Latest news with #PeterSzijjarto
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
BYD to invest $94 million in new Hungary plant
Chinese automaker BYD will invest 32 billion forints ($94 million) in a new plant in the northern Hungarian town of Komarom, tripling its annual capacity to 1,250 electric buses and trucks, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has become an important trade and investment partner for China, in contrast with some other European Union nations considering becoming less dependent on the world's second-largest economy. 'We Hungarians do not consider East-West cooperation a threat, but rather an opportunity, a big opportunity,' Szijjarto was quoted as saying on Friday, adding that the government would support the project with a 3.1 billion forint grant. Orban, who has spearheaded a drive in central Europe to bring Chinese EV and battery manufacturing plants to Hungary, has said his landlocked country did not want to be squeezed into either bloc and wanted to keep trading with both sides. BYD, which is also building an electric car factory in southern Hungary and expects to establish a European centre in the country, will establish a research and development laboratory alongside its latest investment in an apparent reward for Hungary's condemnation of European tariffs on Chinese EVs. Orban started bringing his country closer to Beijing after he came to power in 2010. Warm political relations turned into investments about a decade later when battery and EV makers started to bring production to Hungary. Reuters
Reuters
a day ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
BYD to invest $94 million to triple electric bus output in Hungary
BUDAPEST, June 27 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker BYD ( opens new tab will invest 32 billion forints ($94 million) in a new plant in the northern Hungarian town of Komarom, tripling its annual capacity to 1,250 electric buses and trucks, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has become an important trade and investment partner for China, in contrast with some other European Union nations considering becoming less dependent on the world's second-largest economy. "We Hungarians do not consider East-West cooperation a threat, but rather an opportunity, a big opportunity," Szijjarto was quoted as saying on Friday, adding that the government would support the project with a 3.1 billion forint grant. Orban, who has spearheaded a drive in central Europe to bring Chinese EV and battery manufacturing plants to Hungary, has said his landlocked country did not want to be squeezed into either bloc and wanted to keep trading with both sides. BYD, which is also building an electric car factory in southern Hungary and expects to establish a European centre in the country, will establish a research and development laboratory alongside its latest investment in an apparent reward for Hungary's condemnation of European tariffs on Chinese EVs. Orban started bringing his country closer to Beijing after he came to power in 2010. Warm political relations turned into investments about a decade later when battery and EV makers started to bring production to Hungary. Szijjarto said Hungary had received nearly a third of Chinese inward investment into Europe last year, lifting the total volume of Chinese investments to 5.5 trillion forints ($16 billion), representing 64 large projects. ($1 = 340.08 forints)
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
EU delays vote on new Russia sanctions
EU leaders have opted to postpone discussion of a new package of sanctions against Russia, according to Hungarian news outlet Index. The delay reportedly comes as Budapest and Bratislava oppose the move due to mounting concerns about energy imports. Adopting new sanctions requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states. Hungary and Slovakia have spoken out against more sanctions amid disagreements with Brussels over a proposed plan to phase out Russian energy imports by 2027. The European Commission intends to adopt the proposal using trade law mechanisms that would allow it to bypass vetoes from dissenting member states. The proposed 18th sanctions package was under threat of a veto from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Index reported on Thursday, noting that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had met with him ahead of the EU leaders' summit in Brussels. The talks reportedly failed to produce a compromise, leading to removal of the issue from the agenda, to avoid formal rejection. Fico said earlier that day that Slovakia would not support a new sanctions package and will demand a delay in the vote until his country's concerns over gas supplies after 2027 are resolved. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said earlier this week that Budapest and Bratislava would block adoption of the new sanctions package, also citing the potential ban on purchasing Russian energy. The European Commission unveiled a proposed 18th sanctions package earlier this month, targeting Russian energy exports, infrastructure, and financial institutions. The measures include a ban on future use of the sabotaged Nord Stream pipeline, restrictions on refined products made from Russian crude, and sanctions on 77 vessels allegedly part of Russia's so-called 'shadow fleet,' used to circumvent oil trade restrictions. Speaking at a press conference following the summit in Brussels on Thursday, European Council President Antonio Costa said the '18th package of sanctions is underway.' Reuters, meanwhile, reported—citing two EU officials—that the bloc had agreed to extend previously adopted sanctions for another six months.
Russia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
EU member states block new Russia sanctions
Hungary and Slovakia have blocked the European Union's 18th sanctions package against Moscow, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has announced. The bloc's proposal to cut Russian energy imports would deal a major blow to his country's energy security, he explained. Budapest has opposed EU sanctions on Russian energy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, saying the imports are vital to its national interests. The country has a long-term contract with Russia's Gazprom and receives the bulk of its oil and gas from Russia. Slovakia has also voiced similar concerns. Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Szijjarto said that 'we, together with Slovakia, prevented the adoption of the [18th] sanctions package today,' which would mostly have focused on Russia's energy sector. The diplomat clarified that Budapest and Bratislava vetoed the sanctions package because in separate trade legislation, Brussels has proposed phasing out all remaining Russian gas flows to the EU by the end of 2027. The minister argued that this would severely undermine Budapest's energy security and lead to a sharp spike in energy costs for Hungarians. 'We are not willing to have the Hungarian people pay the price for supporting Ukraine,' Szijjarto insisted. The EU-wide phasing-out plan that Szijjarto referred to was announced by EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen last Tuesday, with the backing of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The proposal, which is currently opposed by Hungary, Austria and Slovakia, and reportedly by Italy, is expected to be introduced as trade legislation, which under EU rules does not require unanimity among bloc members to become law, but merely the support of at least 15 of the EU's 27 member states. Commenting on the plan, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, said that 'EU Commission bureaucrats seem obsessed – with making the EU as uncompetitive as possible on the global stage.' While pipeline flows have dropped sharply since 2022, EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) have soared. Russia supplied 17.5% of the bloc's LNG in 2024, trailing only the US at 45.3%, according to industry data. France, Spain, and Belgium accounted for 85% of the EU's LNG imports from the sanctioned country, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Russia maintains that it is still a reliable energy supplier, while denouncing Western sanctions and trade restrictions targeting its exports as illegal under international law.
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Hungary and Slovakia block Russian sanctions package, Budapest says
FILE PHOTO: Plastic letters arranged to read "Sanctions" are placed in front of Russian flag colors in this illustration taken February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary and Slovakia have decided not to support the EU's plan for an 18th sanctions package against Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday in a press briefing broadcast on his Facebook page. Hungary and Slovakia decided to block the sanctions package in response to European Union plans to phase out Russian energy imports, the minister said. "We did this because the European Union ... wants to prohibit member states, including Hungary and Slovakia, from purchasing cheap Russian natural gas and cheap Russian oil as they have done previously," Szijjarto said. Hungary and Slovakia continue to rely on Russian gas and oil supplies and have maintained warm ties with Moscow. The Commission on June 10 proposed a new round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, targeting Moscow's energy revenues, its banks and its military industry. In response, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Slovakia will not back the package of sanctions unless the European Commission provides a solution to the situation Slovakia faces if the bloc phases out Russian energy imports. Sanctions proposals require unanimity in the bloc for approval. Late on Sunday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged the EU to take a proposed ban on Russian energy off the agenda due to an expected rise in energy prices following the U.S. bombing of Iran. (Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
