Orbán supports fact-finding mission to inspect Friendship oil pipeline

The Hungarian government supports the idea of a "fact-finding mission with the participation of Hungarian and Slovak experts to verify the status of the Druzhba oil pipeline", Viktor Orbán wrote to European Council President Antonio Costa, according to Reuters and Politico on Thursday, with the latter also attaching the document itself.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that at Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, his colleague from Luxembourg had suggested that Hungary and Slovakia could send experts to inspect the pipeline, which had been shut down since the end of January in the wake of a Russian attack. According to the Hungarian minister, they had not received a clear response to the idea from Ukraine.

The Hungarian and Slovak governments claim that the pipeline system running from Russia through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia is now ready for use, but the Ukrainian leadership is preventing this for political reasons.

Orbán had already written a letter to Costa on Monday. In it, he stated that until deliveries resume, he cannot support any decision that would benefit Ukraine. This includes the loan to Ukraine approved by the European Council in December. Viktor Orbán and his 26 colleagues had unanimously stated that the “European Council agreed on a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, but this will have no financial impact on three member states, including Hungary, while the others will use enhanced cooperation for the loan.”

Before the agreement can be implemented, however, three pieces of legislation must be adopted – one of them unanimously.

In the letter published by Politico on Thursday, the Hungarian Prime Minister noted that he is fully aware of the political difficulties posed by the delay in implementing the December agreement. "My initiative also aims to make it easier" to resolve the issue in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, non-Russian shipments have already started arriving at the Adria pipeline in Croatia, which, according to Szijjártó, along with reserves that meet EU requirements, will ensure the security of Hungary's energy supply.

At the same time, EU institutions have started to examine other options for providing the loan, which was originally planned to be financed from Russian assets frozen in Europe. Costa believes that the backtracking violates EU principles and said he would use all means necessary to "get past this." At the same time, the European Commission hopes to finalise everything related to the loan by the end of March. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously indicated that his country would start to experience payment difficulties from April onwards.