In an interview to public radio on Friday, Deutsch criticised the EC’s “inaction” concerning Ukrainian restrictions of the transit of Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia, insisting that Ukraine was engaged in “blackmail” and in breach of its association agreement with the EU.

Noting that Fidesz’s EP group has sent a letter to the EC urging it to take action on the issue, Deutsch said Ukraine’s decision to restrict crude deliveries to two EU member states was “unprecedented”, as it seriously imperilled their energy security.

He said Ukraine had made it clear that its goal was to blackmail Slovakia and Hungary with the aim of getting them to change their pro-peace stance and join the “pro-war coalition backing the expansion of the Russia-Ukraine war with money, weapons and political support”.

Deutsch said it was “obvious” that Ukraine would “ignore even the issue of energy security if it serves its political goals”.

Why is Ukraine "Blackmailing" Hungary? Head of Orbán's Office Has an Answer

Speaking at the government press briefing, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said that it was only thanks to the high level of crude reserves that there was no acute supply problem due to Kyiv’s action to “turn off the tap”.

Gergely Gulyás that said Hungary expected “different and more” from EU institutions and the European Commission, adding that it was “unacceptable” that the EU was not standing by a “blackmailed” member state.

Gulyás also suggested that it was “not beyond the realm of logic” that Ukraine may have negotiated with the EU before turning off the taps.

He called on Ukraine to “restore the situation whereby we can access Russian oil”, adding that Europe’s economic interests were also bound up with having access to cheap Russian raw materials.

The minister said many European states had been “hypocritical”, buying Russian oil indirectly via countries acting as an intermediary. Gulyás noted that Hungarian oil and gas concern MOL purchased crude based on long-term contracts.

Shortfalls due to Ukrainian measures, he said, would not cause a disruption to supplies until September, even if no other source is found as a replacement.

But in the case of a replacement, a price increase may ensue, he said. Since taking office in 2010, the government has expanded the energy transmission infrastructure with the aim of improving supply security, he said, noting that Hungary is now connected to all neighbouring countries by pipelines, bar Slovenia.

Asked why Ukraine was blackmailing Hungary, Gulyás said the neighbouring country wanted Hungary to abandon its pro-peace policy.

Asked if MOL could substitute the lost oil volumes with shipments form another one of its partners, Gulyás said: “The problem is about whether supply security can be guaranteed. And if it can, then the question is whether it can be guaranteed at the same price.” The solution was “extremely simple”.

Concerning the transit of Russian crude through Ukraine, Gulyás said Hungary had already done a lot to increase its storage capacities before the war, noting that it had built and repurchased storage facilities, making it one of the EU countries with the highest oil reserves.

“The system works for now; we’re prepared for anything,” he said.

Asked about the CJEU’s ruling in connection with Hungary’s migration policy, Gulyás said Hungary was not in a position not to comply with the ruling. “Either we pay, or they’ll charge our account one million euros each day,” he said.

He said Hungary hade rightfully protested the ruling, insisting that Austria and Germany should be against the decision the most since most of the illegal migrants arriving in Hungary had travelled on to those countries.

Asked if Hungary would help Greece build a border fence, Gulyás said would be “happy to pass on the tried and tested techniques to anyone”.

He also said the government was capable of ensuring that the fine would not have to be paid by taxpayers. In response to another question, he said one of the special taxes had specifically been left in effect to finance the fine.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said the EU’s migration pact had “failed before it entered into effect”, even though some of its components could be considered “progress”.

Among these, he said, was the provision allowing member states to keep migrants in enclosed camps for 12 weeks, adding that this was the same practice Hungary had followed with the use of transit zones.

Gulyás added, at the same time, that the migrant redistribution mechanism was “unsustainable” because it was based on the presumption that migrants who are granted asylum stay in the country they are redistributed to even though EU law allows them to go to other member states.

He said Hungary would not take in migrants from other member states even if it had to pay a fine instead.

Asked about the amount of Western aid being given to Ukraine, Gulyás said he “would put that aside until the US presidential election, after which we’ll see if there will be peace next year”.

He also said the government had condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine on multiple occasions, adding that at complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s territory was “not realistic”.

Asked about a loan Hungary recently took from China, Gulyás said it was not meant to make up for EU resources, adding that the government believed that free trade and balanced economic relations, including credit, were good for the world and Hungary.

He said that though it was a large sum, the 1 billion euro loan was not considered significant when it came to the state’s finances.

Gulyás said there would always be credit transactions that would be advantageous for Hungary. If Hungary can take out a development loan at favourable interest rates, then “it is necessary and justified”, he said, especially if it was used to finance investments that generated the money needed to repay the loan.

Noting that the Patriots for Europe have not been assigned posts of president or vice president in EP committees, Gulyás said the body “totally lacks a European political culture”, adding that it would be inconceivable in Hungary for parliamentary committee positions customarily held by an opposition MP to be withheld from them.

He said there was a customary and objective method to calculate which group was entitled to which position and this had been ignored in the EP this time round.

Meanwhile, referring to the partial boycott of Hungary’s presidency, János Bóka told the press briefing said the European Commission had been established in the first place to cooperate with member states, and its role wasn’t to choose which member states to cooperate with politically.

But the level of the commission’s representation would not affect the presidency’s activities or its success, he said. Regarding the EU informal foreign affairs council meeting to be held in Brussels instead of Budapest, he said 13 member states insisted on Budapest, five opposed, while eight did not hold a firm position.

On the topic of airport delays, Gulyás said airlines were assembling “an impossible schedule” in order to maximise profits, and this situation would endure until they were forced to pay fines of ten or even hundreds of millions of forints for each delay.

“More than a dozen procedures are under way,” he said, adding that this was “still not enough”. On the subject of the national budget, Gulyás said the US presidential election would influence the budget situation so next year’s budget would be completed in November.

The deficit is planned to be around 4.5% this year, 3.7% next year, and 2.9% in 2026, “a more ambitious” target than European Commission expectations. 

The excessive deficit procedure would not have any palpable effect if the targets were achieved, he added.

MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only

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