Austria

Fuel shortage seems to hit Hungary in two weeks

OMV fuel station

Experts believe there will be a fuel shortage during summer, even if the accident in the Schwechat oil refinery did not take place. Therefore, Austria and Hungary made a part of their strategic fuel reserves available for domestic consumption last week. However, it seems those measures will not provide long-term solutions to ease the problems.

Strategic fuel reserves released

Blikk.hu says that in July and August fuel consumption was 30-40 percent higher than in January. For this reason, the fact that the OMV’s refinery in Schwechat, Austria, temporarily stopped its operation due to an accident during scheduled maintenance poses a huge issue. As the international press wrote, a distillation tower was damaged, and two workers suffered injuries. Based on the plans, the refinery would have resumed operation by 10 June. But the damage is so severe that the company has not announced yet when they might restart production.

This problem affects not only Hungary but also Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. Currently,

OMV petrol stations provide 17-19 percent of the gasoline and 13-15 percent of the diesel supply in Hungary –

 hvg.hu wrote. 

Thus, Austria and Hungary made a part of their strategic fuel reserves available for domestic consumption last week. The Hungarian government’s decree gave 18,000,000 litres of 95 gasoline and 29,000,000 litres of diesel for the OMV. The company will have to return it though: 40 percent until 31 August and the remaining 60 percent until 31 October. According to the decree, the Hungarian Hydrocarbon Stockpiling Association will determine the price.

MOL provides 70 percent of the demand

Tamás Pletser, an expert in the gas and oil sector at Erste Group, said that substantial maintenance projects ought to be carried out every 4 to 5 years. However, companies had to postpone them because of the pandemic. Therefore, they take place now simultaneously worldwide. 

Mr Pletser said that the OMV would like to provide fuel support with the help of the Austrian reserves. However, there is a specific order. Satisfying domestic demand comes first. Foreign stations can only come second. Moreover, Hungary is probably at the bottom of the list because the government’s price cap makes the business unprofitable. After the introduction of the price cap, several fuel retailers left Hungary, and now the OMV seems to drop out of the market as well.

Hungarian MOL provides now 70 percent of the domestic fuel supply, but they cannot go above that level,

Blikk argues.

Hungary follows the rules of the EU and the International Energy Agency, so it has a strategic reserve of crude oil and oil products that equals 90 days of import and 60 days of consumption. That means 800,000,000 litres of gasoline and diesel. OMV borrowed 6-7 percent of that thanks to the Hungarian government’s offer.

There will be a significant fuel shortage

July and August mark the two peaks in fuel consumption since everybody goes on holiday and agricultural work takes place. Because of the pandemic, approximately 5 percent of the refineries terminated operations. When demand started to skyrocket again, Russia attacked Ukraine. As a result, the EU implemented an embargo on Russian oil and oil products delivered by sea. The deadline is 6 to 8 months.

Mr Pletser said that the MOL reserves would not be sufficient to satisfy the increased demand.

Importing fuel to Hungary is not worth it. Furthermore, scheduled maintenance will take place in the refineries of MOL in Pozsony (Bratislava) and Százhalombatta during summer and autumn.

The data of the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary show that fuel demand is higher this year than in the last pre-COVID year, 2019. Pletser said that the reserve the OMV received from the Hungarian government would only be enough for 12-14 days.

Fuel cap in Hungary
Read alsoHow much can Hungarians save due to the fuel price cap?

Homophobia, overcharge: embassy warnings for tourists visiting Hungary

hungary tourism

As beautiful as the country is, there are too many unpleasant things to encounter here. Now that one can travel without most restrictions, Hungary is becoming flooded with tourists again. However, there are some things that Western governments warn their people about should they wish to travel to Hungary.

Warning list

And no, these “warning lists” do not only contain restaurants and bars that overcharge. Aside from COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, tourists travelling to Hungary do not have much to worry about. Nonetheless, there are a few things to be aware of, as we can learn from the websites of the American, Canadian, British and Australian foreign ministry.

According to these websites,

  • public transport in Budapest is “perfect” and “cheap”;
  • public safety is generally good, except for thieves and fraudsters who prey on tourists;
  • public healthcare may be well below U.S. standards;
  • it might be dangerous to drive on Hungarian roads;
  • LGBTQI+ persons should think twice before coming to Hungary.

