Orban
© DPAFILE PHOTO: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at a press conference in Budapest.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced a referendum on the sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU due to the war in Ukraine.

"The sanctions were not decided democratically, but were decided by Brussels bureaucrats and European elites," he said on Monday. "Although Europe's citizens are paying the price, they were not asked," he added.

Orbán has been raging for months against the sanctions imposed on Russia, even though Hungary has always voted in favour of the sanctions packages at the Council of the European Union, which has to take these decisions unanimously.

The country, however, was able to negotiate an exemption from the Russian oil embargo.

As part of a "national consultation," the Hungarian government will be "the first in Europe to ask people about the sanctions on Russia," Orbán said. He did not say when the vote would take place.

The right-wing populist often holds "national consultations" to have his policies confirmed, for example in connection with restrictions on the right of asylum.

The results of the surveys have no legally binding consequences.