Last month, Slovenia signed an agreement with Algeria to import gas via Italy through existing gas pipelines. With business worth 300 million cubic meters annually, the country of 2.1 million will reduce Russian gas imports by a third, and the revived connection will help direct traffic to Hungary with a planned new connection, he writes. long play Slovenian portal.
Let us extend the same helping hand to our eastern neighbors. Hungary is highly dependent on Russian gas, and it is not alone. Austria is in a similar situation. We have to help save them, they can’t do it alone
– said Robert Golub in an interview.
It can be operational in two to three years
The stated intention of EU countries is independence from Russian gas by 2030. According to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry, Hungary has already concluded an agreement on gas imports with all of its neighbors except Slovenia, but the country is still trying to cover 85 percent of this from Russia.
In the interview, Golub also talked about his talks with Viktor Orban at the new power plant near the Hungarian-Croatian border, which links the three countries’ power grid. Golub and Orban confirmed that they would work on building a joint gas pipeline, which, according to the Slovenian prime minister, could become operational “maybe in two or three years.”
Viktor Orban identified three possible paths
Viktor Orban said he is interested in diversifying gas sources in Hungary and indicated three ways:
- potential pipeline from Slovenia to Algeria,
- A route to transport Black Sea gas through Romania, as well
- Expanding its relations with Croatia to import LNG by ship.
“We are interested in all these three things. We want to break this addiction. Hungary has also established relations in other directions, but these capabilities are not enough for complete diversification. We plan practical cooperation with Slovenia,” the Hungarian Prime Minister added.
Golub said: Energy cooperation with the European Union will be based on the principle of solidarity, while Orban raised tougher questions, such as the rule of law in Hungary. The Slovenian paper reminds us that the EU has withheld about €13.3 billion in aid, with which it is trying to force Viktor Orban to comply with his commitments to deal with concerns about transparency and corruption.
