Hungary defies EU: Hungary’s parliament this week gave its approval to legislation that would pave the way for the construction of the Russian-backed South Stream pipeline that would transport Russian natural gas through the Black Sea to Western Europe via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria, bypassing Ukraine. The legislation, in the form of an amendment to an existing law, would allow a company to construct a gas pipeline without being in possession of the licences to operate it. Current EU legislation – which Russia plans to challenge at the WTO – prohibits one company simultaneously owning a pipeline and selling on the gas transported through it. KP.ru