Latest News
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Hungary challenges EU decision to phase-out Russian energy imports
Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Foreign Minister, said that the country will appeal a European Union ruling on the phase-out of Russian energy sources before the EU Court of Justice. As part of an effort by the European Union to reduce its decades-long dependence on Russian energy, members have agreed that Russian gas imports will be phased out by 2027. Hungary and Slovakia were against the decision. Slovakia also weighs its legal options in relation to the EU order. Both countries still rely heavily on Russian gas and oil and are afraid that cheaper alternatives could damage their economies. Szijjarto stated during a Facebook broadcast that "accepting and implementing the Brussels order is not possible for Hungary." He claimed that the move was in violation of the EU founding document, and that it was a sanction measure disguised as a trade policy. Szijjarto stated that Hungary will formally take the matter before the EU's highest court after the final decision is made in Brussels. HUNGARY AND SLOVAKIA could join forces Szijjarto stated that he spoke with his Slovakian colleague about the issue and they agreed to coordinate. The Slovakian government, which, like Hungary, has maintained open relations with Russia, despite the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, discussed Wednesday its legal options but did not reveal what it would do. Last month, it had indicated that it would consider legal means and said much would depend on the way the European Commission met guarantees given to Slovakia in this year regarding possible shortages or prices spikes. We have enough legal grounds to file a lawsuit. "We agreed to present in the near future how the European Commission has met its commitments," Slovak Premier Robert Fico stated on Wednesday. Slovakia gained the assurances when it obstructed an EU package of sanctions against Russia that requires unanimity in the bloc. However, the energy phase-out plan is a legislative one and requires only a majority of support from members. Hungary and Slovakia have no way to block approval.
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Enbridge, the pipeline operator, expects a higher core profit in 2026
Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline operator, forecast higher core profits for 2026 as it expects to profit from strong demand and new project entering service. The company predicted an adjusted core income of C$20.2billion ($14.49billion) to C$20.8billion, compared to expectations between C$19.4billion and C$20billion for this year. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, increasing demand for AI-fueled power centers and accelerating electrification will push U.S. electricity demand to record highs in 2025-2026. In a press release, CEO Gregory Ebel stated that "we also expect strong growth by 2026 due to recent rate settlements and cases in Gas Distribution and Gas Transmission." Last year, the Calgary-based company acquired three Dominion Energy utilities -- East Ohio Gas (formerly Questar Gas), Public Service Co. of North Carolina, and Public Service Co. of North Carolina – in a deal worth $14 billion, including debt. Enbridge has also increased its quarterly dividend to 97 Canadian Cents per share, with effect from March 1.
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Havana is left without electricity after Cuba's electrical grid collapses partially
Local media and eyewitnesses report that Cuba's electrical system suffered a partial failure early on Wednesday morning, leaving Havana, the capital, and much of west Cuba in darkness. Lazaro Alonso, a reporter for the state-run media, confirmed that four provinces in the westernmost part of the country, from Pinar del Rio up to Mayabeque were without electricity. The cause of the grid failure was not immediately apparent. A witness reported that the skyline of Havana was mostly dark on Wednesday morning, with hospitals and a few tourist hotels being the only ones still lit. Cuba's oil fired power plants, which were already outdated and struggled to keep the lights lit, went into a crisis last year when oil imports from Venezuela and Russia, as well as Mexico, decreased. Cuba's grid collapsed partially or completely several times since. Blackouts of 20 hours or longer are common in many parts of the Caribbean island nation. Havana residents who were once spared the worst of the blackouts now face up to 10 hours without electricity every day. Cuba's government blames the worsening of power outages on fuel shortages and infrastructure that is in disrepair, as well as damage caused by Hurricane Melissa. Cuba has been unable to purchase enough fuel for many years due to U.S. economic sanctions and the deepening crisis. This has forced the government to depend more on its allies, and made it harder for Cuba to keep the lights lit. According to documents and shipping data, the island's crude and fuel imports in the first ten months of 2025 dropped by more than a quarter compared to the same period of 2024. This was due to the fact that key allies Mexico slashed their supplies. (Reporting and editing by Dave Sherwood; Louise Heavens, Ed Osmond).
