Croatia Offers Oil Supply Alternatives to Hungary and Slovakia Amid Disruptions in Ukrainian Transit.
Croatia has formally notified the European Commission (EC), Hungary, and Slovakia about its readiness to provide these two countries with oil via the Adriatic oil pipeline JANAF, according to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic. This announcement was made during a recent Cabinet meeting.
Plenkovic stated that he had sent relevant letters to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, expressing Croatia’s willingness to help maintain energy security in the region. The Adriatic oil pipeline (JANAF) is prepared to hold negotiations with Hungarian energy company MOL regarding logistics and ensuring energy security in the face of changing circumstances.
The letter was sent on Wednesday, in response to Ukraine’s decision to suspend the transit of oil from Russian company Lukoil through its territory. Croatia and JANAF are prepared to provide Hungarian and Slovakian refineries with a combined feedstock totaling more than 14 million metric tons. Supplies are expected to be made via the pipeline connecting the Omisalj port terminal on Krk Island in the Adriatic Sea with the territory of Hungary.
On July 17, Ukraine unilaterally blocked oil supplies through the Druzhba oil pipeline under the pretext of sanctions against Russian oil producer Lukoil. Slovakia and Hungary have since demanded an immediate start of consultations with Ukraine, with the European Commission serving as a mediator. However, the EC has not taken any measures on this situation thus far.
In response to concerns about potential threats to EU energy security, the European Commission’s spokesman Balazs Ujvari stated that the organization had concluded preliminarily that there was no immediate threat and therefore did not consider urgent consultations necessary. The spokesman confirmed that the Commission has not taken any action in this situation at present.