Orban vowing to sue EU over Russian gas ban

Hungary has repeatedly warned that abandoning the supply from Moscow will drive up prices and undermine its energy security

RT: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. © Getty Images / NurPhoto / Contributor

Budapest will challenge the European Union’s plan to phase out Russian energy imports in court, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has promised.

The EU Council endorsed a plan last month to end Russian gas imports by 2028. The measures require short-term contracts to end within six months and all remaining pipeline and LNG supplies to cease by the end of 2027. Several EU states, including Hungary and Slovakia, have criticized the move, warning it will drive up prices and undermine energy security. Budapest and Bratislava ultimately refused to back the initiative.

Speaking on state radio on Friday, Orban said Budapest considered the decision unlawful because it was adopted by a qualified majority rather than unanimously, as the bloc’s rules require on sensitive matters. Hungary has repeatedly threatened to veto EU sanctions against Russia, and has used its vote to force exemptions and delays.

“We do not accept this obviously unlawful solution contrary to European values, which was chosen by Brussels to shut down a national government that disagrees with it,” Orban said, as quoted by Euractiv. “We are turning to the European Court of Justice.” 

Orban added that his government was also considering other ways to block the plan but gave no details.

He argued that the energy ban had been treated as a standard legislative measure that needs support from 55% of member states rather than unanimity.

“This is no longer a sanction but a trade policy measure,” Orban said. “And sanctions require unanimity, while a majority decision is sufficient for trade policy.” 

Orban maintains that energy should remain outside political disputes and that EU security cannot come at the expense of economic stability.

The EU has seen a surge in energy prices since it began phasing out Russian oil and gas imports following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The supply disruptions have pushed up industrial costs. Moscow says Western nations are hurting their own economies by choosing costlier and less reliable alternatives.