Orbán shared when price caps would be abolished in Hungary

The government will remove the current price caps simultaneously with a decrease in the inflation of food prices, the prime minister said on public radio on Friday.

Viktor Orbán said the caps have helped reduce inflation but added that they were an “artificial intervention” in the operation of the market, and had “side effects”. “That is why it is good if the caps disappear from the system and the market returns to its regular operations,” he said. As long as inflation is high, the caps cannot be removed, he added.

Orbán suggested that similarly to the food price caps, the caps applying to bank loans could also be removed. Concerning bank loans, he added that “we introduced all kinds of protective mechanisms but those could even cause problems in normal times”.

The prime minister added, however, that the caps on household utility prices would be maintained.

“When inflation drops under a certain level, measures introduced to rein in high inflation could be removed in a timely manner,” Orbán said.

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Orbán: Pro-peace proposal applies to ceasefire

Viktor Orbán also said that Hungary’s pro-peace proposal applies to a ceasefire. The Hungarian parliament is passing a resolution which states that it maintains the position demanding peace and a ceasefire, he said.

“The Hungarian position is not about what type of peace treaty should be signed but about demanding a ceasefire,” he added.

A ceasefire must be achieved, preventing further deaths, he said. Once there is a ceasefire, there is a chance for preparing the framework for peace talks, he added.

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World war is a ‘realistic threat’

The war in Ukraine is “worrying and dangerous” for Hungary and “the threat of a world war is no literary exaggeration”, Viktor Orbán said. Orbán said “more and more decisions are passed on using ever newer and stronger weapons” and “the West provides Ukraine with more and more modern equipment”.

While “it could sound extremely exaggerating when some European and American leaders say that if all goes on like this we could arrive at the third world war, it is a realistic danger at the moment”.

“The war is becoming increasingly bloody and brutal, yet the number of European countries and leaders supporting peace is not on the increase at all,” Orbán said.

At the same time, “European people have … started moving towards a ceasefire and peace talks as the number of victims is increasing,” he said.