Mar 26, 2026, 10:33Mar 26, 2026, 10:33
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will stop sending natural gas through his country to Ukraine from July. A regulation to this effect appeared in the Hungarian Official Gazette on Thursday night.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.Image: keystone
According to his own statements, the right-wing populist wants to increase the pressure on the neighboring country attacked by Russia to get the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was damaged by a Russian attack, back into operation more quickly. “As long as Ukraine doesn’t give us oil, it won’t get any gas from Hungary,” Orban announced on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to experts, the blockage of gas pipelines to Ukraine raises serious legal and European law questions. Gas trading is in the hands of private companies – including companies that trade in the energy source and those that transport it through pipes. In Hungary this is the pipeline operator FGSZ, a subsidiary of the mineral oil company MOL.
The traders purchase transit capacity from the pipeline operators, which they then award at auction. Orban’s regulation now prohibits the Hungarian operator FGSZ from offering capacity for transit to the crossing points into Ukraine from July. The company has already sold the capacity for the second quarter (April to June). Interference with these contracts would have resulted in enormous claims for damages for the government.
According to the state gas network operator, Ukraine received around 44 percent of its gas imports via Hungary last year. Other important transit countries for Ukrainian gas imports are Poland and Slovakia. In principle, Orban’s regulation can be withdrawn at any time.
The Hungarian faces a parliamentary election on April 12th that he could lose. In recent weeks he has inflamed conflicts with Ukraine in order to gain campaign ammunition. Most recently, he blocked a 90 billion euro (around 82 billion francs) loan in the EU that was vital for Ukraine. The right-wing populist is also considered Russia’s most important ally in the EU. (dab/sda/dpa)