On Nov. 14, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he would challenge the EU’s ban on Russian energy. “We are turning to the European Court of Justice in this matter,” Orbán said. “This is a flagrant violation of European law, the rule of law and European cooperation. ... They will pay a very high price for this.” Orban added: “We do not support this obviously illegal decision counter to European values and taken by Brussels to circumvent national authorities that do not agree. We will appeal to the ECJ,” referring to the European Court of Justice.
Reporting on the Hungarian legal complaint, Euractiv said that Hungary remains significantly dependent on energy imports from Russia. Budapest previously vetoed European sanctions initiatives against the Russian energy sector. The EU Commission’s intention to frame the gas ban as a “trade measure” rather than a sanctions measure, is threatening to abandon regular law, which requires unanimous decisions and has allowed Hungary to veto sanctions. A “trade measure” would require at least 55% of the bloc’s countries, with unanimity not required.
In his meeting this week with President Donald Trump in Washington, they reached an agreement which would allow Hungary an exception to the sanctions on Russian energy, for at least one year. A more expensive alternative to receive oil from a pipeline to the Croatian Adriatic coast was possible, however, it would probably not provide a sufficient quantity of oil.
