Hungarian government to take legal action as soon as EU regulation on phasing out Russian gas adopted

The agreement reached on Wednesday by the Council representing EU governments and the European Parliament on phasing out Russian natural gas could have a dramatic impact on Hungary, Péter Szijjártó said.

During a break at a NATO meeting in Brussels, instead of speaking about the North Atlantic Alliance meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that compliance with “the Brussels dictate” was "impossible." "It undermines Hungary's energy security" because it is physically impossible to supply the country without the Russians, and "once it is accepted and comes into force, families' electricity bills would increase at least threefold." (In Hungary, residential users are paying a regulated price, which the government has termed a "utility cost reduction," meaning that up to the average consumption level, the cost is compensated with taxpayer money.)

Szijjártó said that he considers the decision to be political and ideological, but stated that the government would protect everyone. He had previously hinted that, in his opinion, the draft regulation "provides grounds for European court proceedings," but on Wednesday he clearly stated that as soon as the legislation is adopted, they will file a lawsuit. Preparations for this have already begun. According to him,

• the decision violates the EU's basic treaties (its quasi-constitution) because energy policy is a national competence;
• it is "legal fraud" because, in his opinion, sanctions are being disguised as trade measures, so that a qualified majority can decide on them instead of a unanimous one (i.e., one or two governments cannot veto them; depending on the number of member states represented, at least four are needed for a blocking minority);
• the move contradicts the European Commission's own impact assessment.

The legal work is going to be harmonised with the Slovaks.

Euronews pointed out, such a process can take years. When asked what the government plans to do in the meantime, Szijjártó said: "I think it would be a shame if we couldn't get this done in two years".

As reported at the time of the agreement, after the informal deal, the Council and the EP still have to approve the legislation, but this is usually a formality following similar agreements. Due to the deadlines, the proposal is expected to be adopted quickly, and a vote on the emergency procedure has already been scheduled for December 16 in the European Parliament.