The Hungarian government is in secret talks regarding disengagement from Russia

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So far, Hungary has vetoed any EU restriction that concerns Russian gas. The government says the reason is that it does not want to support any measure that would limit Hungary’s energy supply. Now, however, the Hungarian government is in secret talks about disengagement from Moscow.

Sanctions

Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, the European Union has been considering sanctions against Russian natural gas. However, Hungary maintains its veto on energy sanctions against the country.

According to Telex, the thinking is that if all Russian connections are over, we have no solution.

Thus, the country wants to do everything it can to continue to buy oil and gas from Russia. But this stance is not sustainable in the long term.

Solutions to the natural gas question

So, what would be the solution to the energy question if Russia were taken out of the equation?

One possible solution would be LNG (liquefied natural gas). When it comes to natural gas, Hungary has still not let go of Russia as its main partner. However, there are quite a few potential alternatives to that:

  • strengthening the Croatian LNG pipeline;
  • purchasing and renovating LNG storage facilities;
  • constructing a pipeline from northern Italy to Slovenia and Hungary;
  • the “great northern connection”.

According to Telex, the Slovenian pipeline would provide access to LNG ports in northern Italy. At these terminals, liquefied natural gas is vaporised back into a gaseous state. Accessing them by a pipeline would help Hungarian supplies. The “great northern connection” means that

Hungary could be connected by pipeline to LNG terminals in the Baltic Sea that can receive non-Russian gas.

Long-term plans

For the time being, the Hungarian government is only looking at these options, but in the long term, it could also rely on Greek and Romanian sources.

Greece’s Alexandroupoli LNG terminal is accessible via Bulgaria. Also, it seems like Romanian gas production in the Black Sea is finally gaining momentum, although we still have a long way to go before the projected start in 2026-2027.

Source: Telex, napi.hu

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