LQBTQI+ tourists

This last point is especially saddening. The website of the USA Bureau of Consular Affairs writes:

“Ethnic nationalist groups have gained popularity in Hungary in the past years advocating intolerance towards Jews, Roma, and LGBTI+ persons. Although these groups do not engage in violence and are not explicitly anti-United States, you should avoid public demonstrations and confrontations with their members.”

Public security

As rtl.hu writes, Western tourists may be reassured by the fact that public safety in Hungary is considered good enough. However, foreign ministries warn visitors that theft is common, especially in crowded places popular with tourists.

According to a warning on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, there have been many reports of thefts on trains, especially those between Vienna and Budapest, and at railway stations.

Dangerous places in Budapest

It was underscored that the Keleti Railway Station and its immediate surroundings are a particularly dangerous place in this respect. The warning shows that thieves targeting foreign tourists are especially keen on metro lines M1 and M3, tram lines 2, 4 and 6, and the bus line 7, as well as American fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Burger King and Pizza Hut.

In addition, all the above-mentioned countries draw attention to overcharging in restaurants and bars, where unsuspecting customers are issued with huge bills and even forced to pay them. They also warn tourists never to ask taxi drivers to recommend bars and restaurants.

A recurring element is the warning that travellers should never accept drinks from strangers, as they may contain drugs.

Budapest
Read alsoWhat’s next?! Further price increase to come in Budapest’s rental market!

Hungary to release strategic fuel reserves for domestic consumption

Oil and gas pipe Russian oil

Similarly to Austria, Hungary will make a part of its strategic fuel reserves available for domestic consumption, the minister of technology and industry said late on Saturday.

László Palkovics said the move would secure Hungary’s fuel supply should the oil refinery at Schwechat stay shut down longer than expected, according to a statement from his ministry.

The statement said the released amounts of petrol and diesel would be replaced by Austria’s OMV as soon as possible, adding that despite problems with the Austrian refinery Hungary’s supplies were secure.

MOL petrol station
Read alsoEU: Hungary could be fined for dual pricing

Fuel supplies in Hungary secure, ministry says

Fuel station Hungary

Fuel supplies in Hungary are still secure, the ministry of technology and industry (TIM) said on Saturday.

Despite the shutdown of Austria’s Schwechat oil refinery, which has lasted longer than initially anticipated, there are no supply problems in Hungary, and domestic fuel production and reserves are sufficient to cater to domestic needs, the ministry said in a statement.

The government’s chief aim is to ensure the provision of affordable fuel at all times, and the cap on fuel at the pump introduced last November means that

Hungarians pay the lowest price for fuel in the whole of Europe, 

the statement added.

According to press reports, industry insiders said the OMV refinery in Schwechat could not be restarted after a shutdown for regular maintenance, with potential supply issues: OMV’s forecourts in Hungary have had to close. Business daily Világgazdaság said Hungarian oil and gas company MOL would not be able to make up for the shortage.

OMV fuel station
Read alsoCroatian PM: Hungary’s dual pricing is a clear breach of obligations

OMV petrol stations may close in Hungary

OMV fuel station

The Austrian OMV refinery in Schwechat has been shut down for routine maintenance. However, it was reportedly unable to restart in time. This could lead to supply problems or even the closure of petrol stations.

Problems at the OMV plant

The Austrian oil company operates the largest refinery in Central Europe in Schwechat. The plant was shut down for routine maintenance in early April. Maintenance was due to be completed on 31 May. Production was then scheduled to restart on 10 June, according to vg.hu. However, the restart was not successful for technical reasons.

OMV has not yet officially informed Mol and other partners about the problem.

Products manufactured at OMV’s refinery in Schwechat are sold in Austria and the Central and Eastern European region.

otp
Read alsoHungarian OTP to establish a bank in China

Supply problems in Hungary

Austria would export 30 kilotonnes of petrol and 50 kilotonnes of diesel per month to Hungary.

This means that OMV supplies 17-19 percent of the domestic petrol market and 13-15 percent of the diesel market. The Austrians operate 200 wells in Hungary. So OMV could easily face supply problems.

In Hungary, retail fuel prices have been capped at HUF 480 (EUR 1.22).

As both petrol and diesel are significantly more expensive across Europe, foreign suppliers are not interested in serving the Hungarian market. This effect is already being felt, napi.hu reports. OMV was the only one to maintain imports of products into the country.

The Hungarian government’s dual fuel price decree is helping to curb petrol tourism. However, during the school holidays and the summer tourist season, petrol station traffic increases significantly. Mol has therefore postponed the mandatory maintenance work.

