Croatian Minister takes jab at Szijjártó for suddenly changing his tune on Adria oil pipeline

Croatian Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar posted a sarcastic response to Péter Szijjártó's recent request for the Croatians to allow Hungary to transport Russian oil by sea via the Adria pipeline.

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade resorted to this after Russia hit the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine at the end of January, as a result of which no oil has been coming through the pipeline since. Instead of blaming the Russians though, Szijjártó is accusing Ukraine, saying that by taking so long to repair the pipeline, Kyiv is once again threatening the energy security of an EU country.

According to Szijjártó, since this is a case of force majeure, Croatia has an obligation under EU law to allow transportation to Hungary and Slovakia. However, the Croatians, citing oil sanctions against Russia, have refused to allow the transportation of Russian oil. The Hungarian demand is all the more interesting because a few months ago, the Hungarian government was still arguing that the capacity of the Adria oil pipeline was insufficient for the country’s needs and claimed that the Croatians were simply trying to profit from the war – which Janaf rejected at the time.

“It’s genuinely heartwarming to hear Hungary speak with such conviction about EU law, European values, and binding obligations. When those words are more than a talking point or a tweet, they are exactly what keep our region stable and secure” – Ante Šušnjar wrote in response to Szijjártó's Tuesday post, pointing out that, unlike Szijjártó and his colleagues, previous Hungarian strategic thinking recognized “the value of the Adriatic alternative as a way out of the Russian trap. This long-standing Hungarian idea is now finally becoming a reality.”

The Croatian Minister of Economy reiterated that the Adriatic oil pipeline is reliable, safe, competitively priced, and has the capacity to meet Hungarian and Slovakian demand. "Croatia is ready to act responsibly and constructively—in full compliance with EU and OFAC regulations—to protect security of supply," the minister wrote, adding a jab at Szijjártó at the end of his post.

“As the Yes, Minister TV series puts it: “Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.” Especially when last year’s “no capacity” suddenly turns into this year’s “EU obligation.”

As a recently published study revealed, Hungary and Slovakia have not only failed to reduce their dependence on Russian crude oil since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, but have instead significantly increased it. Our recent article discussed this in more detail.