According to Szijjártó, the two countries blocked the renewal of sanctions to protest the EU’s plans to completely phase out the purchase of discounted Russian natural gas and crude oil by 2028.
“We did this because the European Union […] wants to prohibit member states, including Hungary and Slovakia, from purchasing cheap Russian natural gas and cheap Russian oil as they have done previously,” Szijjártó said.
While sanctions would be the most legally comprehensive way to ban energy imports from Russia, they require unanimous approval from EU member states, with renewal on a six-month basis. EU diplomats say Hungary has consistently used its veto in this process as leverage, and see this latest statement as a negotiating tactic.
However, the EU’s latest plan, proposed on June 17, is designed to circumvent objections from Hungary and Slovakia. Based in EU trade and energy law, it would only require support from a reinforced majority of countries, meaning at least 15 of the EU’s 27 member countries, representing at least 65% of the bloc’s population, and a majority of the European Parliament.
The legally binding measures would be implemented in stages, starting with a ban on any new Russian gas and LNG import deals signed after this year, taking effect from Jan. 1, 2026. Then, from June 17, 2026, the EU would prohibit imports under short-term contracts signed before June 17, 2025. Finally, it would conclusively block imports under long-term agreements starting Jan. 1, 2028.
Once the plans had been announced, Szijjártó came out against them in a statement issued on June 20, following talks with Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanár. Criticizing the plan, which he said had been a proposal put forward by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Szijjártó argued it would significantly increase utility costs and undermine energy stability in the region.
“We are not willing to allow Hungarians to pay the price of the von der Leyen-Zelensky Plan,” Szijjártó said. “We are not willing to allow Brussels to make Hungarian families pay the price of further support for Kyiv.” The foreign minister asserted that Hungary and Slovakia planned to formally protest the proposal at an upcoming EU foreign ministers’ meeting, which manifested as the countries’ rejection of the latest round of sanctions against Russia.
Taking into account the expected rise in energy prices due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán urged the EU to take the proposed ban on Russian energy off the agenda.
“We must contend with a further increase in the price of energy,” Orbán said in a video posted on his Facebook page on June 22, after a meeting of his Defense Council, which discussed the possible security and economic implications of the Iran-Israel conflict.
“This is a serious threat. Therefore, we must remove in Brussels the regulations and bans on Russian energy,” Orbán said. “We have enough problems given the negative impact of the Iran-Israel war on energy prices.”
Additionally, Minister of EU Affairs János Bóka implored the European Commission to withdraw its REPowerEU energy package and instead conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the Middle East crisis and EU sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine on energy prices, ahead of a meeting of his EU counterparts in Luxembourg on June 24.
“We had expected the EC to table a proposal that would reduce energy prices and the burden on consumers,” Bóka said. “But instead we have been handed a REPowerEU package, which will not only pose a problem in terms of the security of regional energy supplies but will also result in higher energy prices,” he concluded.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of June 27, 2025.
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