Hungary threatens Ukraine with legal action over Lukoil oil transit suspension
Photo: Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Foreign Minister (Getty Images)
Hungary may file a lawsuit over the threat to the country's energy security. This situation arose after Ukraine stopped transiting oil from the Russian company Lukoil, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
Szijjártó says that Hungary cannot receive enough oil without supplies from Russia, as it does not have the appropriate infrastructure.
"This decision seriously jeopardizes the long-term oil supply security of Hungary and Slovakia. It's peculiar that an EU-aspiring country is endangering the energy supply of two EU member states," he said.
According to him, Kyiv's decision to stop transit is a clear violation of the Association Agreement with the EU.
Therefore, as the Minister added, the affected state may initiate a consultation procedure, during which the European Commission should represent the interests of the EU member state. However, if no agreement can be reached with Ukraine, there is a possibility of starting arbitration and conducting proceedings within 40 days.
If a solution is not found, the EU has the right to refuse to fulfill its obligations under the Association Agreement, Szijjártó said.
What happened before
It became known last week that Ukraine had stopped the transit of oil from the Russian company Lukoil to Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukrainian sanctions against Lukoil were imposed back in 2018. But this year, Kyiv decided to tighten them and banned oil transit.
Szijjártó has already commented on this decision of Ukraine. He said that it was "incomprehensible and unacceptable." He also complained about a serious threat to oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary.
