Szijjarto: Gazprom to deliver up to daily 5.8 million cubic metres of gas on top of contracted amount in September, October

Speaking on the sidelines of an informal meeting of his European counterparts in Prague, Szijjarto said that the maximum extra amount was 2.6 million cubic metres a day in August.

Representatives of Hungary and Gazprom have signed the relevant agreement, the minister said.

Szijjarto added, however, that the exact amount of gas to be delivered on top of contracted volumes depended on “technical and technological details”.

Receiving increased amounts of gas contributes to Hungary’s energy security and will help avoid restrictions due to a possible shortage of gas, he said, adding that “Hungary will have sufficient gas”.

Szijjarto noted that reserves in Hungary’s gas storage facilities have exceeded 36.5 percent of annual average consumption compared to the EU average of 21.5 percent.

Concerning the Prague meeting, some of which he said was “chaotic”, the minister said the EU would not impose a general visa requirement on Russian citizens. He said the proposal to introduce such a restriction had met objections by several member states including Hungary.

The EU will, however, terminate an agreement with Russia under which Russian citizens could benefit from simplified visa procedures, a decision requiring a two-thirds majority by EU members, Szijjarto said.