A controversial agreement that will allow Hungary and Slovakia to continue importing millions of barrels of Russian oil shows a monthslong row over Ukrainian sanctions was never about energy security, the European Commission said Thursday.
The deal, struck by Hungarian energy giant MOL and greenlighted by Kyiv, will allow Budapest to take ownership of Russian crude as it crosses the border, meaning it will not be subject to a new Ukrainian ban on supplies shipped by Moscow’s Lukoil. Budapest had claimed the restrictions would spell catastrophe for its economy, despite the availability of fuel from alternative providers.
Responding to a query from POLITICO, Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill said the EU executive had consistently assessed “there was no threat to energy security” as a result of the Ukrainian sanctions, and that was still the case.
In a blistering attack on Brussels the day before, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár praised the Hungarian workaround, which will also guarantee the flow of Russian crude to his own country.