However, from August, production at the Mol refinery in Százhalombatta will be cut by a third.

It is not only Hungary that is in trouble, but also the neighbouring countries. Supply disruptions have been reported in Slovakia. There are also problems in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria.

OMV fuel station
Read alsoOMV petrol stations may close in Hungary

ORF CEO: Orbán dying of a heart attack “fair thing” – govt’s reaction

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán

No one can be allowed to make disparaging remarks about Hungarians or their democratically-elected government, Levente Magyar, the deputy foreign minister, told public media on Friday.

Magyar reacted to a now deleted Facebook post by the CEO of Austrian public broadcaster ORF, Karl Pachner, who had said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán dying of a heart attack would be a “fair thing”.

Magyar said he had told the charge d’affaires of the Austrian embassy in connection with the matter that the Hungarian government was convinced that a leading figure of Austria’s public media had made “especially harsh and outrageous comments” about Hungary’s democratically-elected prime minister.

Because of the overwhelming support behind the prime minister, Pachner’s comments could be seen as insulting to all Hungarians,

Magyar said.

This issue needed to be brought up to the representative of the Austrian government, who distanced himself from the comments and expressed an intention to cooperate, Magyar added.

“However, I made it clear that if such comments are made in the future, this will not be enough to settle the issue,”

Magyar said. “These words go beyond the civilisational norms that are allowed in Europe even in such a time of war when we should be focusing all our efforts on meeting the challenges presented by the shockwaves of the war together.”

Hungary strives for good relations with Austria, but will not allow Austria or any other foreign players to disparage Hungarians, their democratically elected government and its leader, the deputy minister said.

Wishing another person’s death is unacceptable and can’t be smoothed over with an apology, Tamás Menczer, the state secretary for foreign relations, said on Friday. Menczer said Pachner’s position as a leader of the Austrian public media had “made the situation even graver”.

“This post is already terrible in itself, it is a slap in the face of an entire country, as the prime minister was elected by the people,”

he said. He called on Austrian media authorities to act.

Gripen NATO aircraft
Read alsoAustrian plane breached the forbidden airspace of the Paks nuclear power plant

Austrian public media: Orbán’s heart attack would be a “fair thing”

PM Orbán

One of the executive directors of The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, ORF, wrote on his Facebook page that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán dying of a heart attack would be a “fair thing”. The post has since been removed. But the foreign ministry summoned Austria’s ambassador to Budapest this morning.

The foreign ministry’s response

According to MTI, the foreign ministry is summoning Austria’s ambassador to Budapest over a “scandalous” Facebook post by the CEO of Austrian public broadcaster, ORF, ministry spokesman Máté Paczolay said on Thursday. In a post that has since been removed from his page, Karl Pachner said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán dying of a heart attack would be a “fair thing”, Paczolay said.

The foreign ministry expects an explanation of the “coarse and deeply shocking statement” from the Austrian ambassador on Friday,

he said.

Private opinion on PM Orbán?

The ministry’s statement said that the executive director’s post was “rude and deeply staggering”. Therefore, they demand an explanation of the scandalous assertion. Mr Pachner apologized for the post. He wrote that when he read Orbán was slowing down the acceptance of the sixth EU sanction package, he chose a “misunderstood phrasing”. Therefore, he is sorry and apologises – telex.hu reported.

“Of course, I do not wish Orbán’s death, even though some understood my sarcastic text like that. Indeed, I do not want anybody’s death”.

Pachner added that he feels miserable about what is going on in Ukraine. As a result, he shared that “emotional, reprehensible and random” post. “I am very sorry for having posted that” – he concluded.

Standard says that the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) would like Pachner to be fired. The ORF dissented from the executive director’s post. According to the media outlet, the post was their employee’s private opinion having nothing to do with their professional work.

Putin Orbán Russian gas disgraceful role
Read alsoTwo EU countries share Hungary’s position on Russia

New migration wave to come from Africa due to grain shortage?

illegal-migration

House Speaker László Kövér met Christine Schwarz-Fuchs, president of Austria’s Bundesrat, for official talks in Budapest on Friday.

According to a statement sent to MTI, the two officials discussed bilateral parliamentary ties, economic cooperation between the two countries, joint efforts to stem illegal migration, issues around demography, the energy crisis, and the future of the European Union.

