FLASH
Shkruar nga Diplomatico | Pamfleti.net
A tacit agreement between Belgrade and Budapest is giving Hungarian MOL control of Serbia's NIS, while Russia hides behind the EU flag.
The sale of the strategic oil industry NIS from Russia’s Gazprom to Hungary’s MOL is being presented as “friendly” economic cooperation, but it is essentially a recycling of Russian influence in the Balkans through a political ally of the Kremlin. Instead of resolving the energy dependence of Serbia and the region, this deal deepens it, jeopardizing energy security and geopolitical balances in the entire Western Balkans. Albania and its neighbors should be vigilant about the long-term consequences that such a “whitewashed” operation could bring to the energy and political structure of the region.
In the Balkans, every oil contract is more than economics, it is geopolitics wrapped in flames, with huge shadows in the background and interests that extend far beyond an oil field. This is exactly what is happening with the attempted sale of NIS, Serbia's national oil industry, from the hands of Russia's Gazprom Neft to Hungary's MOL; a scenario that is being described with sweet metaphors as a "friendly burek" by official propaganda in Belgrade and Budapest, but which represents a silent mine for the public and for the energy security of the region.
This agreement, still unofficial, but increasingly articulated by political and diplomatic sources, is one of the most sophisticated moves on the Balkan scene since the war in Ukraine. Since the imposition of sanctions on Russian companies, including Gazprom, Serbia has found itself in a difficult position; officially pro-Western, but practically connected by vital economic and energy arteries to Russia.
NIS is the clearest symbol of this connection. Created by the Yugoslav state, then sold for a symbolic price to the Russians, NIS is today one of the most strategic points of energy control in the Western Balkans.
In this context, the transfer of ownership from Russia’s Gazprom to Hungary’s MOL is not just an economic move. It is a clever geopolitical operation, a form of “laundering” Russian capital through an EU member state, Viktor Orban’s Hungary, which for years has been playing the role of a back door for Kremlin interests in Europe. This is the essence of this scheme: Russia is not leaving the NIS, it is simply changing its face, putting on a European mask and maintaining its influence indirectly, through trusted partners.
President Vučić is carefully presenting this as a victory of economic diplomacy. A cooperation between two friendly nations, with traditionalist rhetoric that sells citizens "burek made with foreign flour", but with ingredients controlled from above.
In reality, Serbia is losing control over one of its greatest strategic assets, and is handing it over to a narrow circle of interests that serve the stability of its regime more than the long-term interest of the country.
Moreover, this deal sets a dangerous precedent for the entire region. A company with deep ties to the Hungarian government, which has built its reputation on vested interests and a lack of transparency, could replace a Russian player in one of Europe’s most fragile markets. This shifts control of energy from the East to an Eastern ally, but it does not liberate it. On the contrary, it creates a structure that is harder to punish and easier to hide from Western scrutiny.
Albania and other Balkan countries should read this development carefully. Because any restructuring of the Serbian energy market directly affects regional networks, inter-state contracts, import-export balances and, ultimately, national security. If Serbia decides to become a logistical platform for the energy interests of Budapest (and Moscow behind the scenes), then the project of regional energy independence risks becoming an illusion. / Pamphlet
Ja politika ekonoimike vari ka... Ameriqene e Euroqene. Kush te zhvase sa me shume e kane shpikur stilin NDIQNI PARANE ku nje te varferi i kontrollojne edhe karrotat qe ble ne treg e ndersa miliardere e faqezinj pushter te tjere tallin bythen me popujt. Na doli pra edhe nje linje tjeter e "transportit" te naftes. Bote legenash e mashtruesish. Si duket i mesojne nga AI qe kane shpikurte sundojne boten. Urraaa!