Hungary vetoes EU Energy Council plan to ban Russian oil and gas imports – Hungarian foreign minister

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has said that his country has vetoed conclusions drafted by the EU Energy Council which called for further action on banning Russian gas and oil.

Szijjártó announced on X on 16 June that Hungary had vetoed an Energy Council conclusion calling on the European Commission to promote a plan to ban Russian gas and oil.

He noted that energy policy "is a national competence" and that therefore Brussels should not be involved in it.

The foreign minister claimed that the European Commission's plan "endangers our sovereignty and energy security".

"Given the Middle East escalation, we proposed no such plan be tabled at all," he added.

On Monday, the EU Energy Council met in Luxembourg to discuss the phasing out of imports of Russian energy, which member states continue to purchase.

Media reports later suggested that Brussels would present legal mechanisms this week to finally end imports of Russian fossil fuels to the EU, but breaking the dependence on Russian nuclear technology remains a more difficult challenge