According to the European Commission, the Hungarian-American agreement on the exemption from sanctions on Russian energy will not affect the EU’s goals to stop the import of Russian oil and gas by 2027.
Budapest/Brussels, November 9 (TASR) – The Hungarian-American agreement on the exemption from sanctions on Russian energy has no effect on the European Union’s plan to completely end the import of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027. The European Commission stated for the server portfolio.hu on Sunday that the interpretation of Washington’s decision is solely within the competence of the United States and does not change the goals of the EU’s energy policy, informs the correspondent of TASR in Budapest.
A ban on Russian oil imports was introduced as part of the EU’s 2022 sanctions packages, but Hungary and Slovakia were granted exemptions from this general rule. According to the EC, this exception was granted in order to preserve the energy security of the affected member states. Both of these EU countries are therefore currently authorized to import Russian oil.
The Commission emphasized that the purpose of the exemption was not to provide any economic advantage, but to preserve the continuity of supplies given the specific situation in the region.
However, according to the server, it is still not clear how long the exception granted to Hungary by the US will be valid. While the Hungarian government talks about an unlimited period, American sources talk about a one-year exception. A White House official confirmed to Reuters on Saturday that Hungary’s exemption from sanctions is only for one year and contains several restrictions.
After negotiations with US President Donald Trump in Washington, Orbán declared that Hungary will receive a full exemption from US sanctions imposed on the purchase of Russian energy products in the case of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the Druzhba oil pipeline.
“This is a general and time-limited agreement,” specified the prime minister, according to which Budapest is adding new ones to the existing gas supply sources. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó added that Hungary may conclude a five-year contract with an American supplier for the purchase of liquefied natural gas.
“We received an unlimited exemption from US sanctions on the import of Russian oil and natural gas,” Szijjártó repeated Orbán’s statement on Saturday. “Anyone who claims otherwise was not at the negotiations,” underlined the head of Hungarian diplomacy.
(TASR reporter Ladislav Vallach) lin
