Hungary on the EU decision to ban Russian gas: “A deception” carried out without consensus

Hungarian Foreign Minister said: “This measure was adopted through a large-scale legal fraud, as its substance constitutes a sanction that would have required unanimity.”

He added: “However, in order to avoid opposition from sovereign national governments, this decision was disguised as a trade measure, for which a qualified majority was sufficient.”

The Council of the European Union announced on Monday its final approval of a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas starting from January 1, 2027, and Russian gas transported via pipelines starting from September 30, 2027, according to a statement published on the Council’s website.

According to calculations by Sputnik, based on Eurostat data, the European Union will lose 17% of its imports after the imposition of a full ban on natural gas imports from Russia.