In an effort to boost EU energy security and reduce reliance on Russia, Slovakia and Hungary have reportedly signed an agreement to build the Eastring gas pipeline.
Slovakia’s Economy Minister Peter Žiga and Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the Eastring gas pipeline project in Košice on October 30, the Slovak Spectator reported. The project is pushed by Slovak gas TSO Eustream.
According to the Eastring website, the pipeline is an alternative to South Stream fully compliant with all EU rules that will secure natural gas supply for 100% of all Balkan countries’ consumption. Eastring provides western shippers with possibility to supply Balkan countries and even Turkey from European hubs, including Austria’s Baumgarten.
According to Eastring, the new pipeline corridor can bring alternative gas sources to Europe, including from the Black Sea area, the Caspian region and the Middle East.
"It’s very important for Slovakia and Hungary to have secure supplies of energy resources and raw materials, while gas is among the most expensive,” said Žiga as cited by the TASR newswire. "That’s why the diversification of routes and resources, which Slovakia and Hungary need, is based on creating other possible routes apart from those that lead from the Russian Federation via the Ukraine, for example, to Slovakia or Hungary.”
"Hungary and Slovakia have great scope for providing energy security to central Europe,” Szijjártó said. "We have around seven billion cubic metres of gas storage capacity. We have a very well built pipeline system. All this allows us to distribute gas flowing into our country from the south to the west, north or any other direction,” the Slovak Spectator quoted him as saying.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/slovakia-hungary-ink-eastring-agreement-lessen-reliance-russia/
