On 20 October, the EU Council overwhelmingly supported the RePowerEU mechanism. The plan provides for a legally binding refusal by participating countries from any gas imports from the Russian Federation, in particular LNG, after January 1, 2028.
Hungary and Slovakia were against it, but a qualified majority was enough for the decision and they were unable to use the veto.
“Therefore, of course, we will appeal to the European Court,” the foreign minister said.
To adopt the RePowerEU initiative, the EU Council had “neither professional nor economic arguments,” he believes. And Hungary is punished for “depoliticizing” the energy issue by maintaining imports from Russia.
He considers the measures that Hungary, as a member of the EU, must submit to “in fact, sanctions” against Budapest and Bratislava, and the accusations that buyers of Russian gas finance the Russian military machine and its war in Ukraine are injustice.
“What we Hungarians pay for Russian oil and gas is only 0.2% of Russian GDP. We cannot seriously say that if Moscow does not receive our money, 0.2%, then Ukraine will win this war or the Russian Federation will be brought to its knees,” Szijjártó added.
Context
In early September, the head of the White House, Donald Trump, had a tense telephone conversation with EU leaders and the Ukrainian president, accusing the EU of buying Russian oil that finances the war. In response, they clarified that only Hungary and Slovakia import oil from Russia.
September 23 Trump said he could convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to stop buying Russian oil and plans to talk to him about it. According to Szijjarto, this conversation took place the next day, September 24, reported Index.
On September 25, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte supported Trump’s idea to stop purchasing energy from Russia. He noted that Trump and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are working to ensure that Hungary stops buying Russian oil. Orbán replied that Hungary, like the United States, is sovereign and makes its own decisions.