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Tesla's German sales fell by a fifth during November
According to the German road traffic agency KBA, on Wednesday, the number of new registrations from Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD exceeded that from Tesla. KBA reported that Tesla sold 1,763 vehicles in Germany in November. This is 20.2% lower than the same month last year. Tesla sold 17,358 cars in the period January-November, which is 48.4% less than the same period the previous year. The volume of Chinese electric vehicles manufacturer BYD sales increased by more than nine times year-on-year in November, to 4,026 unit, reaching 19,197 units from the start of the year. KBA reported that the number of electric vehicles registered in November increased by 58.5% to 55,741 cars. Tesla registrations in key European markets fell in November compared to a year ago as the U.S. EV manufacturer struggled with market share losses despite launching new versions of their best-selling Model Y. (Reporting and editing by Madeline Chambers, Thomas Escritt and Amir Orusov)
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After Russian attacks on Turkish ships, Turkey talks about Black Sea security with NATO
Sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed Black Sea Safety on Wednesday. This was after Ankara had expressed concern over attacks on Russian-linked tankers – some of which were claimed by Ukraine. Ankara has condemned the attacks against vessels linked to Moscow in Turkey's exclusive zone economic off its Black Sea coast. Besiktas Shipping in Turkey, a company that has been involved with Russia for many years, halted its operations due to security concerns after the attacks. Ukraine, which is attacking Russia's oil exports while Moscow bombards the power grid in its country, has claimed responsibility for a seaborne drone attack on two empty tanks heading towards a Russian harbor last week. Kyiv has denied any connection to another incident that occurred on Tuesday, in which a Russian flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil claimed it was attacked by drones off the Turkish coast. A tanker of Besiktas Shipping, which also conducted business with Russia, was damaged by external impacts near Senegal. No one has claimed responsibility. Fidan and Rutte discussed, at a NATO summit in Brussels, issues relating to the security of the Black Sea and negotiations to end a nearly four-year conflict, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry official. The source did not provide any further details. The Turkish government has condemned the attacks against shipping and warned that "all parties" must stop them. An official from Turkey said that this includes the Ukrainian authorities. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has responded to this by threatening to cut off Ukraine's sea access. He also said that Moscow would intensify its strikes against Ukrainian vessels and facilities as well as move against oil tankers from countries who help Ukraine. Ayhan Zytinoglu said that targeting merchant ships within Turkey's exclusive zone of economic activity is "a dangerous escalation in the war in Ukraine" at a conference in Istanbul, co-hosted with the Polish Embassy and Consulate, on Wednesday. According to a press release from his office, Tayyip Erdoan told French President Emmanuel Macron that Turkey is trying to revive ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in a phone call. (Reporting Tuvan Gumrukcu Additional Reporting Jonathan Spicer Editing Peter Graff.)
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Sources say that Kazakhstan will increase oil supply to BTC pipeline in December by 30%.
