Government slams energy companies for their outstanding profit but forgot about Hungarian MOL
The war in Ukraine “is bad for everybody except large energy companies”, a state secretary of the prime minister’s cabinet office said in a video published on Facebook on Sunday.
Csaba Dömötör insisted that some companies were getting “stinking rich” through soaring energy prices, with special regard to “large, international energy companies”. Below you can watch his video:
Referring to public data from 2022, Dömötör said Austria’s OMV had profits after tax amounting to 5 billion euros. Shell posted a record 40 billion dollars, twice as much as before the war. British Petrol also broke records with 28 billion dollars, over twice as much as in 2021. France’s Total earned a record 20.5 billion dollars, while US Chevron posted 35 billion dollars and Exxon 56 billion dollars, Dömötör said.
“It appears that imposing sanctions and the resulting high prices is no bad business … but not for us,” Dömötör said. He said “Hungary’s energy bill” had increased by 4,000 billion forints (EUR 10bn). “This must be paid by companies, families, and the Hungarian state; it is not right,” he said.
Dömötör did not talk about Hungary’s energy giant, MOL, which had a record year in 2022 despite the Hungarian government’s excess profit tax. Topping both the company’s projectiles and what the experts waited for, MOL realized a record-high USD 4.7 billion profit.
Fidesz MEP slams EP president’s call for more EU arms shipments to Ukraine
Balázs Hidvéghi, an MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, on Sunday slammed European Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s call for more EU weapons deliveries to Ukraine as “unacceptable”, saying they would lead to a further escalation of the war. “We cannot allow the irresponsible remarks made by politicians in Brussels to drag Europe further into the armed conflict and push the world towards the outbreak of a world war,” Hidvéghi told MTI.
The EP president’s call on member states to send more weapons will lead to an escalation of the war, more bloodshed and more casualties, Hidvéghi said. “It is not weapons, but an immediate ceasefire that is needed,” he said. Hungary remains pro-peace, Hidvéghi said, adding that “we will not allow pro-war politicians to drag us into the war.” “We will therefore resist pressure from Brussels in order to protect the security of the Hungarian people,” the MEP said.
Read alsoLithuanian politician: Ukraine has a weaker chance because of Hungary
Source: MTI, telex.hu
In the meantime. Rheinmetall AG is building three factories in Hungary to make tanks, ammunition, and explosives. RUAG (Ammotec and Aerostructures) also has an expanding manufacturing footprint in Hungary.
Our Politicians are very excited about all of this – we will soon become a major arms exporter (and guess what – the product will end up in conflict zones). All sounds a bit … Hypocritical?