UPDATED: Hungary to veto Bulgaria’s Schengen entry unless it scraps gas transit tax

BUDAPEST, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Hungary will veto Bulgaria’s entry into Europe’s passport-free Schengen Zone unless it scraps a transit tax on Russian gas, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Citing Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, it said Hungary had made it clear to Bulgaria that it would veto the entry if the tax on Hungary’s main gas import route remained in place.

“We have made it clear to the Bulgarians that if they keep this in place for long, if they jeopardise the safety of Hungary’s energy supply for long, then we will veto their Schengen entry,” Szijjarto said.

While Western European countries have made big efforts to wean themselves off Russian gas, landlocked Hungary has been receiving 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Russia under a deal signed in 2021, mainly via Bulgaria and Serbia.

Earlier, the Netherlands has agreed to Bulgaria joining Europe’s passport-free Schengen Zone, the Dutch justice ministry said, ending its long-held opposition to the move.

The Netherlands previously opposed granting access to the eastern European country, citing concerns over corruption and migration. But the ministry said Bulgaria now met conditions to join Schengen.

Austria still opposes Bulgaria joining the world’s largest passport-free area, though it said on Monday it was willing to give some ground by allowing plane travel in exchange for tighter security at the EU’s external border.