Hungarian Conservative

Despite the challenges of wartime conditions, the government has maintained its utility cost reduction programme, successfully protecting Hungarian families against Brussels’ war-supporting and misguided sanctions policy. This has resulted in Hungarian households paying the lowest prices of electricity and gas in Europe, government commissioner Szilárd Németh shared at a press conference on Monday.

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.

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.

Németh recalled that since the introduction of utility cost reduction in 2013, Brussels has consistently and aggressively pushed for its termination, even though the programme has resulted in Hungarians paying the lowest household energy bills in Europe.

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.

The 22.4 percentage point reduction in child poverty between 2014 and 2021 in Hungary, which is also an EU record, is clearly due to employment growth, and primarily to the growth of the employment of women with children.

‘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.

The ‘survival programme’ was approved with 18 votes in favour and 12 abstentions. As a result, the city will take out a 16.6 billion forint loan for project development in 2023. The loan is going to match the support provided in EU funding, central budget allocations and loans granted by the European Investment Bank.

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.

The minister emphasised that the current situation is lethal for Europe’s competitiveness, with gas prices seven times higher than in the United States and electricity three times higher than in China. ‘Under the current circumstances, the solution is to focus on the supply side instead of the demand and bring as much gas to the European market as possible,’ he nailed down.

In a recent survey by the Youth Research Institute, more than half (52 per cent) of young Hungarian adults polled said that despite the current inflationary environment, they are able to live well on their income, with a further three per cent claiming not to have any financial worries.

Worries grow about Moldova’s stability as the second wave of pro-Russian protests erupted in Chișinău and Wizz Air temporarily suspended its flights due to repeated violations of Moldova’s airspace by Russian missiles.

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

On Sunday, the second phase of the sixth package of anti-Russia sanctions was introduced. The EU has now banned the import and re-export of processed petroleum products from Russia. The Hungarian government, however, managed to secure an exemption.

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.

Brussels has revealed its latest plan to curb energy prices in Europe. An expert of Századvég Institute has taken a closer look at the document.

While member countries agree that there is a need to curb energy prices, differences have surfaced as to the details of the intervention.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced on Monday that the EU is preparing an ’emergency intervention’ in the bloc’s power market to curb skyrocketing prices.