Izvestia reported that on May 8, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared that Europe would go bankrupt if it decided to give up energy sources from Russia in the context of the EU's goal of ending its dependence on Moscow's gas by 2027.
In an article on social network X, Mr. Orban expressed his support for the view of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who had previously affirmed that Slovakia would not participate in creating more barriers between Russia and Europe. Mr. Robert Fico is right, Prime Minister Orban emphasized.
According to Mr. Orban, giving up Russian gas will put Hungarians under a huge burden. He continued to affirm that Brussels would not force Hungarian families to pay for Ukraine's joining the EU - something he had previously stated when warning of the consequences of Kiev's full membership.
On May 7, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico opposed the European Commission's (EC) plan to phase out Russian gas and other energy imports.
Although Mr. Fico welcomed the EC's efforts to reduce dependence on energy for third parties, he said that this would bring many consequences to the EU, including increasing energy prices and reducing the bloc's competitiveness.
The Slovakian Prime Minister said that the EC's move was no different from an "economic suicide", affirming that all energy resources would be cut off just because "a new iron curtain" was erected in relations between the West and Russia.
Slovakia and Hungary receive Russian gas and oil supplies. The two EU countries have spoken out against Ukraine's suspension of Russian gas transit through its territory.
Meanwhile, about 19,9% of Europe's gas still comes from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and LNG plots, down from about 45% before 2022.
