Hungary will veto Bulgaria's entry into Europe's passport-free Schengen zone unless it abolishes a transit tax on Russian gas, Hungary's foreign ministry said in a statement, Reuters reports. 

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry said, citing the head of the ministry, Peter Szijjártó, that Hungary had made it clear to Bulgaria that it would veto Bulgaria's accession if the tax on Hungary's main gas import route remained in place.

"We have made it clear to the Bulgarians that if they keep this tax for a long time, if they jeopardize the security of Hungary's energy supply for a long time, we will veto their accession to the Schengen area," Szijjártó said.

While Western European countries are working hard to give up Russian gas, landlocked Hungary receives 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Russia under an agreement signed in 2021, mostly via Bulgaria and Serbia.