After Ukraine, Hungary creates trouble for Bulgaria, here's what Orban is threatening Sofia with

Hungary will veto Bulgaria's entry into Europe's Schengen free travel zone unless it removes the transit tax on Russian gas, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said. The veto threat comes after an agreement on Thursday by all 27 European Union (EU) members except Hungary to start accession talks with Ukraine despite its invasion by Russia, overriding Prime Minister Viktor Orban's appeals to force him out from the room. Orbán's resistance in Brussels gave him some bonus points in Moscow, with which his nationalist government maintained regular contact even during the war in Ukraine, and which still supplies landlocked Hungary with most of its natural gas. her. Citing Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, the ministry said Hungary has made it clear to Bulgaria that it will veto its entry into Schengen if the tax on Hungary's main gas import route remains in place. "We have made it clear to the Bulgarians that we will veto their entry into Schengen if they keep this up for a long time if they threaten the security of Hungary's energy supply for a long time," Szijjarto said. He said that Hungary will lift the veto once the transit tax is removed. Hungary receives 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Russia under an agreement signed in 2021, mainly via Bulgaria and Serbia. The European Commission has considered Bulgaria, along with Romania, ready to join the border-free Schengen area since 2011, but vetoes from Austria and the Netherlands have so far blocked its admission. However, recently both countries have softened their stances.