Hungary accused Ukraine of violating the association agreement
24 July 2024 09:47
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjártó, said that his country could block the payment of 6.5 billion euros to Ukraine from the European Peace Fund due to the termination of the transit of Russian oil. The minister told ATV about this, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
“Until this issue is resolved by Ukraine, everyone should forget about the payment of 6.5 billion euros in compensation for the supply of weapons from the European Peacekeeping Program.”
- said Sijarto.
According to the minister, Hungary and Slovakia have initiated a process against Ukraine in the EU, accusing it of violating the association agreement. After all, in it, Ukraine clearly undertakes not to interrupt the transit of energy carriers to the EU.
Sijarto claims that “33 percent of our crude oil imports and about 40-45 percent of Slovakia’s crude oil imports come from Lukoil, from Russia via Ukraine.”
“The European Commission is now in a difficult situation because Ukraine is breaking the agreement it previously concluded with Ukraine.”
- added Sijarto.
The Hungarian minister also noted that they are “working on what legal and technical solutions are necessary to ensure the country’s energy supply in the long term.”
Hungary vs Ukraine
Current Hungary is a long-standing supporter of Russia and an enemy of Ukraine. So, among other things, Hungary is delaying the adoption of legislation that would allow Ukraine to receive up to 2 billion euros from the EU for armaments at the expense of profits from frozen Russian assets.
After a long debate, EU countries agreed in May to use the proceeds from about 190 billion euros of frozen Russian assets stored in the Belgian depository Euroclear to buy weapons for Ukraine. However, Hungary opposed this, refusing the unanimous support of the EU for each payment to Ukraine. At the same time, Hungary does not seem to object in general, but has concerns about the automation of payments.
The situation is complicated by the fact that from July 1, Hungary will head the EU for half a year, which will give it more influence, and therefore it will be even more difficult for EU officials to convince it.
At the same time, Hungary will not block NATO’s decisions regarding Ukraine, but will not support them either.
In the meantime, I am looking in the European Unionть нову стратегію: як допомогти Україні без згоди Угорщини.
