Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó said in Belgrade that strategic links are being built between Hungary and Serbia in energy.
He underlined that the neighbouring countries are making progress by launching a uniquejoint gas trading company, which has already been registered.
“This is an important step for the security of our energy supply because we can practically align Serbian-Hungarian gas procurement and Serbian-Hungarian gas trading, and the market of the two countries combined is much more interesting for international players than separately. This provides important strategic energy security for us,” he added.
The Hungarian minister also mentioned that preparations are underway for the construction of an oil pipeline between the two countries, which, according to him, will significantly enhance supply security. He also referred to Ukraine and Croatia, which have increased transit fees many times in the past.
“Therefore, the construction of a new oil pipeline, with a capacity of 5-5.5 million tons annually according to preliminary discussions, will increase competition in the region, and thus will play an important role in preventing such hostile price increases,” he pointed out.
He also stressed that the capacity of the interconnection between the two countries’ electricity networks is being doubled, and the work will be completed by 2028. “Currently, the designation of the border crossing point is in progress. The market tests have been successfully conducted by the system operators, so there is no obstacle to starting actual construction work,” he said.
He underlined that the 2028 target date is very important because from the early 2030s, Hungary’s electricity production capacity will significantly increase with the commissioning of the new blocks at Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant.
