Hungarian Foreign Minister Predicts Contentious EU Energy Council Meeting

Luxembourg: The foreign minister said the Hungarian government “will not allow Brussels to take the money needed to extend the war in Ukraine from Hungarian families.” P©ter Szijj¡rt³, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, announced that next week’s meeting of the European Union’s Energy Council is expected to see a “big battle.”

According to About Hungary, Minister Szijj¡rt³, in a Facebook post, emphasized the Hungarian government’s stance against the European Union’s energy proposals. The upcoming council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday is set to discuss a proposal by Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which aims to halt the purchase of natural gas, crude oil, and nuclear fuel from Russia.

Minister Szijj¡rt³ expressed concerns that the proposal would significantly increase utility costs for Hungarian families, stating, “Brussels wants to support Ukraine by doubling or tripling the utility costs of Hungarian families.” He also noted his discussions with Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanar, wherein they concurred that such measures would constitute an unacceptable breach of sovereignty.

Highlighting the importance of national energy independence, Minister Szijj¡rt³ declared, “The national energy mix is a matter of sovereignty that no outside player can interfere with. We are not willing to replace our already existing energy resources with more expensive and more unstable ones, not for the sake of Brussels or Kyiv.”

Minister Szijj¡rt³ vowed to shield Hungarian families from potential financial burdens imposed by the EU’s energy strategy, asserting that the government would “protect Hungarian families from having to pay two or three times the current utility fees because of the blackmail of [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky!”