Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Stjjarto , being in New York at the UN General Assembly, clarified the situation with the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians: “It will be a somewhat more complicated and slow procedure compared to the time when the simplified procedure agreement existed. But even when there is no agreement, this does not mean that we do not issue visas. Of course, we will continue to do so in accordance with all procedures.
On July 31, the EU agreed to terminate the agreement with Russia, which simplified the issuance of visas to Russian citizens.
Later Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania introduced restrictive measures against Russian tourists, including the issuance of visas, and later Finland joined them. On the other hand, Germany and France opposed a complete ban on the entry of Russian tourists into the Eurozone.
Speaking about these measures, the Hungarian minister noted that the sanctions imposed against Russia have not been successful in any way, and they, in fact, harm Europe. It was the sanctions that caused inflation, utility bills, gas and food prices to rise, and this leads the continent's economy to recession.
According to Szijjártó, the last meeting of EU leaders on the eighth package failed because nothing was done one sentence, not to mention the final decision.
“We will not approve any decision that harms Hungary's national interests. The security of our energy supply remains a red line. Any sanctions that jeopardize our energy supply are unacceptable to us,” — the minister emphasized.
He also noted his frustration with his “western colleagues” who do not want to negotiate, while Szijjártó appreciates dialogue and negotiations. According to him, if the EU closes diplomatic channels, there will be no end to the situation in Ukraine.
Russian “Gazprom” daily delivers 5.8 million cubic meters of gas to Hungary in addition to the volumes stipulated by the country's long-term contract. According to Szijjártó, Hungary's current reserves contain enough gas to cover 41% of annual consumption, and this is significantly more than 23% in Europe as a whole.
The statements of the Hungarian official followed the proposal of the European budget commissioner Johannes Khan to cut funding for Hungary by 7.5 billion euros.