Hungary and Slovakia have confirmed that they have begun releasing their strategic oil reserves amid a dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline, and non-Russian oil is being transported via the Adria pipeline from Croatia to both countries, European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said during a briefing on Wednesday, writes UNN.
Details
Itkonen indicated that there was a meeting of the oil coordination group today, which "discussed the state of supply security and any short-term risks, including those related to the damaged... Druzhba pipeline."
"Both Hungary and Slovakia have confirmed that they have started releasing their strategic oil reserves. (...) At this stage, there is no immediate threat to the EU's security of supply. Both Hungary and Slovakia have strategic oil reserves," said the European Commission spokeswoman.
According to her, "the second point is that there is an alternative supply route that Hungary and Slovakia can use, and that is the Adria pipeline from Croatia." "Croatia confirmed at the meeting that non-Russian oil is being transported via the Adria pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. Additional cargoes, contracted by the MOL group, with non-Russian oil, are arriving at the Croatian oil terminal," she indicated.
"This will ensure security of supply in Hungary and Slovakia," Itkonen emphasized.
"And finally, we continue to monitor the security of supply situation. We maintain close contact with all relevant member states, as well as with Ukraine," said the European Commission spokeswoman. "Contacts are taking place at the highest level in the European Commission."
"And the last point: we condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure," Itkonen stressed.
"So, as you can see, we are doing everything possible to ensure the security of supply for Hungary and Slovakia at all levels," concluded European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho.
When asked whether Croatia allows the transportation of only non-Russian oil through Adria to Hungary and Slovakia, Itkonen indicated that "currently, the confirmation we have from Croatia at today's meeting is that it is non-Russian oil that is being transported through the Adria pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia."
"But in this case, provided there is oil, its origin should not matter to citizens in terms of energy security. And actually, if we can indeed phase out from Russia, that's ultimately the objective," emphasized European Commission spokeswoman Pinho. "And that is the goal we have in mind: if we still need fossil fuels, let's explore what opportunities there are to get them from a source other than Russia, which constantly uses the need for its fossil fuels as a weapon."
Itkonen also clarified regarding the Adria pipeline that "it remains the main alternative pipeline for Hungary and Slovakia to cover their needs. And the pipeline has sufficient capacity to increase volumes to fully cover Hungarian-Slovak needs, and it is already being used to supply oil to the two member states."
Regarding the repair of "Druzhba"
Regarding the repair of "Druzhba," Pinho noted that "yesterday, in fact, at a press conference, President von der Leyen also said that she was asking for the repair of the pipeline that was destroyed after Russian attacks." "Perhaps we should always remind ourselves of the source of the pipeline's destruction," she indicated. "President von der Leyen asked to speed it up, and yes, this issue was raised during discussions with President Zelenskyy," the European Commission spokeswoman reiterated.
"As we have already said, the President did raise this issue with President Zelenskyy and asked to speed up the repair of the pipeline. We understand that Ukraine is ready to do so. We also understand President Zelenskyy's point of view, who says that the Ukrainian people are constantly repairing what Russia systematically destroys. And some citizens even lose their lives when someone repairs critical energy infrastructure. So we also understand his reasoning," Pinho noted. "But yes, we asked for the repairs to be carried out."
Ukraine to determine terms for resuming 'Druzhba' - von der Leyen24.02.26, 18:59 • [views_3564]
When asked if there was any information regarding the state of this "Druzhba" pipeline, European Commission spokeswoman Itkonen said: "We have information."
"Last week, we received a letter from Ukraine confirming that an assessment of the damage and conditions for rapid resumption of oil transportation is underway, and emergency repair work is being carried out. We are closely monitoring this through our bilateral contacts with the relevant ministries. And the President in Kyiv yesterday called for an acceleration of the work, but at the same time, as Paula also emphasized, it is important to remember that these repair works are being carried out under heavy Russian shelling. But we have a letter and assurances from Ukraine, from last week, in which it is explained to us that emergency repair work is ongoing, but under very difficult circumstances," Itkonen noted.
European Commission spokeswoman Itkonen also indicated regarding the Ukrainian proposal to consider another transportation option that "we are evaluating this option, but we do not have - we need to get a little more information on this, and therefore it may be more of a medium-term solution than something that will immediately resolve the situation we are in now."
Addition
The halt of Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline after a Russian attack caused new tensions between Ukraine and EU member states Hungary and Slovakia. Hungary and Slovakia, home to the only remaining EU refineries using Russian oil supplied by the Druzhba pipeline, have been trying to secure supplies since they were suspended on January 27.
Hungary and Slovakia accused Ukraine of delaying the resumption of supplies for political reasons and announced the cessation of diesel fuel exports to Ukraine. Hungary also threatened to stop electricity and gas exports to Ukraine. As did Slovakia, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico issued an ultimatum regarding emergency electricity supplies. Subsequently, Hungary stated that it did not plan to stop electricity exports.
However, a report by the analytical Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) on February 16 states that Hungary does not need Russian oil, as other sources are readily available.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Reuters noted, is a staunch opponent of Ukraine's aspirations to join the EU, and both Hungary and Slovakia have maintained good relations with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin for almost four years of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Amid the dispute, Hungary blocked a new, 20th, package of sanctions against Russia in the EU, as well as a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine.