Hungary threatens to deal with gas deal: does orbán play EU and Russia against each other?

Hungary threatens to deal with gas deal: does orbán play EU and Russia against each other?

Ungarn - Hungary is currently the focus of nationalist decisions that could have far -reaching consequences for energy supply in Europe. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had talks with Russia and Ukraine about the continuation of the gas delivery via Ukraine, despite the existing Turkstream pipeline. Orbán emphasized the importance of the transport route via Ukraine, which plays a crucial role for states such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria, as these countries relate to a large part of their natural gas. In view of the expiring transit contract at the end of the year, for which Ukraine decreases an extension due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, the seriousness of the situation could not be clearer. Orbán proposed a "trick" to bring about a bypass of the regulations by declaring the gas as non-Russian before entering Ukraine, as krone reported.

conflicts about sanctions

In another controversial step, Orbán showed resistance to the extension of the EU sanctions against Russia at the EU summit in Brussels, which expired at the end of January. He put the EU under pressure with the note that he only wanted to make a decision after the re-elected US President Donald Trump on January 20. Orbán had criticized the sanctions as harmful to the European economy and described it as "useless". Since the extension of the sanctions must be decided unanimously, Hungary could continue to block them on January 31. This would not only affect the far-reaching economic and financial sanctions, but also symbolic measures against over 2,000 people, including prominent Russian politicians such as Wladimir Putin, such as reported.