'Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia' – Gulyás

At this week’s press briefing of the Hungarian government, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Gergely Gulyás and Government Spokesperson Eszter Vitályos were joined by János Bóka, Hungary’s EU Affairs Minister.

Gergely Gulyás first spoke about the ECJ ruling against Hungary for breaching the EU’s asylum rules. (While the ruling was handed down in June, the European Commission sent the payment notice for the fine of €200 million to the Hungarian government this week.) In Gulyás’s view, the ruling is proof that the court is biased and has an aversion against Hungary. According to him, it is intolerable that Hungary was fined for (as he put it) protecting the EU’s outer borders, and they are planning on reaching an agreement with the European Commission about this.

When János Bóka was asked what steps may be taken regarding the ECJ ruling, he said that the execution of the judgment is neither in Hungary’s nor in the EU’s interest, and it is for this reason that negotiations with the EC about the possible next step are ongoing.

Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia

Gergely Gulyás, Minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office said that Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia by blocking oil supplies. He said that this was demonstrated by the fact that Ukraine's Lukoil is not able to transport oil to Europe, while Russia's Rosneft is able to do so.

The minister said that if the situation remains unchanged, it could lead to a fuel shortage. He added that there were still reserve supplies available, but a solution must be found by September.

Hungary is currently looking into the options available. "We must accept that access to cheap Russian raw materials is part of the EU's economic success," he said. The minister said that Ukraine's decision to close off the possibility offered to Hungary by the EU was unacceptable.

As the government sees it, Ukraine is putting Hungary in an impossible situation. He pointed out that Ukraine imports the most electricity from Hungary and that Hungary has been providing refuge to a large number of Ukrainians since the war began. However, Hungary will not use these facts to blackmail Ukraine.

The reporter of hvg.hu asked: What is Ukraine demanding from Hungary? Gulyás said that "Ukraine would like us to abandon our pro-peace stance". In his opinion, the Ukrainians are bothered by the fact that the Hungarian government is trying to get them to engage in peace negotiations, which is why they are blackmailing Hungary by suspending oil deliveries.

The withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine is not a realistic scenario, Gergely Gulyás said. He said it would be good if it were to happen, but since there is no chance of it happening, we must find another way to end all the killing. "Everyone agrees" with Zsolt Németh's statement saying " Ruskies, go home!", but that was not what Viktor Orbán advocated on his peace mission. Instead he argued that there should be a ceasefire and peace talks first.

Commenting on EU-Ukraine relations, János Bóka said that Hungary and Slovakia believe that Ukraine has violated the terms of the EU Association Agreement. In such a case, the member states have the right to initiate consultations, and if this does not produce results, then legal proceedings are also an option. The government is also investigating whether Ukraine's actions violate the Energy Charter Treaty.

You should ask Putin! – Gulyás

European Affairs Minister János Bóka said he could not confirm that the European Council's legal service found Prime Minister Orbán's peace mission to Moscow to be in violation of EU law. He said he did not want to leak what was discussed in a closed meeting.

In response to a question from Telex, Gulyás reiterated that Orbán did did not travel to Moscow as a representative of the EU, but of Hungary. Telex asked why Orbán did not correct Putin, who said that the Hungarian Prime Minister was there representing the European Union.

Gulyás's answer was that we should ask Putin about this, and added that the PM Orbán is courteous enough not to correct another head of government or state.

We do not know what the penalty would be if we did not rescind the Sovereignty Protection Act

The government does not yet know what penalty it could face if it does not repeal the Sovereignty Protection Act. Gulyás said that if such a decision is reached, they will abide by the court's ruling, just as they have always done in the past.

The Chinese loan

Answering a question about the giant Chinese loan, he said that it was not related to the non-arrival of EU funds and said that the Ministry of Finance can provide more information on this. He did, however, add that the loan had been taken out for infrastructure investments. In his opinion, borrowing from several places is a standard financial management practice, with the only rule being to reduce public debt.