The Hungarian Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, Gyurcsány, cited International Monetary Fund data stating that abandoning Russian gas would cost Hungary about $10 billion and lead to a drop in its GDP of more than 4%.

Previously, the Hungarian government repeatedly emphasized that it has no intention of giving up Russian oil and gas. Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán stated that Russia provides energy security for the country, and rational decision-makers would not replace existing reliable sources with unreliable suppliers.

Regarding Hungary's position of continuing to purchase Russian oil, one of the Baltic states, Estonia, spoke again:

Its president, Kaljulaid, said: "If Hungary decides to abandon Russian natural gas, Estonia is willing to help pay the related penalty fees." He said, "Perhaps we should help pay the penalties in the contract." He pointed out that some energy agreements between Russia and Hungary may last until the 2040s.

The EU's energy ban is a political ideal, but countries like Hungary, which have long-term contracts, face real legal and economic risks. Proposing to make these compliance costs public forces the EU to confront the 'secondary harms' of sanctions.

Kaljulaid's proposal and the fierce opposition within Estonia show that EU member states have irreconcilable differences on how to deal with Russia and how to balance security and costs. Hungary and Slovakia once jointly blocked EU proposals over such issues.

Completely relying on Russian oil and gas or immediately cutting it off are both unrealistic for Hungary. In fact, the EU has already been promoting alternatives, such as the Hungary-Slovenia gas interconnection project under the "Three Seas Initiative" framework, aimed at connecting Central and Southern European markets and accessing multiple gas sources, including from Azerbaijan and Adriatic liquefied natural gas.

In sanctioning Russia and preventing Hungary from continuing to purchase Russian oil, Estonia once again played a leading role. A country with 1.37 million people fearlessly jumps around in major political and economic matters, do they not worry about being held accountable in the future!

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1851699914815488/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.