Hungary has reduced its spending on Russian pipeline natural gas by ten percent in value terms during the first eight months of this year. Nevertheless, Budapest remains unchallenged in its position as Moscow’s largest customer within the European Union.
Between January and the end of August, Hungary paid a total of 1.71 billion euros to Moscow for Russian energy. This puts the country at the top of the list of European buyers:
- Hungary: 1.71 billion euros
- Bulgaria: 987 million euros
- Greece: 850 million euros
Hungary also dominated the figures for August alone. In August, the EU imported Russian pipeline gas worth 679 million euros. Hungary was the leading European buyer, with 229 million euros, followed by Greece with 178 million euros and Bulgaria with 165 million euros. Slovakia imported gas from Russia worth 107 million euros.
In total, the EU spent 4.1 billion euros on Russian pipeline gas during the first eight months, exactly the same amount as in the corresponding period of the previous year.
In 2025, the EU imported a total of 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia. This placed Russia fourth among the EU’s gas suppliers, behind Norway, the United States and Algeria. Last year, Russia accounted for approximately 12 to 13 percent of the Union’s total gas imports. Natural gas is now transported to Europe almost exclusively via a single route: the TurkStream pipeline.
Hungary’s continued imports of Russian gas on this scale are made possible by an exemption within the European Union. While Brussels is gradually seeking to sever economic ties with the Kremlin, special rules apply to landlocked countries without direct access to the sea, such as Hungary and Slovakia.
However, pressure from Brussels is mounting.
As part of the REPowerEU initiative, the European Commission aims to completely halt imports of Russian natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by January 1, 2027.
Hungary is resisting this plan and insisting on its national energy security.
The ongoing energy flows are also causing friction across the Atlantic. In mid-October, U.S. President Donald Trump put total EU payments for Russian energy at 250 billion dollars. He used this figure to reinforce his “America First” doctrine and criticized Europe for financing Russia while simultaneously relying on the United States for its security.
At the same time, reports are circulating about Trump’s foreign policy initiatives to end the war in Ukraine. According to these reports, his inner circle is working on a comprehensive peace plan that could also fundamentally reshape the European energy market. The plan is said to involve consideration of reviving large-scale Russian gas exports to Europe as part of a broader package comprising security guarantees for Kyiv, territorial arrangements and new relations between Russia and NATO. U.S. companies or even the U.S. government could potentially become financially involved in these gas exports in the future.
For Hungary, reviving Russian gas routes or ensuring their long-term stability would be a welcome development from an energy policy perspective.
Moscow appears open to such scenarios. As Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized, restarting energy cooperation would be in Russia’s interests, although at present it is primarily the European economies themselves that stand to benefit from it.
Until the deadlines set out in the EU’s phase-out plans arrive, Hungary is making use of its special position and betting that future diplomatic agreements will secure its supply routes in the long term.
A new sanction would impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on U.S. exports to countries that are among the top buyers of Russian oil or gas.Continue reading
Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/South East Med Energy & Defense
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