BUDAPEST, December 3. /TASS/. Hungary will not accept the EU leadership’s dictate to fully ban oil and gas supplies from Russia, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said, while attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
In recent weeks, consultations have been held between the European Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament on the ban on purchases of Russian energy resources, he noted. "According to the political agreement reached between them, Russian gas supplies via pipelines to Europe will be banned from September 2027. The European Commission also pledged to ban Russian oil supplies. I would like to say that Hungary's approval and implementation of such a Brussels-imposed dictate is impossible," Szijjarto stated at a meeting with Hungarian reporters broadcast by the M1 TV channel.
The minister explained that this plan would seriously undermine the country’s energy security. "Hungary would be left without energy supplies from Russia. Brussels’ dictate would put certain market participants and states in a monopolistic position over Hungary. As a result of the steep rise in energy prices, Hungarian households’ electricity bills would soar," he said.
On October 20, the EU Council approved a phased ban on all purchases of Russian gas, effective January 1, 2028. The decision applies to both pipeline and liquefied natural gas. The European Commission's plan also includes a ban on Russian oil supplies, effective 2028. A ban on nuclear fuel is under discussion.
The Hungarian government has expressed its intention to seek exemptions from those rules. However, no proposals on the matter have yet been received from EU leaders.