Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Joint Press Conference with Prime Minister Donald Tusk
5 May 2014, Warsaw

I would like to add a comment to what the Prime Minister said. In Hungary, energy policy is not an emotional issue and is not even a political issue; it is an issue of the most crucial, practical reality. The situation in Hungary is such that either we maintain the ratio of electricity provided by our nuclear power station, which is 40% within the whole electric power system, or if we do not do that, then we must increase our imports of gas from Russia. This means that if someone in Hungary wishes to reduce gas dependency, then they must by definition support atomic energy.

Our nuclear power station, however, is a Russian-designed power station, and Hungary is not prepared to take the risk of incorporating two different kinds of engineering technology into a nuclear power station. This is the situation. Whether we like it or not, this is the situation.

On my part, I represent a politics which will not allow Hungary's gas dependency to increase in future. The politics we practice enables the significance of gas imported from Russia to decrease within the whole Hungarian energy system. This is why it is a historic step, and this is perhaps not clear from here in Poland, but it is in Hungary, that in view of the fact that I succeeded in coming to an agreement with Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, and in realising the construction the Slovakian-Hungarian gas interconnector, from 1 January next year for the first time in Hungarian history it will be possible for Hungary to receive gas that does not originate from Russia.

And so I repeat: these are not political issues and not emotional issues, but issues of economic reality, and on my part I will continue to ensure that the people of Hungary are at the mercy of external operators to the least possible extent.

You, the Polish, have two things that we do not. If we did, our situation would be easier too. We are a landlocked country with no sea access, which you have, and we also have no coal, which you do have. If Hungary were in possession of these two things, our life would also be much easier. But since we are not in possession of these, we must make do with what we have. And what follows this logical energy policy that focuses on our national interests.
This is the background to Hungary's energy policy. And what also follows from this tight situation is that we support the energy strategy put forward by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, because all proposals that dismantle and fight off monopolies concur with Hungary's interests, and this is why Prime Minster Donald Tusk's new approach also enjoys the support of Hungary.

(Prime Minister’s Office)