János Bóka, EU Affairs Minister, said Hungary had won its desired guarantees from the EU in respect of its energy security.

Minister Bóka said top EU officials had made a statement that the integrity of the energy infrastructure supplying EU member states "is an issue that affects the security of the EU, and thus Hungary", and action would be taken to ensure that oil and gas flows through Ukraine.

The European Commission expects all third countries to respect this and is ready to take measures to protect critical energy infrastructure, such as electricity cables and oil and gas pipelines or facilities, the statement added.

Being fully committed to supporting Ukraine, the commission and EU member states will help to restore and stabilize Ukraine's energy infrastructure, "in which member states, including Hungary and Slovakia, have played a crucial role so far", Minister Bóka said in the post late on Monday.

The commission, he added, would pursue negotiations with Ukraine on gas supplies to Europe via the Ukrainian gas pipeline network in line with Ukraine's international obligations, and was ready to involve Hungary and Slovakia.

Hungary's energy supply "is secured" and Hungarian interests have been protected in Brussels, Minister Bóka said.