Brussels appears unconvinced that Ukraine’s halt of Russian oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia is due to genuine pipeline damage. After reportedly being blocked from inspecting what Ukraine says is damage to the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline from a Russian drone attack, the Commission has nevertheless agreed to cover the costs of any repairs.
That is according to Slovakia’s Robert Fico, who, along with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, doubts that the EU will ultimately have to pay anything, as they say the pipeline is not actually damaged.
Brussels’ agreement to pay for ‘repairs’ came after Fico showed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen satellite images released last week by Orbán’s government. According to Ukrainian outlet Liga.net, the images show no obstacles to restarting oil transit.
The Slovak prime minister later said, “We are offering our repair facilities, and I welcomed the information from the president of the European Commission that the Commission is offering not only repair facilities, if necessary, but also funding for this repair project,” adding:
I would like to emphasize once again—if such repairs are needed at all.
Orbán has said Hungary will only lift its block on a €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine if Russian oil transit is restored—a stance Slovakia has also threatened to support.
On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that a delegation, made up of Hungarian and Slovak officials, was on its way to Ukraine for talks on reopening the line. Budapest Energy Minister Gábor Czepek said representatives would “engage in substantive dialogue.”
Balázs Orbán, political director to the Hungarian PM, on Tuesday also lamented what he called the “madness” of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky being awarded the so-called ‘European Order of Merit’ despite accusations that Kyiv attempted to interfere in the domestic politics of EU member states.
‼️MADNESS‼️After Zelensky issued deadly threats against 🇭🇺@PM_ViktorOrban, blackmailed the Hungarian people with an oil blockade, and interfered in Hungary’s elections, the European Parliament awarded him the European Order of Merit.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
