Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned on October 20 that the European Union risks endangering Hungary’s energy supply if it proceeds with plans to ban Russian energy imports without considering the country’s geographic realities.

Budapest will use all political and legal means to prevent the adoption of the REPowerEU proposal, Hungary's chief diplomat said in Luxembourg at a press conference after the EU Foreign Affairs and Energy Affairs Council meeting on October 20, online business outlet VG reported.

The proposed legislation is designed to curb Europe’s reliance on Russian gas, which has been repeatedly used by Moscow as a political tool, causing disruptions and significant instability in European energy markets.

According to the Council, the proposed legislation, part of the EU’s REPowerEU programme, would gradually ban imports of Russian pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG), taking full effect from January 1, 2028. Short-term contracts signed before June 17, 2025, would be valid until June 17, 2026, and long-term contracts could run until January 1, 2028. All member states would have to submit national diversification plans outlining how they intend to restructure and diversify gas supplies.

The legislation establishes streamlined customs procedures for non-Russian gas imports, whereas Russian gas will be subject to more detailed reporting throughout the transitional period.

All gas imports must receive prior authorisation: Russian gas data must be submitted at least one month in advance, non-Russian gas five days prior, and LNG shipments must be certified to confirm that only non-Russian gas enters the EU.

The Danish EU presidency will now start negotiations with the European Parliament to finalise the legislation.

Hungary and Slovakia, two countries who received exemptions from the EU sanctions for pipeline delivery of crude oil, remain the main opponents of the plan.

Budapest’s position is that the proposal has no energy, security or economic reasons, only political and ideological reasons.

Szijjártó also blasted the EU for failing to provide concrete assessments of the plan’s impact on individual member states. He described the Commission’s presentation as limited to a few sentences and characterised the proposal as driven by political rhetoric rather than technical reasoning.

"No one in the world in the European Commission or here in Luxembourg is interested in what impact this proposal has on the security of energy supply. After this, no one should lecture us about EU solidarity," he declared

Szijjártó pointed out that Hungary has traditionally relied on two major oil supply routes, but under the proposed EU regulation, the country would be left dependent on a single route, entirely vulnerable to monopoly pressures. He noted that transit fees on this route (Janaf, which runs from Croatia to Hungary) are five times higher than the European reference level and have doubled since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Technical limitations would also reduce daily oil deliveries by 40,000 tonnes, below the country’s required level.

The minister also rejected the argument that Hungary’s energy payments to Russia significantly fund its war effort, noting that Hungarian purchases of Russian oil and gas account for only about 0.2% of Russia’s GDP.

Hungary’s natural gas imports from Russia are on track to reach record levels, Szijjarto said earlier this month, after deliveries have reached 6 bcm by mid-October.