Hungary and Serbia to launch major oil pipeline project

Construction of a new oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia will begin soon, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday during a press conference in Belgrade.

According to the minister's press office, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

The new pipeline, which will stretch for 180–190 kilometers within Hungarian territory, is intended to facilitate oil deliveries from the east to Serbia via Hungary.

Addressing the rationale for the new pipeline, Szijjártó seized the opportunity to criticize Ukraine for its decision not to extend the transit contract with Russia. He claimed that Ukraine had become "one of the main causes of the energy crisis in Europe" by discontinuing the pipeline that previously supplied Russian gas to Central Europe. This move, he argued, left several Central European nations in a difficult position.

Notably, Hungary itself signed a deal in 2021 to import Russian gas via a route bypassing Ukraine——a painful blow to Ukraine. Nevertheless, Ukraine, despite facing a full-scale war, continues to fulfill its commitments on oil transit to Hungary—transit that generates revenue for Russia.

According to Szijjártó, Serbia has now taken over Ukraine’s role as a key transit country: more than 20 million cubic meters of natural gas flow daily through Serbian territory into Hungary, amounting to approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters annually.

Following the May 23 meeting between Hungarian and Serbian delegations, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated on Instagram that "relations between Serbia and Hungary are currently the best in history."

• Hungary is one of only two EU member states (the other being Slovakia) that still import Russian crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine—even though alternatives exist.
• Both Hungary and Slovakia have access to the Adriatic pipeline from Croatia, which has a capacity of 14.4–16.4 million tons per year—more than enough to meet their combined demand of 11.1–12.2 million tons. Refineries in both countries are technically capable of processing non-Russian crude, a fact demonstrated in 2019 when contaminated Russian oil entered the Druzhba system.
• Despite these available alternatives, Hungary’s reliance on Russian crude rose to 86% in 2024, up from 61% before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Slovakia remains almost entirely dependent, with nearly 100% of its crude imports still coming from Russia.