Hungary, Slovakia to challenge EU Russian gas ban in court
Hungary and Slovakia plan to sue the European Union over its REPowerEU plan to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas, officials wrote on Jan. 26.
Both countries’ foreign ministers argued that the measure undermines their national interests.
“Hungary will take legal action before the Court of Justice of the EU as soon as the decision on REPowerEU is officially published. We will use every legal means to have it annulled,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on X.
“The REPowerEU plan is based on a legal trick, presenting a sanctions measure as a trade policy decision in order to avoid unanimity,” he added.
Szijjarto then claimed that blocking Hungary from importing Russian oil and gas would harm the country’s national interests and drive up energy costs for Hungarian households.
Slovakia’s Foreign Ministry also announced it would appeal the decision at the EU Court, with Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar arguing the bloc must ensure a “fair, realistic, and socially sustainable transition for all member states” and cannot impose policies that ignore “the real possibilities and concrete circumstances of individual countries.”
Landlocked and sharing a border with Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary have long relied on Russian oil and gas.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Trump's close ally, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have been the most vocal opponents of cutting energy ties with Russia.
