Croatia rejects Hungary’s claims of oil “war profiteering”

Croatian officials have strongly rejected accusations from Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, who told the UN General Assembly that Croatia is overcharging Hungary for oil transit through the JANAF pipeline.

Szijjártó claimed Croatia was imposing a “war surcharge” and setting prices well above European benchmarks.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković called the remarks “outrageous.”

“To make such a claim, one must be exceptionally rude and intent on misleading an international audience,” Plenković said. “A war profiteer is someone receiving cheap Russian gas and oil—and that is not Croatia. Hungary, which insists it has no alternative supply lines while importing cheap Russian energy, fits that description.”

Plenković stressed that Croatia and the state-owned JANAF pipeline charge Hungary the same rates as all other clients.

Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar also dismissed the allegations.

“Oil transport accounts for only about 2% of the final fuel price, so claims of excessive costs are unfounded. Prices also drop as shipment volumes rise,” he said.