Hungary will appeal against the decision by the European Union to phase out Russian energy imports and appeal to an EU court, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on 14th November.

On state radio, Orbán alleged that the bloc is attempting to avoid his power of veto over sanctions against Russian energy through trade rules, instead, in its strategy of eliminating all imports of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.

Orbany said, “It is appealing to the European Court of Justice. This is a blatant breach of European law, the rule of law, and European cooperation… They will be paying a very high price.”

Hungary is extensively reliant on Russian fossil fuels and has attempted exemptions and threatened to block EU sanctions since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Moscow. In his visit to Washington last week, Orbán obtained an exemption from U.S. sanctions on two Russian energy firms after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump.

Many American officials have indicated that the waiver that guarantees Russian oil and gas will be able to bridge into Hungary will last a year, although Orbán has demanded that it is forever. On Friday, Orbán gave Trump credit and said it was because of his close personal relationship with Trump that he was given the exemption, and he would continue to have the exemption as long as he and Trump are in power.

Orbán has described further supply of Russian energy as essential to his landlocked nation and threatened that cutting it off would lead to an economic meltdown, so some critics have challenged that assertion.

On Friday, the Hungarian leader indicated that he was also considering other avenues of non-legal options to escape the planned phase-out of Russian energy by the EU, but he refused to specify what they were.