Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced that his government will sue the European Union over the bloc's decision to phase out Russian gas imports.
Points of attention
- Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban is challenging the European Union's decision to phase out Russian gas imports.
- Orban criticizes the EU's ban on Russian gas as illegal and contrary to European values.
- Orban threatens the EU with lawsuits and protests, accusing Brussels of attempting to remove a national government that disagrees with its policies.
Orban threatens EU with lawsuits over Russian gas ban
"We do not accept this clearly illegal decision, which is contrary to European values and which was adopted by Brussels to remove a national government that does not agree with it. We are appealing to the European Court of Justice," Orbán said on state radio in his weekly interview on November 14.
According to him, this EU decision is not a sanction, but a trade policy measure.
Sanctions require unanimity in the EU vote, while a majority decision is sufficient for trade policy.
Viktor Orban
Prime Minister of Hungary
In addition, Orban said that he is "looking for other, non-legal" ways to influence Brussels, but has not yet given details.
It is noted that last month, EU countries agreed to gradually stop importing gas from Russia by the end of 2027. According to diplomats, the decision was supported by all member states except Hungary and Slovakia.
Orban regularly comes into conflict with EU institutions, in particular over his refusal to provide military assistance to Ukraine and his opposition to Kyiv's European integration aspirations, claiming that this would allegedly "draw Hungary into war."
