Hungary to take legal action over EU decision not to import Russian gas - Hungarian FM
BRUSSELS. Jan 26 (Interfax) - Hungary intends to take legal action over the European Union's decision not to import Russian gas, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
"Hungary will take legal action before the Court of Justice of the EU as soon as the decision [...] is officially published. We will use every legal means to have it annulled," he said on X on Monday.
The EU decision to ban gas imports "is based on a legal trick, presenting a sanctions measure as a trade policy decision in order to avoid unanimity," Szijjarto said.
"This goes completely against the EU's own rules. The Treaties are clear: decisions on the energy mix are a national competence," he said.
"Banning Hungary from buying oil and gas from Russia goes against our national interest and would significantly increase energy costs for Hungarian families," he said.
Bratislava will also take legal action over the EU decision, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said, without specifying when.
"We cannot accept solutions that fail to reflect the real capacities and specific circumstances of individual countries," Blanar was quoted by Politico as saying.
The Council of the EU earlier on Monday approved the rules for phasing out imports of Russian gas into EU countries. "Today, the 27 EU member states formally adopted the regulation on phasing out Russian imports of both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the EU," the EU press service said in a statement. "A full ban will take effect for LNG imports from the beginning of 2027 and for pipeline gas imports from autumn 2027," the statement said.
"The new rules also include measures on effective monitoring and diversification of energy supply" in the EU, it said.
Besides, the European Commission "plans to propose legislation to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2027," the statement said.
The adopted regulation is a key stage in achieving the goal of the REPowerEU plan, to end the dependence of the EU on Russian energy resources.