Two industry sources have confirmed that Kazakhstan will increase the daily oil exports to Baku, Tbilisi, and Ceyhan (BTC), pipeline from the Aktau Port by 30% compared with the previous month. This would bring the total to 188,000 tons per day (about 47,000 barges) by December 2025. After drone attacks destroyed a mooring, Kazakhstan has been looking for alternative routes to export Caspian Oil from its large fields. This is due to the limited capacity of its main export route - The Caspian Pipeline Consortium. The BTC pipeline is a good option for exporting oil, but the volume can only be limited due to the capacity of the Aktau Port and the requirements of oil quality. Sources said that Kazakhstan will load 188,000 tons via BTC in December: 170,000 tonnes from Tengizchevroil and 18,000 from the Kashagan Field. Requests for comments were not answered by the press services of the Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy or the Kashagan operator NCOC. TCO refused to provide any details about its production. TCO resumed its exports to BTC after a pause in November. The company had suspended oil shipments in August due to excessive organic chlorides found in the Azeri BTC grades. Askhat Khasenov (KMG) stated in October that the company is in talks to increase the oil transport via BTC from 1.2 to 2.2 millions tons by 2026. The oil from Tengiz and Kashagan is transported to Baku via tankers, which are then transported to Ceyhan, Turkey, by the BTC pipeline. Louise Heavens, Louise Heavens (Reporting)
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Serbian Parliament adopts budget for 2026, with a deficit of 3%
The Serbian parliament adopted its budget for 2026 on Wednesday, setting the fiscal deficit at 337 billion dinars (3.35 billion dollars), or 3%. Budget sets revenues totaling 2,414.7 billion dinars, and expenditures at 2,751.7 milliards dinars. The bill also provides 164 billion dinars for Serbia to use in order to take over the U.S. sanctioned oil company NIS, from its Russian majority owner Gazprom and Gazprom, if these companies do not sell their shares by mid-January. Adoption of the 2026 budget plan was a formality as the ruling coalition, led by the populist Serbian Progressive Party, has a comfortable majority with 154 members in the 250 seat parliament. The total capital expenditure is 602 billion dinars with 47.5 billion dinars allocated to the Expo 2027 fair. Budget also includes the funds required for the reintroduction over the next 3 years of military service, as well as increased spending on wages and pensions in the public sector.
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Rome's bus, metro and tram company will refund customers for poor service
The Italian Competition Authority announced on Wednesday that Rome's Atac public transport company has agreed to refund customers for poor service. This concludes an investigation into the publicly-run organization. In February, the regulator began investigating Atac for "possible unfair commercial practices", for failing to meet quality standards in 2021-2023. Atac did not meet its targets in punctuality, lifts and escalators working properly, or security guards stationed at metro stations. The investigation is closed, after Atac committed to refund more than 3 millions euros ($3.5million) to holders of annual tickets. The Italian competition authority is also responsible for protecting consumer rights. The annual ticket holders in 2024 will get 5 euros, and holders of the annual travel pass between 2021-2023 will also receive an additional 5 euros, according to the statement. Annual passes are 250 euros excluding concessions. Atac is also introducing a mobile app that offers partial refunds in the case of delays exceeding 15 minutes on regular bus, metro or tram services. Atac, the public transport company in Rome, told regulators that it has improved its efficiency thanks to EU funds post-COVID and to government funding in preparation for this year's Catholic Holy Year. Atac has also committed to train and hire more staff in metro stations, as part of its commitments. The authority stated that the annual investment would be 2.6 million euro. Atac has not commented on the announcements made by regulators. Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro. Alvise Armellini edited the article. Mark Potter (Editing by Alvise Armellini)
Source: Ukraine shuts down pipeline that sends Russian oil to Hungary, Slovakia
A source from Ukraine's GUR intelligence service said that Ukraine had hit the Druzhba pipeline in Russia's Tambov central region.
Calculations show that this was the fifth Ukrainian attack against the pipeline that supplies Russian oil into Hungary and Slovakia.
Hungary and Slovakia are still buying energy from Russia even though other European Union countries have cut off ties with Russia following its invasion in Ukraine in 2022.
Ukrainian media reported that remote-controlled explosives had been used in the attack.
Slovak and Hungarian oil companies said on Wednesday that oil supply through Druzhba
Running
As normal. No comments were made by Russia.
Ukraine has attacked the pipeline three times this year: once in March, two in August, and once in September.
Kyiv claims that its attacks on energy targets are a response to Russia's continuing attacks on Ukraine. They aim to undermine Moscow’s overall war effort. (Reporting and writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing and editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Andrew Heavens, Andrew Cawthorne)
(source: Reuters)