Kövér and Schwarz-Fuchs reviewed humanitarian tasks concerning Ukrainian refugees, the situation of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, and

the threat of another wave of migration in the wake of grain shortage looming in Africa,

the statement said.

“We greatly appreciate the straightforward and regular dialogue [with Austria], which facilitates settling even sensitive issues,” the statement quoted Kövér as saying. “In that spirit we work to strengthen cooperation at bilateral, regional, and European level,” he added.

Mel Gibson Climbing
Read alsoMel Gibson is often spotted exploring Budapest on foot

Hungarian woman who killed, dismembered ex-partner in Vienna sentenced

Hungarian police

A woman who killed and then dismembered her ex-spouse in Vienna back in February 2019 has been handed a 17-year prison sentence and banned from public affairs for ten years.

The court in Szolnok, western Hungary, convicted the woman for killing her partner in a Viennese apartment and transporting the dismembered body in a rental car to Hungary, where she hid the remains in an irrigation canal with the help of her mother, who received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for four years.

The court said in a statement that

the 30-year-old woman had admitted to killing her ex-partner

but claimed to have done so in self-defence. A second hearing is set to take place at a Szeged court after the woman appealed the sentence, and she will remain in custody pending its outcome, the statement said.

Kerepes shooting police.hu
Read alsoGunfight between two families in a Hungarian town! – PHOTOS & VIDEO

Police arrested nine groups of African, Asian illegal migrants!

Menekült Migrant Illegal Migration Human Trafficking

Hungarian, Czech and Austrian police arrested 177 illegal migrants entering Hungary in Csongrád-Csanád county in nine groups at night, the Hungarian police website said.

The illegal entrants apprehended in outlying areas of Roszke, Asotthalom and Morahalom identified themselves as nationals of Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia.

Police: Close to 10,000 refugees arrive from Ukraine on Thursday

Meanwhile, fully 5,341 people crossed into Hungary directly from Ukraine on Thursday, while another 4,232 from Ukraine crossed from Romania, the national police headquarters said. Police issued temporary residence permits valid for thirty days to 305 people, the police website said on Friday.

Holders of such permits must contact a local immigration office near their place of residence within thirty days to apply for permanent documents, it added. Budapest police received 259 refugees, 102 children among them, arriving by train, according to the municipal police website.

Government to create a crisis-proof economy?

The draft budget for next year submitted to the Fiscal Council sets a stricter deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP and the public debt level of 73.8 percent, Mihály Varga, the finance minister, said on Friday. Varga said in a comment posted on social media that the government’s aim was to create a crisis-proof economy.

The economy is expected to grow by 4.1 percent in 2023,

he said. The minister said the government is establishing a special protection fund as a bulwark against the effects of the war and the related European Union sanctions, as well as higher energy prices.

Featured image: illustration

fuel Hungary foreigners price cap
Read alsoHungary’s fuel purchase restriction on foreigners – details here

Petrol tourism is at its peak in Hungary!

Fuel station

Slovakians coming to fill their tanks with petrol in Hungary can save up to 200 HUF (EUR 0.52) on each litre. Therefore, it is not surprising that petrol tourism is at its peak near the northern and western borders. A petrol station owner in Balassagyarmat (Slovakian- Hungarian border) loses 5 million HUF (EUR 13, 054) per month because of the price cap introduced by the state and the government’s support scheme does not compensate for that.

According to rtl.hu, one of their favourite evening magazines, Fókusz, visited the Slovakian-Hungarian border to gather information on the current situation. The direct reason was a letter stating that half of the cars arriving at local petrol stations are Slovakian.

The magazine’s experience in Balassagyarmat supports the writer’s claim. The 480 HUF per litre (EUR 1.25 EUR) price is very attractive for Slovakian customers. Currently, they can save up to 200 HUF (EUR 0.52) on each litre. András Tóth, a petrol station owner, said he has been losing 5 million HUF (EUR 13, 054) per month because of the price cap despite the government’s 16 HUF ( EUR 0.042) per litre subsidy.

There were times when his company had to operate with a purchase limit: people could buy only 10 litres per day because they had less than 2,500 litres of fuel, while other stations had none in the Northern Hungarian city of 15, 000 residents. Furthermore, they received no news about supply.

Eszter Bujdos, an expert of holtankoljak.hu, foreign customers drive even 10-15 kilometres from the border to buy cheaper petrol. In Sopron, locals have been complaining for months that Austrian petrol tourists made their city uninhabitable. Ms Bujdos estimates the increase in traffic around 15 percent because of the petrol tourism.

