Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said on X that he had filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Justice challenging the REPowerEU regulation, which bans the import of Russian energy supplies, and seeking its repeal, according to Ukrinform.
“Today we have turned to the European Court of Justice (the highest court of the EU on matters of law, whose decisions cannot be appealed) with a lawsuit challenging the REPowerEU regulation, which bans the import of Russian energy supplies, and seeking its repeal”
– Peter Szijjarto
Key Arguments and Context
Szijjarto noted that the lawsuit rests on three main arguments.
First, in his view, the import of energy supplies can be banned only through sanctions that require unanimity. However, the regulation, according to the head of Hungary’s foreign policy office, was adopted under the guise of a trade policy measure.
Second, EU treaties clearly state that each member state independently decides which energy sources and which suppliers it chooses.
The third argument is that the principle of energy solidarity requires ensuring the security of energy supplies for all EU member states. According to Szijjarto, this decision “clearly violates this principle, certainly in the case of Hungary”.
“clearly violates this principle, certainly in the case of Hungary”
– Peter Szijjarto
He also noted that only more expensive and less reliable alternatives are available, and that without Russian oil and gas Hungary’s energy security allegedly cannot be guaranteed.
Also see: Szijjártó says that without energy supplies from Russia Hungary is in a “very dangerous situation”
As Ukrinform reported, in January EU member states officially approved a regulation phasing out imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2027.
The regulation is a key step in achieving the REPowerEU objective of ending the EU’s dependence on Russian energy supplies.
The full ban on LNG imports will take effect from early 2027, and the ban on pipeline gas imports from autumn 2027.
This development underscores the delicate balance of interests among EU member states in energy security and sovereign decisions regarding sources of supply.