Hungary and Slovakia blocked the EU communique on abandoning Russian gas

Hungary and Slovakia opposed the EC's plan to abandon Russian energy sources, including oil, gas and nuclear fuel. This happened at a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg, where representatives of 27 states gathered. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto spoke about the reasons.

"I opposed this decision, and the Slovaks stated that they also did not support it. The struggle continues, so we will certainly discuss this issue many more times in many places," Szijjarto told Hungarian M1 TV channel, stressing that such a decision would cause a spike in energy prices in Europe.

"Today we vetoed it together with Slovakia," the Hungarian Foreign minister said.

Earlier, Szijjarto noted that the European Commission's plan would endanger Hungary's energy security, causing damage to the country's economy of 1.5 billion euros per year, and violate the sovereignty of EU states.

It was also reported that France and Belgium opposed the ban on Russian gas imports to the EU, demanding additional guarantees on economic and legal risks.

The European Commission is preparing to completely abandon Russian gas by 2027.