France, Jan. 26 -- Ministers from EU countries approved the law at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, although Slovakia and Hungary voted against and Bulgaria abstained.

Hungary said it would challenge the law at the European Court of Justice.

The ban was designed to be approved by a reinforced majority of countries, allowing it to overcome opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, who remain heavily reliant on Russian energy imports and want to maintain close ties with Moscow.

Under the agreement, the EU will halt Russian liquefied natural gas imports by end-2026 and pipeline gas by 30 September,2027.

The law allows that deadline to shift to 1 November,2027, at the latest, if a country is struggling to fill its storage caverns with non-Rus...