UPDATED Brussels Decides To Cut Off Russian Gas to Hungary and Slovakia

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EU member states gave their approval on Monday to a total ban on Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. The measure, passed by a majority during the Energy Ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg, aims to cut off one of the main sources of funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on gas from Moscow, voted against the ban but were outvoted.

The proposal, driven by the European Commission and now pending negotiation with the European Parliament, is intended to accelerate the bloc’s energy decoupling. As of 2024, the EU still sourced 19% of its gas from Russia, down from 45% in 2021.

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Brussels is once again tightening the rope on Central Europe. This Monday, the Energy Ministers of the EU’s 27 member states will decide whether to approve a measure that would mandate the cessation of Russian gas to Hungary and Slovakia.

The decision, presented as another step in the “energy disconnection from Moscow,” has in fact become a new political standoff within the Union: on one side, the sovereigntist governments of Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico; on the other, the European Commission and a majority bloc determined to impose their will—even at the cost of worsening the economic crisis in the affected countries.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia have been the two capitals most resistant to energy sanctions. Their dependence on Russian gas—close to 80%—has even been acknowledged by Brussels, which granted them temporary exemptions in previous embargoes. But three years later, that’s over. The new regulation—which would be approved by a qualified majority, thereby avoiding a veto from Budapest or Bratislava—prohibits gas contracts with Russia starting in 2026.

The change in method is key: by processing the measure as a “trade decision” rather than a sanction, the European Commission bypasses the need for unanimity. A maneuver that, according to sources close to the meeting, “sets a worrying precedent,” as it allows Brussels to advance toward a centralized energy policy without the consensus of all member states. Same as always—just a different approach.

“This is a direct attack on Hungary’s energy security,” denounced Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. “They intend to raise energy prices and destroy our country’s economic stability in the name of a war that is not ours.”

The decision also comes amid a politically sensitive moment in Hungary. Péter Magyar, a former ally of Viktor Orbán and now his main rival for the 2026 presidential race, has gained prominence in recent months. Within the European People’s Party, Magyar has publicly supported Brussels’ hardline stance against Russia as a strategy to attack Orbán in Budapest, trying to erode the government from within.

The political calculus is clear. A sudden cut in Russian gas would drive up prices in Hungary—where low household utility bills remain a key government talking point—and cause an immediate recession in Slovakia, which is heavily dependent on its heavy industry.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been just as blunt. In a message to European Council President António Costa, he stated he was “fed up with Ukraine monopolizing the agenda while European competitiveness sinks.” According to Fico, the debate over Russian gas “has nothing to do with energy security, and everything to do with political submission.”

“The Commission is using the war to push a green and ideological economic agenda that is destroying our industry,” he warned.

In Brussels, the dominant narrative insists that continuing to buy Russian gas means “funding Putin’s war machine.” But the reality is more complex. Although European imports have dropped from 45% to 13% since 2022, energy costs have soared, accelerating the continent’s deindustrialization. And on top of that, they are not the only ones buying Russian energy, as europeanconservative.com has fact-checked previously.  

Paradoxically, while Brussels tries to sever the last ties with Russia, countries like China, Turkey, and India are increasing their purchases of discounted Russian oil and gas, thereby securing their competitiveness. In this context, Hungary and Slovakia argue that the EU’s “energy autonomy” has turned into dependency on third parties.

Today’s debate in Luxembourg, the seat of the Energy Council, will be more than just a technical vote. If the proposal passes, it will represent a point of no return in European energy policy: the imposition of a strategic decision without consensus, with direct economic consequences for millions of citizens.