Hungarian Conservative

Germany’s budget for next year cuts aid to Ukraine while Chancellor Scholz’s ‘Zeitenwende’ could also fizzle out without adequate financial support.

‘Energy security, in terms the consumer understands, needs to address three things: reliability, affordability, and acceptability, in that order. These terms apply to a nation state’s understanding of energy security, both because a citizenry not achieving these things will rapidly object and because a nation state is quickly made vulnerable by the instability that comes when energy is no longer reliable, affordable, or acceptable.’

Crucial milestones regarding the expansion of the nuclear plant in Paks are the construction of the containment structure and the reactor vessel, of which the former has been completed, while the manufacturing of the latter is set to commence shortly. It is expected to reach another milestone, the ‘first concrete’, by the end of this year.

Despite climate and clean energy transition targets, the current energy crisis has forced many countries to increase coal-based power generation. The question is: can we expect a turn in coal use in the shorter or longer term, and closely related to this, is there any other reason for the rise in coal use for energy than the energy crisis itself?

Speaking at the opening of an MVM customer service office in Nagykáta, Pest County, Zsófia Koncz emphasized that since 2013, the government has considered keeping the utility cost reduction programme in place a top priority.

During a joint press conference with Alexey Likhachev, the head of the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, Péter Szijjártó welcomed the start of the construction of new reactors in Paks. He pointed out that the expansion is currently the largest nuclear project on the continent with a construction permit.

According to the ministry’s statement, Foreign Minister Szijjártó minister reported on the progress of the Paks project during a hearing of the Sustainable Development Committee of the National Assembly, welcoming the fact that the visible phase of the project is now underway.

The National Assembly of Bulgaria passed a new, €10.2 per megawatt-hour tax on Russian gas coming through the TurkStream pipeline. President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary have condemned the decision.

Despite the sanctions and the war driving up energy prices, the Hungarian measures to combat inflation and price increases are undeniably working. While EU countries scramble to look for new avenues to import electricity and gas, the Hungarian plans and contracts have managed to keep energy prices at affordable levels for citizens.

Hungary and Slovakia recently signed a cooperation agreement on nuclear energy with the goal of coordinating research between the two countries and making joint efforts to apply the latest technologies.

‘Since the European Union currently refuses to contribute to the financing, Brussels has lost any right to intervene in where Central European countries, including Hungary, source their natural gas from,’ Péter Szijjártó stated.

The energy cooperation between the two countries will gain a new dimension as gas supplies will soon also originate directly from Turkey, following the finalisation of an agreement between MVM and Botas for the purchase of 275 million cubic metres of gas next year.

Enumerating the factors strengthening the positive outlook for the economy, the Hungarian finance minister stated that the country’s export performance is very good, and in terms of population, Hungary ranks 94th among the countries of the world, while it stands at 34th place in terms of export indicators.

James Woudhuysen, the author of the study and a guest professor at London South Bank University, stated that the EU energy policy and decision-making are more ‘performative’ than effective, and the related decisions have not improved but rather worsened the energy situation in the EU.

‘Hungary has submitted the draft contract modifications to the European Commission, and we received the green light from them yesterday,’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced.

The minister reported at a press conference following the meeting of the Hungarian-Serbian Economic Joint Committee that the contract for the planned oil pipeline, to be established in cooperation between Mol and Transnafta, will be signed at the 20 June government summit.

Europe and Hungary were fortunate to have a mild winter, but ‘a country’s leadership cannot make an unequivocal bet that this will always be repeated,’ Energy Minister Lantos warned. Therefore, the government has decided to raise the level of the security gas reserve. Previously, the country stored 10 per cent of its annual consumption as a security reserve, which was now raised to nearly 2 billion cubic metres, or 20 per cent of consumption, while consumption itself decreased.

Hungary and Bangladesh belong to the peace-loving global majority, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a joint press conference with Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in Budapest on Friday.

‘Hungarian-Serbian strategic energy cooperation is one of the guarantees that Hungary’s supply will remain secure in the next period,’ the minister said.

Fidesz MEP András Gyürk emphasised that creating modern energy storage facilities is a costly endeavour, so he called upon the European Commission to ‘provide immediate access to each member state to the funds they are entitled to.’

While last September, only 40 per cent were satisfied with the transformed utility cost reduction scheme, by March this year the same number rose to 49 per cent. Additionally, the percentage of those dissatisfied dropped from 52 to 44 per cent, the data shows.

Budapest energy prices were the lowest among capitals that are part of the European Union. As far as Europe is concerned, prices were the lowest in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Trans-Dniester in Moldova is considered to be Russia’s next target for invasion by the intelligence communities of multiple countries. Meanwhile, there has been social unrest is the capital city of Chisinau, also suspected to be connected to the Kremlin.

‘What Europe ultimately needs is a fundamental psychological shift, in which pathological Western civilizational guilt and national self-effacement are set aside. Needless to say, this is a tall order for Western and Northern Europe. Here the nations of Central and Eastern Europe seem to have some advantage, however, having been somewhat isolated from such forces by history. They may be able to increasingly play a beneficial leadership role—if others are willing to listen.’

The Finnish energy consultancy company VaasaETT recently issued a report that shows Hungarian utility costs to be the lowest in the entire EU.

A recent study out of the United Kingdom found that with the European energy crisis, one in three church buildings costs more to maintain in a year than what its congregation is able to raise. In the wake of these unfortunate developments, we reached out to Churches here in Hungary to find out how they are dealing with the situation. Here is what we found.

To meet the demand for electric vehicles, the Volkswagen Group intends to establish a total of six new battery plants around Europe by 2030. However, the project may become unfeasible if energy prices continue to rise.

Budapest’s iconic Hauer cake shop announced this month that due to the negative impact of the economic environment on the catering industry they were forced to close.

Warsaw has inked contracts worth billions of euros with US and Korean companies to build nuclear power plants.

The general switchover must be a deliberate and incremental process, mindful of the specific situation and the needs of each member state.