Hungary’s intention to purchase more gas from Russia’s Gazprom in 2025 has ignited tensions within the European Union.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto confirmed that Budapest is negotiating a deal for additional gas volumes next year.
This will increase Hungary’s reliance on Russian energy – despite the EU’s efforts to cut ties with Moscow.
In a recent interview with Kremlin-run RIA Novosti, Szijjarto said: “We are currently negotiating a deal for next year.”
The move is likely to be seen as Hungary breaking ranks with the EU with other countries including France calling for stricter monitoring of Russian gas imports.
French energy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher stressed the need for “the highest level of transparency regarding flows of [LNG]” to limit the EU’s dependency on Russian gas.
Hungary receives around 4.5 billion cubic metres of Russian gas annually under a 15-year agreement signed in 2021.
Gazprom and Hungary’s MVM energy company recently signed a memorandum of understanding to increase supplies.
“Basically, we will increase the volumes,” Szijjarto added.
This comes as other EU countries such as Belgium and Spain work to track and restrict Russian gas imports.
The EU has taken steps to reduce Russian gas supplies, including sanctioning transshipments from EU ports, but Hungary’s ongoing deals with Gazprom complicate efforts to cut Russia’s profits from fossil fuel exports.
Sven Giegold, Germany’s state secretary for economic affairs, called the rise in Russian fuel imports “worrying” and urged the European Commission to “present a road map to bring imports from Russia in all fuels down to zero.”
The situation is further complicated by Ukraine’s refusal to extend the gas transit deal with Russia past its December 2024 expiration date.
Discussions continue between the EU and alternative suppliers such as Azerbaijan as the bloc aims to diversify its energy sources.