Hungary threatens to veto Bulgaria's Schengen application over gas transit tax
Kyiv • UNN
Hungary threatens to veto Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen zone over a tax on Russian gas transit, linking the veto to protecting its energy security. The move comes amid discussions in the EU about Ukraine's accession negotiations.
Hungary will veto Bulgaria's accession to the passport-free Schengen zone of Europe unless it abolishes the tax on the transit of Russian gas transit. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
The veto threat came after all 27 members of the of the European Union, except Hungary, to start accession talks with Ukraine, despite its invasion by Russia.
It is noted that Hungary has made it clear to Bulgaria that it will veto its accession if the tax on the main gas import route to Hungary remains in force.
We have made it clear to the Bulgarians that if they continue to threaten threaten the security of Hungary's energy supply, we will veto their their accession to the Schengen area
He said that Hungary would lift its veto as soon as the transit tax on transit will be canceled.
Context
While Western European countries have made great efforts to wean themselves off Russian gas, Hungary has been receiving 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia under an agreement signed in 2021, mainly through Bulgaria and Serbia.