Hungarian government lashes out against EU’s planned ban on Russian gas supplies

Despite Hungary’s fierce opposition, the Council of the European Union approved a proposal to end Russian energy imports. From 1 January, no EU member state will be allowed to import Russian gas, with the ban extending to Russian liquefied and piped natural gas from 1 January 2028. Naturally, the Hungarian government is incensed, warning that the ban will wreck Hungary’s energy security, erase diversification efforts, and destroy the much-touted utility price protection scheme.

Hungary will prevent the adoption of the REPowerEU proposal

Hungary will use all political and legal means to prevent the adoption of the REPowerEU proposal aimed at banning Russian energy imports, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Luxembourg on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference after the EU Foreign Affairs and Energy Affairs Council meeting, Szijjártó said the proposal to ban Russian energy imports had no energy, security or economic reasons, only political and ideological reasons, the Hungarian News Agency wrote.

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He complained that “several participants clearly stated that political and ideological aspects should be given priority over reality.” “And no one in the European Commission or here in Luxembourg cares what impact this proposal has on the security of energy supply,” he said.

Violation of EU law

Szijjártó also warned that the package would be pushed through in open, gross violation of EU law, since it is actually a sanction, and thus a unanimous decision would be required, a qualified majority would not be enough.

“This proposal cuts off safe and reliable transport routes from Hungary, cuts off reliable suppliers from us, and puts us in a position of severe dependence, putting certain countries and companies in a monopoly position,” he said.

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He pointed out that the proposal would eliminate one of the two currently available oil pipelines in the case of Hungary, and the remaining one would not be able to supply the country on its own, and in addition, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, transit fees have been doubled here.

Hungary’s veto not enough

And in the case of natural gas, 18 billion cubic metres of incoming capacity was lost when Ukraine interrupted the transit, Szijjarto said. Now if the TurkStream also has to be cut, that is 8.5 billion cubic metres of lost capacity, he said. To cut off 26.5 billion cubic metres of annual incoming capacity from a country where annual consumption is around 9 billion cubic metres, it shows the absurdity of the proposal, he said.

Therefore, Hungary naturally voted against the proposal, the minister said. Yet, the Council of the European Union adopted its position with a qualified majority. “The so-called trilateral consultation with the European Commission and the European Parliament can now begin, at the end of which this proposal will be brought back to the Council for a final decision,” Szijjártó said.

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