Hungary will challenge the European Union's decision to phase out Russian energy sources in the EU Court of Justice, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced, quoted by "Reuters".
European Union members have agreed to phase out Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 as part of efforts to end the bloc's decades-long dependence on Russian energy. The decision was made despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia.
Slovakia is also considering its legal options against the EU decision, as both countries are still heavily dependent on gas and oil supplies from Moscow and fear that more expensive alternatives would harm their economies.
"Acceptance and implementation of this Brussels decision is impossible for Hungary," Szijjártó told a briefing.
According to him, the move violates the EU's founding document and is a punitive measure disguised as trade policy.
Szijjártó indicated that Hungary would formally refer the matter to the EU's top court once the decision is finalized in Brussels.
He noted that he had spoken with his Slovak counterpart on the matter and had reached an agreement on coordination.
To date, Slovakia has The government, which like Hungary has maintained open relations with Russia despite its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has discussed its legal options but has not said what action it will take.
Last month, it warned it would consider legal remedies, while saying much would depend on how the European Commission fulfilled guarantees against potential shortages or price spikes given to Slovakia this year to help it with the phase-out.
"We have sufficient legal grounds to consider filing a lawsuit. We agreed that we will soon present to what extent the European Commission has fulfilled the commitments it gave us," said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Slovakia won the guarantees when it rejected an EU sanctions package against Russia that requires unanimous support in the bloc. However, the plans to phase out energy supplies are legislative and require only a majority of member states' support, leaving Hungary and Slovakia with no way to block approval.