Hungary begins work to challenge EU ban on Russian energy imports in court – Szijjarto
Hungary has already begun work on a legal challenge before the Court of Justice of the European Union against the decision to ban imports of Russian oil and gas as soon as it is finally adopted.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to European Pravda, citing Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Commenting on the preliminary agreement in the EU on a complete phase-out of, among other things, Russian gas, Szijjarto said that Brussels is in "the final phase of adopting a decision to eliminate Hungary’s energy security".
According to him, Hungary must be protected from this "politically motivated decision", so "as soon as this diktat is voted on in its final form in Brussels, we will immediately challenge it in the Court of Justice of the EU".
"We have started the necessary legal work to challenge this diktat in the Court of Justice of the EU, and this work is already under way," Szijjarto noted.
He also stated that this decision is completely at odds with the Treaty on European Union, which provides that energy policy falls within the national competence of the member states.
In addition, Szijjarto said this is essentially a sanctions measure "disguised as trade policy", since this is how Brussels circumvents the unanimity requirement that applies to the adoption of sanctions.
He added that Hungary would act together with Slovakia in this legal procedure.
What came before?
As a reminder, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto earlier described the Council of the European Union’s decision to phase out Russian fossil fuels as a blow and announced an appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU.
It was reported today that the European Union has agreed a faster-than-planned gradual phase-out of Russian gas, seeking to sever ties completely with its former key energy supplier.
U.S. sanctions against Russia
- As a reminder, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier that the United States plans to announce a significant tightening of sanctions against Russia on 23 or 24 October.
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The U.S. Treasury later announced sanctions against major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. The reason for the additional sanctions is Russia’s lack of any serious readiness for a peace process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent believes that Trump’s new sanctions will reduce Russia’s oil revenues by 30%.
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India’s oil refineries have suspended orders for Russian oil following the introduction of U.S. sanctions against Russia, as they wait for clarifications from the government and suppliers.
