Viktor Orban: EU policymakers have been engaged in a frantic round of negotiations to convince Hungary’s prime minister to lift his opposition to the proposed ban. Picture: Getty
Szijjarto said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s trip to Budapest on Monday to meet Orban and a call to the Hungarian leader by French President Emmanuel Macron on energy security a day later had done nothing to break the impasse. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Hungary, which cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin before he invaded Ukraine, was asking the EU to exclude all pipeline imports from Russia or only Hungary’s share. Earlier, the government in Budapest had asked for a permanent exemption for its crude imports via pipelines.
The EU’s executive arm is also set to bolster renewables and energy savings goals as part of a 195 billion-euro plan to end its dependency on Russian fossil fuels by 2027, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
danieltmurray recently reported that Ireland's newly formed Energy Security Emergency Group (ESEG) is planning for major oil and/or gas shortages in Ireland.