New EU initiative banning Russian oil, gas imports to Hungary may increase Hungarian energy prices sky-high
According to a quick calculation of Portfólió, a Hungarian economy-focused media outlet, the new initiative of the European Commission severing the energy cooperation between EU member states and Russia can increase energy prices in Hungary significantly. The Hungarian government and the Hungarian member of the EC, Olivér Várhelyi, try to baulk the proposal and Slovakian PM Robert Fico is also strongly against it. Will that be enough?
According to Eurostat, natural gas and electricity prices for household consumers in the second semester of 2024, based on purchasing power standards, were the lowest in Hungary in Europe. That can end if a new initiative of the European Commission is accepted and implemented. So far, Hungary has been exempt from such sanctions. Now, not only Hungary but also Slovakia opposes the plan.
Based on FM Szijjártó, energy import prices would increase by almost 30% in three years. Furthermore, according to portfolio.hu, the state budget would lose significant revenues since both Russian gas and oil would be more expensive for the state-owned MVM and the oil and gas giant MOL, making a hefty profit on the deal. However, both companies pay large amounts of that profit into the state budget.
Therefore, the Hungarian government strongly opposes the initiative.
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Brussels plan to scrap Russian energy imports ‘attack’ on affordable Hungarian utility bills, says FM Szijjártó
The European Commission’s plan to scrap Russian energy imports “is an attack” on affordable Hungarian utility bills, FM Szijjártó said on Wednesday, arguing that Hungary’s annual energy imports would balloon by around 600 billion forints (EUR 1.5bn).
He said Hungary was being forced to pay the price of the Commission’s support for Ukraine, adding that the decision to force member states to break off energy cooperation with Russia was politically and ideologically motivated. Member states, he added during the break of a government meeting, had the sovereign right to choose their energy sources owing to the Versailles Declaration adopted by EU leaders in 2022, and the commission was now “violating this sovereign right” with yesterday’s proposal.
He said Brussels wanted Hungarians to “pay the price” for its “senseless and unending support for Ukraine”. The minister also said that the EU would pay a heavy cost for fast-tracking Ukraine into the bloc. “We will fight against this decision,” Szijjártó said. “We won’t allow the Hungarian people to pay the price for Ukraine’s fast-tracked accession to the European Union.”
Government won’t allow Hungarians to be made to pay price of Ukraine’s EU membership
Hungary’s government stands by its policy of affordable utility bills and won’t allow Brussels to make Hungarians pay the price of the war in Ukraine and Ukraine’s fast-tracked accession to the European Union, Szijjártó said in Warsaw on Wednesday.
Speaking after an informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, Szijjártó said there was “still a warlike mood” among his counterparts, and it appeared that Brussels and several member states had decided that the continent “should be pushed deeper into the armed conflict” and that Ukraine should be admitted to the bloc as quickly as possible.
“All of this, of course, goes against the interests of Europe and of Hungary, and poses a serious risk to future European security,” the minister said. He said both the war and fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU membership would come at a high cost, and Hungarians would primarily be the ones made to pay it. Szijjártó said those who doubted this should consider “the fresh announcement from Brussels under which they would forcefully and artificially — on an ideological basis — sever the energy cooperation between EU member states and Russia”.
He said this was in serious violation of Hungary’s sovereignty, arguing that all member states had a sovereign right to decide where they buy energy from. The minister added that if the plan were to be implemented, Hungary’s annual energy imports would balloon by around 1.5 billion euros.
“Let’s make it clear that for us, the danger is not Russian natural gas, oil or nuclear fuel, but rather if these are not delivered to Hungary,” he said. Szijjártó said the extra 1.5 billion euros Hungary would have to spend on energy each year would effectively “destroy” the regulated utilities price scheme, adding that the Hungarian government would not allow Hungarians to be made to pay more for energy “because of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said he had held talks with his Slovak counterpart, who had also expressed his opposition to Brussels’s proposal, adding that the two countries were expected to closely coordinate with each other in the matter.
‘After Weber, von der Leyen has also sworn allegiance to Ukraine’, says Orbán
“Once again, threatening news came from Brussels today; Ursula von der Leyen has followed Manfred Weber in swearing allegiance to Ukraine,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a video on Facebook on Wednesday. The European Commission has pledged to take “decisive steps” to aid Ukraine’s EU accession, he said.
Von der Leyen had also announced that “they want to send more money to Ukraine than ever before, and that she wants to drag Europe even deeper into the Ukrainian war,” he said. “This is not in Europe’s interest,” but rather it should follow the US in moving away from the war, Orbán said.
It is in Europe’s interest “to stop pouring Europeans’ money into the bottomless sack of an unwinnable war” and to allow countries to enter the bloc only if they strengthen the community “and not ones that would push us into bankruptcy”, he said. “Hungary’s stance is clear and we stand by it; we do not want Hungarians to be forced to pay the price of Ukraine’s EU accession.” “It is time that the EC represented member states, rather than Ukraine,” he said.
“We are under attack!” – again. And only the Politicians can save us … Sigh.
Can we just leave this ghastly monstrosity already!? What is the point of our continued membership!?
Like, seriously, name one benefit. The E.U. hardly manufactures anything anymore so we can’t even claim to be benefiting commercially by staying in. Free movement of people is being used more by terrorists and parasites than by ordinary people. There is clearly greater danger of E.U.’s tanks invading Hungary than anyone else’s.
So, what are we still doing in it?????
So you have turned into a full-blown Russian troll. Anyone with half a brain knows that Hungary benefits tremendously from EU membership. Even Fidesz people know this and are therefore not campaigning for Huxit. Leaving EU would be the worst possible thing for our countrys future.
Since joining the European Union in 2004, Hungary has been a consistent net beneficiary of EU funds. Estimates suggest that Hungary has received approximately €83 billion in EU funding over the past two decades, averaging about 3.5% of its GDP annually .
In contrast, Hungary’s contributions to the EU budget have been significantly lower. For instance, in 2021, Hungary contributed €1.7 billion while receiving €6 billion, resulting in a net gain of €4.3 billion for that year . This pattern of receiving more than it contributes has been consistent throughout its membership.
The EU funds have primarily supported infrastructure development, such as roads, universities, and public services. However, challenges remain. Despite the substantial inflow of funds, regional disparities persist, with some areas lagging behind in development .
In summary, Hungary’s net financial benefit from EU membership is substantial, with the country receiving significantly more from the EU budget than it contributes.