EC responds to Hungary and Slovakia's reaction over Lukoil oil
Photo: Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission (Getty Images)
Hungary and Slovakia need to reduce their dependence on Russian oil supplies. There is an alternative source of supply, wrote Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis in a letter to Budapest and Bratislava.
Dombrovskis emphasized that Hungary and Slovakia should actively pursue “diversification away from Russian fossil fuels”.
At the same time, he added that the two countries currently have sufficient oil supplies. Therefore, there was no need for urgent consultations with the European Commission with the participation of Ukraine, which Budapest and Bratislava had demanded.
According to the EC Vice President, Slovakia and Hungary can alternatively use the pipeline that supplies oil from Croatia.
“The commission’s current analysis points to an adequate capacity for Hungary and Slovakia via alternative pipelines such as the Janaf Adriatic pipeline,” he noted.
Dombrovskis also said that during last week's meeting, most EU representatives "questioned why Hungary and Slovakia had apparently not yet explored alternatives so far".
He pointed out that MOL, the Hungarian energy company, has recognized that Lukoil is not the owner of the oil that comes through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline. This means that Kyiv's sanctions did not affect supplies to Hungary.
Slovakia's and Hungary's reaction
Recently, Slovakia and Hungary stated that their energy security was threatened by Ukraine's sanctions against Lukoil.
The reason for this is that the two countries have stopped receiving oil from the Russian company.
Against this backdrop, Hungary requested consultations with the European Commission and Ukraine to discuss how to resolve the issue.
In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said it was ready for consultations if the EU decided to hold them. However, as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized, the country does not intend to lift sanctions against Lukoil.
