Posted: 22.01.2025 13:50:00

Expert: Hungary to become gas gateway to Europe

Hungary could become an eastern gateway for gas supplies to Europe, but EU countries would suffer 60-70bn Euro damage as a result of Ukraine's decision to stop transit of Russian fuel starting from January 1st anyway – as stated by Oliver Hortay, the Head of Energy and Climate Policy Division at Budapest-based Szazadveg Research Centre, TASS reports

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According to Mr. Hortay, Europe is not interested in stopping gas supplies from Russia, and such a state of affairs is harmful for everyone. He noted that, from Hungary's point of view, this step is generally negative as it leads to higher prices in the energy market.

At the same time, the expert added that the move creates new opportunities for Hungary, because purchases from the southern direction will increase and Hungary will be able to open its eastern gas gateways towards the European Union.

Mr. Hortay believes Hungary will suffer from Ukraine's decision to a much lesser extent than other Central European countries, including Slovakia and Austria. Budapest receives the bulk of its gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline and its branches through Bulgaria and Serbia, the capacity of which can be increased. With this in mind, Hungary could redirect part of the supplies from Russia to the Austrian gas hub in Baumgarten, considered one of the largest in Europe, so that fuel could flow from there into an integrated pan-European system – in particular, for Slovakia and Austria.