Hungarian govt welcomes approval of ‘budget of utility bill cuts, defence’

The finance ministry on Tuesday welcomed parliament’s approval of the 2023 “budget of utility bill cuts and defence”.

The budget will enable the government to strengthen Hungary’s protection, limit the impact of the “wartime energy crisis” and keep household utility prices low, the ministry said in a statement. “We regret that the left cannot be counted on even in the current wartime situation and that they did not vote for the budget of utility protection and home defence,” the ministry added.

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The statement said the protracted war in Ukraine and related European Union sanctions had led to significant price increases, soaring energy prices and high inflation throughout Europe. The government’s top priority is to keep Hungary out of the war and to protect Hungarians from being made to pay the price of the war, it said. The government’s most important task right now is to preserve Hungary’s peace and security, ensure the security of its energy supply and protect the caps on household utility bills, the ministry said.

That is why, it noted, next year’s budget contains a utility protection fund and a defence fund whose combined expenditures will exceed 1,500 billion forints (EUR 3.7 bn) which will be financed by the taxes on excessive profits and other revenues. The 2023 budget guarantees the continuation of the government’s family support measures and the 13th month pension, as well as pension increases pegged to inflation, the ministry said.

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Source: MTI