Hungary asked the European Union to take action against Ukraine for imposing a partial ban on Russian oil exports, arguing the move was jeopardizing country’s energy security.
Kyiv last month adopted sanctions blocking the transit to Central Europe of pipeline crude sold by Moscow’s largest private oil firm, Lukoil, sparking fears of supply shortages in Budapest. Hungary relies on Moscow for 70 percent of its oil imports — and on Lukoil for half that amount.
“Ukraine’s decision fundamentally threatens the security of supply in Hungary,” the country’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó at a meeting of EU envoys in Brussels. “This is an unacceptable step on the part of Ukraine, a country that wants to be a member of the European Union, and with a single decision puts the oil supply …. in fundamental danger.”
Szijjártó claimed that Kyiv’s move “clearly violates” the EU’s 2014 association agreement with Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia — also affected by the ban — have now begun talks with the European Commission, he added, a precursor to legal action, Politico reports.
