Hungary Rejects Carpathian Eight Membership and Ukrainian Oil Storage Project
World
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Hungary is not a member of the Carpathian Eight (C8) format launched by Ukraine because Budapest did not accept the invitation. He also rejected a memorandum between Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Hungary’s MOL on potentially building oil-product storage facilities in Hungary.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the C8 initiative on September 18. The proposed format includes Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, Serbia and Hungary. Budapest, however, said it had received an invitation but declined it. Hungary was represented at the inaugural summit by its deputy ambassador to Kyiv but did not join the final declaration.
The dispute led to a public exchange between Magyar and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Sybiha accused the Hungarian prime minister of continuing Viktor Orbán’s approach toward Ukraine and described Budapest’s position as “obstructionism and isolationism.” At the same time, he said Ukraine remained open to pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation with Hungary.
Magyar responded that including a sovereign state in an international cooperation format without prior consultations and its consent was “completely unacceptable.”
Tensions were further fuelled by a memorandum signed by Naftogaz and MOL on September 20. The document provides for the joint development and potential implementation of facilities in Hungary, near the Ukrainian border, to store petroleum products for the Ukrainian market. Naftogaz said the project was intended to diversify supply routes and create additional storage capacity outside areas exposed to Russian attacks.
Magyar said that under his government, such storage facilities would not be built either near the Hungarian-Ukrainian border or elsewhere in Hungary. He also criticized MOL for negotiating without government approval and pointed out that the Hungarian state owns 25% of the company.
MOL said the project is still at an early preparatory stage and that technical, financial and regulatory conditions are being examined. The process could take several years.
The dispute over C8 and the energy project comes as Hungary’s new government seeks more pragmatic relations with Kyiv, while disagreements over Hungary’s participation in Ukrainian initiatives and energy cooperation remain publicly contested.
The dispute led to a public exchange between Magyar and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Sybiha accused the Hungarian prime minister of continuing Viktor Orbán’s approach toward Ukraine and described Budapest’s position as “obstructionism and isolationism.” At the same time, he said Ukraine remained open to pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation with Hungary.
Magyar responded that including a sovereign state in an international cooperation format without prior consultations and its consent was “completely unacceptable.”
Tensions were further fuelled by a memorandum signed by Naftogaz and MOL on September 20. The document provides for the joint development and potential implementation of facilities in Hungary, near the Ukrainian border, to store petroleum products for the Ukrainian market. Naftogaz said the project was intended to diversify supply routes and create additional storage capacity outside areas exposed to Russian attacks.
Magyar said that under his government, such storage facilities would not be built either near the Hungarian-Ukrainian border or elsewhere in Hungary. He also criticized MOL for negotiating without government approval and pointed out that the Hungarian state owns 25% of the company.
MOL said the project is still at an early preparatory stage and that technical, financial and regulatory conditions are being examined. The process could take several years.
The dispute over C8 and the energy project comes as Hungary’s new government seeks more pragmatic relations with Kyiv, while disagreements over Hungary’s participation in Ukrainian initiatives and energy cooperation remain publicly contested.
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