Hungary will use all political and legal means to block the European Union's (EU) proposed REPowerEU plan aimed at banning Russian energy imports, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said Monday in Luxembourg, reported Xinhua.
Speaking after a meeting of EU foreign and energy ministers, Szijjarto said the proposed ban had no energy, professional, security or economic justification, and only political and ideological motives.
He criticized the European Commission for what he called a lack of understanding of the proposal's potential consequences for certain member states, warning that its adoption would "seriously endanger" the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia.
Szijjarto added that pushing the package through by qualified majority voting would "openly violate EU law," arguing that it effectively constitutes a sanction measure requiring unanimous approval.
"The real impact of this package would be to destroy Hungary's and largely Slovakia's energy supply security," he said, noting that Hungary's payments for Russian oil and gas account for "only 0.2 percent of Russia's GDP."
He said Hungary rejects lectures on European solidarity while measures that undermine member states' energy security are being proposed.
The EU is moving forward with a strategy to gradually phase out its dependence on Russian energy. In June, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal to end imports of Russian gas and oil by the end of 2027.
Hungary and Slovakia, both landlocked countries, have expressed strong reservations about the plan, warning that rapid cuts could endanger their energy security and economic stability.
- Hungary
- Russian
- Gas
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
