The key facts

  • Hungary is discussing with Romania the purchase of gas extracted in the Black Sea and its transit to other European countries
  • Budapest intends to phase out Russian gas by the autumn of 2027
  • The Croatian JANAF pipeline was named as the main alternative for oil

Talks with Romania

Hungary expects not only to use natural gas from Romania domestically, which will partially replace Russian gas, but also to transit it to other European countries. This was stated by Hungarian Minister of Economy and Energy Istvan Kapitany on the social network Facebook following talks with his Romanian counterpart Dumitru Chisalita. “We discussed the steps needed for Hungary to play an active role in purchasing gas extracted in the Black Sea and distributing it across our region. The discussion took place in a very constructive atmosphere, and we will continue our dialogue in two weeks,” he wrote.

Timeline for abandoning Russian gas

Hungarian Foreign Minister Anett Pan announced that the country is preparing to phase out Russian gas by the autumn of 2027 and is simultaneously seeking a replacement for Russian oil. The main alternative for oil supplies should be the Croatian JANAF pipeline, while for gas Budapest is considering Croatian LNG, supplies via Greece and Azerbaijan, as well as infrastructure in Poland and Lithuania. At the same time, back in October Prime Minister Peter Magyar stressed that Russian energy resources cannot be replaced quickly and asked the United States to extend Hungary's sanctions exemption by at least a year.

Moscow's position

On November 4 Russian Ambassador to Hungary Yevgeny Stanislavov stated that Russia stands for preserving mutually beneficial energy cooperation between Moscow and Budapest. According to him, this concerns not only the price of gas, which is rising in Europe, but also the availability of the necessary fuel reserves.