Europe has reduced its gas imports from Russia dramatically, yet it remains clear that energy security cannot be fully guaranteed without some continued access to Russian fuel. This week, Hungarian Energy Minister Csaba Lantos spoke candidly about the challenges and the realities facing the region as it reorganizes its energy mix.
“Today, roughly one-eighth of the 160 billion cubic meters of gas that arrive each year still comes from Russia. Replacing such large volumes overnight is not feasible, and entirely abandoning the eastern route would carry significant risks to supply continuity,” Lantos noted in an interview with Mandiner. His assessment underscores the practical limits of rapid transition while highlighting the financial and logistical frictions involved in re-routing supply chains.
According to the minister, Europe’s task of compensating for reduced Russian deliveries is complicated by the sheer scale of the volumes involved and by the real-world scarcity of ready-made alternatives. Gas consumption in the region has softened in some periods, but energy-security risks persist—especially during peak demand, winter weather, and market shocks. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has long been proposed as a flexible substitute, yet the necessary regasification capacity, pipelines, and receiving infrastructure remain unevenly developed across the continent. These bottlenecks emphasize how energy policy must balance diversification with reliable, low-cost supply for households and industry alike.
On a comparative basis, Hungary is benefiting from its earlier engagement with long-term gas contracts and a prudently diversified approach to energy sourcing. Lantos stressed that Hungary has historically fulfilled its contractual obligations with Gazprom, which has contributed to a more stable supply for the country relative to some neighbors. Still, that stability is not a shield against broader European risk: the Hungarian position illustrates how policy choices and contract structures shape resilience in a volatile energy market, even as the broader region remains earnestly engaged in diversification efforts.
In a related development, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Minister Peter Szijjártó announced plans to expand imports from Azerbaijan, targeting 1–2 billion cubic meters of gas per year by the end of 2023. To realize this goal, regional gas transmission capacity must be increased, and Hungary has indicated it would rely on European Union financial support to finance expansion of pipelines and related infrastructure. The objective is clear: to reduce dependence on a single supplier by building a more interconnected and capable regional gas system, while ensuring that any new supply routes align with EU rules and market realities. Such moves are watched closely by policymakers across North America and Europe as examples of how to manage energy transition in a tightly interconnected energy landscape, with attention to reliability, affordability, and strategic autonomy. (Mandiner, official statements by Csaba Lantos and Peter Szijjártó).