Interestingly enough, petrol importers temporarily ceased operation in order not to accumulate further losses. Therefore, only Hungarian MOL supplies the petrol stations. That is the reason why stations may run out of petrol even in Budapest.

The government prolonged the price cap until mid-July. András Tóth believes that sooner or later, Hungary will return to global market prices. “I think we will adapt to the prices of the neighbouring countries, whether we like it or not” – he said. Mr Tóth added that the government should have helped only the people in need of cheaper petrol instead of all customers, including foreigners and luxury car owners.

There is not much ground for hope if we look at the current European petrol prices. In Austria, 95 petrol costs 670 HUF (EUR 1.75), in Croatia, that is 630 HUF (EUR 1.64). Meanwhile, in Greece, Denmark, Finland or Norway, we would have to pay 800-900 HUF (EUR 2.09-2.35) per litre. Compared to that, Hungarian car owners are in favorable positions.

Fókusz compared current average petrol prices in Europe, here is their chart on which the second column indicates the price of the 95 petrol while the third shows the price of the diesel:

fókusz_print_screen_rtl_klub
Photo: PrtScr/RTL Klub
MOL petrol station
Read alsoGood deal for the Hungarian government: petrol tourism has boosted vehicle fuel sales

Hungarian driver in Austrian train crash suspected of murder

accident, train

A homicide investigation has been launched in connection with an accident that happened in Münchendorf, Austria. The driver of the train was a Hungarian man who was hospitalised as a result of the accident. According to the Austrian press, the Hungarian man is the suspect in the accident while, according to the local police, there is no suspect at this stage of the investigation.

Train accident in Austria

A passenger train got derailed near Münchendorf on Monday evening. The Hungarian man driving the train was taken from the scene by an ambulance helicopter.

Two passengers got seriously injured in the accident, and a 25-year-old man died.

The train was travelling from Sopron to Vienna. The Austrian police immediately started an investigation, rtl.hu reports. The condition of the 52-year-old Hungarian driver was stabilised in the hospital. According to Austrian press reports, all those injured are now in stable condition.

The accident caused damage of 15 million euros.

Search for the cause of the accident

It is not yet known what caused the accident, writes blikk.hu. According to the Austrian Heute, it was not a technical hitch. This is the reason why

the Hungarian driver may be charged with negligent manslaughter.

However, a spokesman for the Lower Austrian Police Headquarters said that there are no suspects in the case yet. The police are currently investigating the case.

Here is why you might bump into a lot of US, Polish, Romanian soldiers in Hungary

Hungary international military exercise

The Black Swan 2022 international special operations military exercise concluded in Szolnok, in central Hungary, on Thursday, with a day of drill demonstrations.

The NATO exercise involved over 700 troops from nine countries, along with 15 aircraft and other equipment, according to a statement. Major General Tamás Sándor, inspector for Special Operations of the Hungarian Defence Forces Command, said at the Szolnok helicopter base that all partner countries of the Regional Special Operations Component Command (R-SOCC) were involved in the exercise led by Hungary, including Austria, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and the US were also participating,

he said.

Sándor said the R-SOCC last year reached initial operational capability. He said the aim of the Black Swan exercise was for the R-SOCC to deepen that capability and to be able to carry out special operations on the territories of three countries. The command also aims to achieve full operational capability by the end of 2024 and to be able to go on stand-by from 2025, he said.

The 12-day exercise is being held in Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia with some 715 soldiers having carried out more than 40 special operational tasks,

Sándor said. The tasks are being synchronised and led by the Hungarian R-SOCC command, he added.

Hungary international military exercise USA
Photo: MTI

Unlike last year, this year’s exercise also saw the participation of Czech and Romanian troops in the performance of tasks in Hungary, Slovakia and Norway, the major general said.

The exercise mainly covered military areas, but operations were also carried out in 13 civilian areas,

Sándor said.

He said the R-SOCC set up an international, Hungarian-led staff in Szolnok to lead the operations, with the Árpád Bertalan Brigade playing a key role in their execution. The brigade stationed one unit each in Slovakia and Romania for the event, the major general said. Also,

for the first time, Hungary’s counter-terrorism force TEK was included in the exercise,

he added.

Brigadier Rob Stephenson, Deputy Commander of NATO Special Operations Headquarters, attended the exercise, among others.

