Instead of Threatened Veto, Hungarian Gov't 'Bravely Ran Away', Says Magyar
- 28 Jan 2025 8:48 AM
Magyar said government "propaganda" explained away their about-turn as a move to protect Hungarian interests.
Referring to a statement on protecting Hungary's energy interests, the opposition politician added that, having attended meetings in Brussels for seven years, "a council statement is worth as much as a ... coffee in the Brussels cafeteria: nothing."
Szijjarto: Hungary withdraws veto on sanctions after receiving energy security guarantees
Hungary’s government decided against vetoing the renewal of European Union sanctions against Russia after receiving energy security guaranties, Peter Szijjarto, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Brussel.
A decision had to be made on Monday on extending the sanctions against Russia, which have cost Hungary 19 billion euros in losses over the last three years, Szijjarto told a press conference after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.
At the same time, he said, Ukraine had introduced several measures that had jeopardised the energy supplies of Hungary and other central European countries, adding that this was a matter of national security and sovereignty.
A ministry statement quoted Szijjarto as saying that Hungary therefore set clear conditions for the European Commission in recent days, calling on it to protect Hungary against measures that risked undermining its energy security, to protect the TurkStream gas pipeline, Ukrainian oil transit to Europe, and convince Ukraine to restart gas deliveries, the minister said.
"After lengthy negotiations ... today the European Commission gave Hungary these guarantees that are essential for the future of our energy security," Szijjarto said. "The European Commission conceded that the integrity of the energy infrastructure ensuring the supply of EU member states is a matter that concerns the security of the EU as a whole."
The commission also "declared that it expects third countries such as Ukraine to respect this, and it has made it clear that it is prepared to introduce measures aimed at protecting oil and gas pipelines and power transmission lines connecting the EU and third countries," Szijjarto said.
He welcomed the commission's decision to enter into talks with Ukraine on gas deliveries and that it had asked Kyiv for guarantees on maintaining oil transit shipments.
"So we’ve achieved enormous success today in terms of Hungary’s energy supply," he said, adding that the commission "has been forced to take steps to guarantee the security of Hungary’s energy supply, and that’s why we ultimately decided not to veto."
"The most important consideration was to ensure the security of the energy supply of Hungary, the Hungarian people, families and businesses," Szijjarto said.
Meanwhile, the minister said Hungary had "done its homework" and linked its gas network with six of its seven neighbouring countries, but because of its geography, further energy diversification would require more infrastructure development in the region, but this had not yet happened in some key transit countries.
Because of this, he added, it was impossible for Hungary to meet its energy needs from resources other than Russia oil and gas.
Also, Szijjarto said, the government’s decision not to veto the extension of sanctions against Russia did not mean it would automatically approve the prolongation of sanctions against individuals when the EU votes on it in March.
Magyar: Senior official during Covid 'should have no role' in Hungarian health care
The current state secretary for health, who held a senior position during the Covid pandemic, bears responsibility for the third-worst mortality figures in the world, Tisza Party leader Peter Magyar said on Monday, insisting that he should have no role in Hungary's health-care system.
Peter Takacs was the deputy director general of the National Hospital Directorate (OKFO) at the time, Magyar noted in a statement.
The opposition politician accused the government of having spent "hundreds of billions" during the pandemic without transparency.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban "and his government spent 722 billion forints of public money" without going through public procurement channels, the statement said, adding that 127 billion was spent by Takacs's former workplace, the OKFO.
Also, the foreign ministry purchased 16,863 ventilators for just over 300 billion forints. Much of that consignment "is gathering dust in a warehouse to this day", he said, adding that 15 million forints was being spent each month on renting the facility.
Source:
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.
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