Hungary on Thursday, October 2 announced a 10-year gas supply contract with French firm Engie, even as the European Union country continues to rely heavily on Russia for the fossil fuel. The central European nation has remained the Kremlin's closest partner in the EU despite its invasion of Ukraine and resisted calls to reduce its dependency on Russia to meet its energy needs.
The move comes as the Hungarian government has opposed a Brussels plan to end imports of Russian fossil fuels, with the bloc putting forward a plan aimed at phasing out liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases from Russia by January 2027.
The deal between Engie and Hungary's state electricity company MVM foresees the annual delivery of 400 million cubic meters of LNG to Hungary between 2028 and 2038 – a total of four billion cubic metres – Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday. Hungary's annual gas consumption amounted to about 8.5 billion cubic meters in 2023. According to the latest figures, Hungary imported some 7.8 billion cubic meters of gas between October 2023 and September 2024.
"This long-term contract marks an important step for Hungary's energy security," said Szijjarto, emphasizing the importance of diversifying suppliers. "This agreement helps Hungary and the region (Central and Eastern Europe) to diversify their gas supply sources," Engie's management told AFP.
Hungary has a 15-year supply contract with Russia's Gazprom for 4.5 billion cubic meters a year through 2036, which has been supplemented with additional supply agreements in recent years. Most of Hungary's gas imports come from Russia under the Black Sea in the TurkStream pipeline and then through its extension, the Balkan Stream network via Bulgaria and Serbia.