Hungary international military exercise
Read alsoHere is why you might bump into a lot of US, Polish, Romanian soldiers in Hungary

Orbán cabinet continues to reject gas and oil embargo on Russia

Fuel station

Hungary’s stance regarding embargoes on Russia oil and gas has not changed, “we do not support them”, Zoltan Kovacs, the state secretary for international communications, said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Kovács reacted to the German ZDF television channel’s reports on Hungary, Slovakia and Austria withdrawing their veto blocking sanctions on Russian crude oil imports into the European Union.

Citing a high-ranking EU official,

ZDF said that Germany’s announcement to support the veto had tipped the balance, with all EU countries now in favour of stopping the imports of Russian crude oil, as a punitive measure in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

The EU aims to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas by two-thirds by the end of the year and to zero by the end of 2027, EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni has said.

MOL

The Hungarian oil group, which operates three refineries in Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia, continues to buy Russian crude via Druzhba pipeline, as well as refined products, says Reuters.

The company said

it would take two to four years and cost between $500 and $700 million to replace Russian oil imports in case of a full European embargo.

Austrian chancellor: Vienna-Budapest-Berlin axis is against the embargo on Russian gas

Austrian_chancellor CNN

The Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, went to Moscow to “look in President Putin’s eyes and confront him with what he saw” in Ukraine. He was the first European leader to meet the Russian president in person since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

According to CNN, Nehammer went to Ukraine for talks with Putin. ”I addressed the serious war crimes in Bucha and other places and emphasized that all those responsible for them must be held accountable,“ Nehammer said, according to the statement issued by his office.

“I also told President Putin in no uncertain terms that sanctions against Russia will remain in place and will continue to be tightened as long as people are dying in Ukraine,”

CNN reported. He concluded that he did not become more optimistic by the Russian president’s response.

The chancellor said that Austria was trying everything to become independent of Russia regarding energy. “But it is not possible now. It will take time.” He added that the EU should concentrate on “sanctions that hurt the Russian Federation, not us.”

He highlighted that besides Austria, the German Federation, Hungary, and other member states also supported Vienna’s standpoint in refusing a gas embargo.

Meanwhile, some 9,000-10,000 people are arriving in Hungary from Ukraine every day, and the number of refugees has

exceeded 601,000 since the start of the war,

the prime minister’s chief security advisor said on Thursday. The government has sent aid worth 3 billion forints (EUR 7.9m) to Transcarpathia and western Ukraine since the start of the war, György Bakondi told news channel M1.

“Hungary helps by sending charitable aid, by accepting refugees, providing healthcare, transport, accommodation, and jobs, as well as by organising their continuing journey… but our priority is the security of Hungarians, and we

do not want Hungary to be dragged into this war,”

he said.

Hungarian Defence Forces Military Army Tank
Read alsoSecretary on CNN: Hungary will not send troops, weapons to Ukraine!

Hungarian government will not vote for any curbs on Russian oil and gas imports

Whereas the government backs fresh European Union support of 500 million euros for the Ukrainian army, Hungary is maintaining its policy of refusing to supply arms to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

Attending a meeting of the foreign ministers of the C5 format of the central European countries — Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia — Szijjarto told a press conference after the meeting that Hungary supported Ukraine’s sovereignty, and he also noted that more than 600,000 refugees have so far arrived in Hungary from Ukraine. The Hungarian authorities are providing care and accommodation, as well as work and education for those in need, he said, addding that the government had implemented Hungary’s largest ever humanitarian aid operation.

“We’re doing all this, even though the European Union is withholding funds from Hungary for purely political reasons,” he said.

The government, he added, has backed all five EU sanctions packages so far, but Hungary’s energy security was a “red line”. Hungary will not vote for any curbs on Russian oil and gas imports, he said.

“We have worked hard towards diversification and we’ll carry on with this, but must ensure supplies are guaranteed in the meantime,” Szijjártó said.

Referring to the recent general election, he said the Hungarian electorate had expressed their desire to live in peace and security and to keep Hungary out of the war. Accordingly, Hungary will stick to its position of not supplying arms to Ukraine, he said.

“We understand that other countries have decided otherwise, and we respect that — we haven’t even commented — but we expect our decision to be respected,” the minister said.

The meeting was also attended by Alexander Schallenberg of Austria, Jan Lipavsky of the Czech Republic, Ivan Korcok of Slovakia and Anze Logar of Slovenia.

