The problem is that over the last thirty years Europe has not been able to meet the demand that energy should be sourced from elsewhere as well, he said.
Russian oil cannot be replaced by anything else, despite the fact that Hungary has done everything possible in recent years to find an alternative, Gulyás said.
Diversification of energy sources and the expansion of choice for resource acquisitions has been an ongoing goal in Hungary since the end of communism, he added.
The minister noted that when the governing Fidesz-KDNP alliance came to power in 2010 Hungary could only import gas from Austria and Ukraine, but by now there are gas interconnectors towards six out of the seven neighboring countries.
If the Greek-Bulgarian interconnector is finally completed, currently scheduled for the end of next year, gas imports from Azerbaijan will also be possible, Gulyás said.
Gulyás said more and more people are calling for the extension of sanctions to Russian gas imports, but he believes common sense will prevail as it is a strong counterargument that the German economy could get into big trouble without Russian gas.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
