The next leg of the Energy Union tour started on June 19, 2017 in Hungary. European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič met citizens and discussed the EU's plan to help provide Europe with secure and clean energy.
Vice-President Šefčovič met the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbánand Minister for Energy, András Aradszky.
The focus of their discussions was on the clean energy for all Europeans package published last November and in particular on the Energy Union's governance and national energy and climate plans.
Šefčovič met with energy stakeholders to discuss Hungary's role in the European energy transition and the benefits that a fully functioning EU internal energy market can bring to Hungarian citizens and businesses.
The Vice-President witnessed the signature by Hungary and Croatia of a memorandum of understanding on building infrastructure to create bi-directional natural gas flow between the 2 countries.
Currently Hungary imports almost all its gas from 1 country.
As part of initiatives to diversify its sources of gas and improve security of supply, 2 gas connectors that link Hungary with Romania and Slovakia have been built with the help of EU funding.
During the Vice-President's visit, a memorandum of understanding on building infrastructure to create a natural gas reverse flow between Hungary and Croatia is also due to be signed by the 2 countries.
Hungary's wholesale electricity market has been coupled with those of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania since 2014 and its electricity system is directly connected with all of its neighbours except Slovenia.
However, in practice it tends to import electricity from Slovakia, Ukraine and the Balkan countries and, due to limitations on the amount of electricity that can be generated in Hungary itself, this can lead to raised prices.
To boost the cross-border flow of electricity and reduce costs for consumers, 3 projects are currently underway that will strengthen Hungary's electricity connections with its neighbours.
These have been identified by the European Commission as Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), considered essential for providing Europe with affordable, secure and sustainable energy.
As part of the 2017 Energy Union tour, Šefčovič has already visited the Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, Belgium, Poland and Lithuania.
Upcoming dates and more information on the 2017 Energy Union tour are available here.
