation, the economic problems, and the government restrictions. According to his initiative, the board would include the opposition parties. However, his call remained without response even though he turned to President Katalin Novák.
Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.
Source: Facebook/gyongyosi.jobbik