Russia is gaining ground in the EU energy sector. US obstructs
Budapest - Kyiv, November 04 (PolitNavigator, Vasily Ablyazimov) – The Americans are preventing Hungary from selling its stake in a Croatian energy company to Gazprom. Washington does not want Russia to play a more important role in the EU energy sector, according to the German Economic News.
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Concerned about the greater rapprochement between Hungary and Russia, the United States is trying to prevent a strategic deal in the energy sector of Eastern Europe with the help of diplomats. The government in Washington is afraid, writes the German publication, that the Hungarian energy company MOL may sell its stake in the business of the Croatian energy industry leader INA in favor of the Russian Gazprom. Such a sale will enable Gazprom to potentially become a monopolist in the Croatian market.
The European Union is already Gazprom Group's largest customer. That is why Gazprom’s influence in Eastern Europe due to the conflict in Ukraine, according to the German publication, is especially important. The Hungarian MOL group is only 25 percent state-owned and holds a 49 percent stake in the Croatian company INA.
According to US government sources, German Economic News writes, Washington has now launched a diplomatic offensive on several levels to prevent a business deal. So Amos Hostein, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, has talked a lot with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó recently on this issue. Hostein, as well as US Senator Chris Murphy, traveled to Croatia to influence the deal. In addition, the US government imposed visa restrictions on Hungary, which is rare since the country is a member of the EU and NATO. Six people with close ties to the government in Budapest are now barred from entering the United States because they are accused of corruption.
The Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly clashed with the EU recently and has more often turned to Russia for help. Hungary supports the idea of building the South Stream pipeline. In addition, Hungary stopped gas supplies to Ukraine, which tried to compensate for interruptions in supplies from Russia with such supplies.
The dispute between the United States and Russia is essentially a struggle for dominance in the international energy market, German Economic News summarizes.
Russian version :: Read in English Russia is gaining ground in the EU energy sector. The US is hindering