Hungarian Conservative

According to Csaba Lantos, over 28,000 people have already pre-registered for the Solar Energy Plus programme, with over 15,000 subsidy applications received so far for the installation of solar panels and accompanying green energy storage units.

Industrial power plants and storage facilities can be connected to the grid by 2030, the Ministry of Energy announced. The current energy storage capacity of only twenty megawatts could increase twentyfold by 2026 and fiftyfold by 2030.

The target of six gigawatts was originally set to be achieved by 2030. However, since Hungary has already reached this goal, the government has raised the target to twelve gigawatts by the end of the same period.

A brief review of the European policy of the Hungarian Government and of that of the domestic opposition.

In his regular Friday morning interview, the Prime Minister stated that there was ‘no money in the world’ that would get Hungary to allow migrants into Hungary and ‘take the country away from us.’

The recently launched Solar Energy Plus Programme, announced just a month ago, allows private individuals with privately owned residential properties, beneficial use rights, or leasing agreements to use non-refundable support for renewable energy sources. Thanks to the funding covering two-thirds of their costs, supported households can produce green energy for their own use, and also store it for later use. The supported households become more capable of self-sustainability in terms of energy, effectively reducing their utility bills.

While the European Commission initially announced that it was putting its entire Palestinian development portfolio under review, it soon re-evaluated its decision, stating that it remains committed to preventing any misuse of aid funds, but also recognizes the importance of humanitarian aid in providing essential services to those in need.

Viktor Orbán has firmly stated that Hungary will not approve any EU budget increase until its access to the withheld funds is reinstated. The EC may now be willing to release the frozen funding to gain Budapest’s support for an increase in the EU budget to secure more financial aid to Ukraine.

The national solar energy map project aims to promote the use of solar energy and to provide information about the solar energy potential of the residences of those who are considering investing in installing solar panels.

Navracsics reminded that Hungary is to receive 14 trillion Hungarian forints in cohesion funds for the 2021-2027 EU budget cycle. Of this amount, 4 trillion forints have already been received and are continuously being used for rural development.

While officially, the conference’s main agenda point was the shadow rapporteurs on the current state of the rule of law in Hungary, more time was devoted to Hungary’s Council of the EU presidency set to happen in 2024, a concept none of the MEPs was thrilled about. The ongoing negotiations about releasing the frozen EU funds were often talked about as well.

The MEP reacted to Ferenc Gyurcsány’s statements made in a radio interview. Deutsch declared that the Democratic Coalition President had publicly admitted that as opposed to his and the European Commission’s claim that there were legal problems between Hungary and the European Union, or that the European Union development funds owed to Hungary had been withheld due to legal issues for years, was a lie.

Minister Navracsics reminded that the metro reconstruction was carried out in cooperation between the Hungarian government, the Municipality of Budapest and the European Union. Approximately two-thirds of the cost of the renovation was covered from EU funding and one-third has been financed from domestic sources, the minister added.

Gergely Gulyás spoke at a conference organised by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and stated that Hungary’s dependence on the EU is not due to its 1.4 per cent contribution to the Hungarian GDP, but rather because Hungary is a part of a unified Europe and Schengen area, and the common market is essential for Hungary’s economy.