Budapest (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Hungarian MEP Tamas Deutsch urges the European Commission to counter Ukraine’s crude oil restrictions, accusing Ukraine of blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia, and threatening their energy security.
How is Ukraine allegedly blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia?
MEP Tamas Deutsch, the leader of ruling’ Fidesz’s European parliamentary delegation, has asked the European Commission to “take immediate measures to counter Ukraine’s blackmail” of Hungary and Slovakia. In a discussion with public radio, Deutsch criticised the EC’s “inaction” involving Ukrainian restrictions on the transit of Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia, demanding that Ukraine was employed in “blackmail” and in breach of its association agreement with the EU.
What actions does MEP Tamas Deutsch demand from the EU?
Stating that Fidesz’s EP group has sent a letter to the European Commission urging it to take action on the issue, Deutsch stated Ukraine’s decision to prohibit crude deliveries to two EU member states was “unprecedented”, as it extremely imperilled their energy security.
Why does Hungary claim Ukraine violated its EU agreement?
He expressed Ukraine had made it clear that its purpose was to blackmail Slovakia and Hungary to get them to switch their pro-peace stance and join the “pro-war coalition backing the growth of the Russia-Ukraine war with money, weapons and political support”. Deutsch expressed it was “obvious” that Ukraine would “skip even the issue of energy security if it serves its political purposes”. Also, the country was designed to violate the association agreement with the EU “because the European Commission believes it has to stand by Ukraine politically under all circumstances”.
How does Fidesz view the EU’s response to Ukraine’s actions?
Concerning Ukraine, “pro-war political interests replace all else”, he said, demanding that the EC had failed to fulfil even its most fundamental obligations if it led to supporting pro-peace efforts, and was even scheduled to “look the other way” when it came to “political blackmail”.
Brussels’ decisions, Deutsch stated, were dictated by “an ideological bias that ignores the law”.
He said the European Commission would make an effort once Ukraine started taking actions that directly went against the economic, political and security stakes of Western European countries, adding that such a procedure was “easy to imagine as Ukraine becomes emboldened”.