Read also:

Austrian plane breached the forbidden airspace of the Paks nuclear power plant

Gripen NATO aircraft

An Austrian plane flew into the forbidden airspace of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant yesterday evening. The Hungarian air force was immediately alerted.

According to 24.hu, the airspace within a 3-kilometre radius of the Paks nuclear power plant is forbidden for any plane to enter. The communications director of the power plant told MTI yesterday that an Austrian, Piston-type small aircraft breached the airspace of the nuclear power plant. Antal Kovács said that the fighter jets of the Hungarian Defence Forces escorted the plane to Szeged.

The Gripens took off when the small aircraft did not establish a radio connection with the civil air traffic control. The Hungarian fighter jets identified the Austrian plane, established a radio connection with the pilot, and escorted it to Szeged. Afterwards, they returned to the Kecskemét airbase.

Interestingly, this was the second breach yesterday. As we reported before, Hungarian Gripen fighter jets were scrambled by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre on Friday afternoon because of a bomb threat on a Serbian-registered passenger aircraft flying from Saint Petersburg to Belgrade, the defence ministry told MTI. The Gripens escorted the A319 aircraft out of the Hungarian airspace, the ministry said.

Paks Nuclear Plant Hungary
Read also Paks nuclear power plant’s Russian upgrade will continue

Could Hungary’s gas supply hold? Here is the worst case scenario!

Natural Gas Refinery Gas Supply

Despite the ongoing war in its neighbourhood, Hungary’s energy supply is stable. Both natural gas and electricity demand are fully covered by domestic systems. Still, competent authorities are prepared for every scenario.

In mid-March, the Moldovan and Ukrainian energy systems were successfully connected to the continental European system to help supply energy to the regions. Ukraine was disconnected from the Russian and Belarusian networks for a long-planned test run on the very day the war broke out (24th February), but the reconnection could not take place.

Ukraine’s original plan was to be connected to the European synchronous system in 2024, until then it would have been tested to see if it can independently maintain the 50 Hz, a prerequisite for European connectivity. However, the war changed the scenario and the two-year preparation period was reduced to two weeks – reported by Magyar Nemzet.

The European system operators and regulators have been working hard to find a solution to the technical and regulatory issues of interconnection and to meet the two countries’ emergency synchronisation requests.

Finally, on 16th March, the trial synchronisation of the European system and the Ukrainian and Moldovan systems could start, which will greatly support the stability of the Ukrainian-Moldovan electricity system and the security of the population’s supply. As the Hungarian news portal Blikk reports, further hard work is needed to maintain the power balance of the electricity system, and the costs of emergency synchronisation will have to be shared between the European Member States.

Hungary

In Hungary, the gas demand is met by the combination of domestic production and imports. The latter is constantly monitored and the contracted quantities of gas are currently being delivered through six interconnectors.

In addition, there are also 1.25 billion cubic metres of gas in storage.

This level is more than sufficient for the season. Out of this, 900 million is the strategic stock that might remain untouched this year, based on the foreseen scenarios. „Considering the principle of solidarity, we should help our neighbours if their population is in trouble with the natural gas supply, but only if the help does not cause any disadvantage to the Hungarian population.

But so far, no such request has been received from anywhere,”- said Pál Ságvári, Vice President for International Relations of the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH),

The expert also pointed out that the gas currently being transported outwards on the Ukrainian-Hungarian gas pipelines, is from the West and not from Hungary’s storage facilities.

Worst-case scenario

Although the Ukrainian backbone network has not been damaged so far, Hungary is prepared for every possible scenario. Since October, Hungary has been receiving significant quantities of gas from Austria and Slovakia. In addition, gas from the LNG terminal in Croatia or the Turkish Stream going through the Serbian-Hungarian pipeline could be an additional source.

We should not forget the 900 million cubic metres of strategic stock either which was mentioned previously. Further good news is that the Greek-Bulgarian pipeline will be ready for the next heating season that will bring gas from Turkey and the Caspian Sea region.

The vice president pointed out that

Hungary has made significant infrastructure developments in the field of natural gas in recent years, and has gas pipeline connections with six of its seven neighbours.

Nevertheless, Russian gas is flowing in all of them, so we need to work on its long-term replacement. To this end, initiatives have been launched at EU level on voluntary joint purchasing of gas and mandatory 90 per cent refilling of storage facilities.

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