Orbán orders cessation of gas supplies to Ukraine via Hungary starting July – media
According to a decree published last night, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has ordered the cessation of natural gas transit through his country’s territory to Ukraine starting in July, DPA agency has reported.
"This decree aligns with Orbán’s stated goal of exerting pressure on the neighboring country to restore oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, which was damaged as a result of a Russia strike," the report states.
According to experts, blocking gas transit to Ukraine raises serious legal questions. Gas trading is in the hands of private companies, including those trading the energy commodity and those providing its transportation via pipelines. In Hungary, this is the pipeline operator FGSZ, a subsidiary of the oil and gas group MOL.
Traders purchase transit capacities from pipeline operators, which are allocated via auction. Orbán’s decree prohibits the Hungarian operator FGSZ from offering transit capacities to entry points into Ukraine starting in July.
The company has already sold capacities for the second quarter, through June. Any interference with these contracts would expose the government to massive compensation claims.
According to the state gas network operator, last year Ukraine received about 44% of its gas imports through Hungary. Poland and Slovakia are also important transit countries for gas imports into Ukraine.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, considered Russia’s most important ally in Europe, is set to participate in parliamentary elections on April 12 and is using his influence over Ukraine to garner voter support.