Hungary filed a case Monday with the European Court of Justice against the EU’s planned ban on Russian energy imports, seeking to have the measure annulled, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated.
The move follows the EU Council’s approval of plans to end Russian gas purchases by 2027, while the European Commission is preparing legislation to phase out Russian oil by the same year.
“Today, we took legal action before the European Court of Justice to challenge the REPowerEU regulation banning the import of Russian energy and request its annulment,” Szijjártó wrote on X.
The measures form part of the REPowerEU strategy, aimed at ending dependence on Russian energy imports following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Szijjarto argued that restrictions on energy imports can only be imposed through sanctions unanimously approved by all 27 EU member states.
The EU’s decision to ban Russian energy imports was framed as a trade policy measure rather than a formal sanctions package, enabling it to pass with a qualified majority despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia.
Both landlocked Central European nations remain heavily dependent on Russian fossil fuels, and their governments, which have frequently blocked EU aid for Ukraine, revealed last week that they plan to challenge the energy ban in court, arguing that it threatens their national interests.
Szijjarto emphasized that, under EU treaties, each member state has the right to determine its own energy sources and that the principle of energy solidarity requires safeguarding supply security for all members.
“Without Russian oil and gas, our energy security cannot be guaranteed, nor can low energy costs be maintained for Hungarian families,” he added.
Although the European Union cut most Russian oil imports and reduced Russian gas purchases by 75% between 2021 and 2025, it continues to be Moscow’s largest buyer of both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas.
Reuters reported that Russian gas shipments through TurkStream—the only pipeline still supplying gas to Europe—rose 10.3% year-on-year in January.
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