Hungary plans to end Russian gas imports within a year
Budapest's dramatic energy pivot marks a clean break from the Orbán era's deep ties to Moscow
Hungary’s energy minister just drew a line in the sand on Russian gas. Economy and Energy Minister István Kapitány said the country can secure all of its natural gas from non-Russian sources by October 2027, a timeline that would have been unthinkable under the previous government.
The announcement, made in an interview on September 18, represents one of the most concrete steps yet in Budapest’s post-Orbán foreign policy realignment. Under Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule, Russian gas accounted for roughly 75% of Hungary’s imports, backed by long-term contracts with Gazprom stretching into the 2030s.
How Hungary plans to pull it off
The strategy rests on three pillars: rerouting pipeline imports through friendly neighbors, expanding access to liquefied natural gas, and leaning on domestic infrastructure upgrades.
Budapest has been negotiating with Romania and Croatia to widen its import corridors. That includes enhancements to the Adria pipeline, which connects Hungary to Croatia’s LNG terminal on the Adriatic coast.
Kapitány pointed to existing pipeline infrastructure that already allows Hungary to source gas at competitive prices from these partners.
Hungary’s state-owned MVM energy group has confirmed it can meet national demand without Russian volumes. The caveat: it might cost more.
Gas storage levels heading into winter look healthy, with no physical supply issues on the horizon.
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The bigger picture: Budapest’s break from Moscow
This energy shift doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of a broader reorientation under Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who replaced Orbán and has moved quickly to realign Hungary with mainstream EU positions.
Budapest recently expelled Russian diplomats. The gas pivot fits neatly into the EU’s REPowerEU initiative, the bloc’s coordinated plan to slash dependency on Russian energy that was launched after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The government is also reviewing Hungary’s involvement in the Paks II nuclear expansion, a flagship project led by Russian state nuclear company Rosatom. A decision on the future of that deal is expected by the end of 2026.
Beyond gas and nuclear, the Magyar government is looking at diversifying crude oil imports and expanding domestic energy generation. Wind power and energy storage are both on the agenda.
What this means for Europe’s energy map
For neighboring countries like Romania and Croatia, the shift creates new commercial opportunities. Croatia’s Krk Island LNG terminal stands to gain additional throughput. Romania’s own gas production and transit capacity become more strategically valuable as Hungary shops for alternatives.
Hungarian consumers and industries have benefited for decades from below-market Russian gas prices locked in through those long-term Gazprom contracts. Switching to spot market LNG or pipeline gas from alternative sources will likely push energy costs higher, at least in the near term.
The long-term contracts that were supposed to guarantee Gazprom revenue into the 2030s are looking increasingly like relics of a geopolitical era that ended faster than anyone in Moscow anticipated.