EU sanctions against Russia

Hungary’s budget to be amended: here’s why

Hungarian forint state budget historic lows

The protracted war in Ukraine and the energy crisis caused by the European Union’s sanctions have “fundamentally” changed the economic environment, so the government must adjust the budget in the interest of protecting families and the economy, the finance minister said on Wednesday during a parliamentary debate on amendments to the 2023 budget.

“The government is sticking to its goals of protecting families, pensioners, jobs and the Hungarian economy, as well as ensuring Hungarian security,” Mihály Varga said.

The amendment bill would serve to provide “a basis for protecting achievements in these times of hardship and danger”, he said. The bill “aims to protect Hungarian families, businesses, and jobs while at the same time improving the country’s financial balance,” he added.

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Read alsoPositive prospects: Hungarian forint at a ten-month high

Hungary might veto newest sanctions against Russia

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Hungary is prepared to veto the newest sanctions against Russia in the EU. Hungary may oppose the extension of the duration of sanctions. Poland and the Baltic states want to make it easier to sanction the family members of Russia’s richest men but might face opposition from Hungary on the topic.

The EU is preparing its 10th package of sanctions against Russia. They would like to finalise the details of the package by Friday. However, according to Politico, the Hungarian government could make things difficult again.

Hungary is opposing two parts of the sanctions. Prime Minister Orbán Viktor previously threatened the EU with a veto, if they went ahead with sanctioning the Russian nuclear energy sector.

Now Hungary is opposing lengthening the review periods of the sanctions from 6 months to 12 months. According to Politico, Hungarian diplomats are now using the chance given by the review process to request the removal of 4 specific people from the EU’s sanctioning list.

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In theory, if no agreement is reached and Hungary blocks the rollover of the sanctions without a compromise, all 1,400 people would be de-listed. This is a highly unlikely scenario though. Politico quotes a Hungarian official saying that “the only open issue for Hungary is with the length of the rollover and not with the listings.”

Hungary also opposes the plans of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. They would like to expand the definition of the people who could face sanctions from the EU. The EU currently sanctions the “leading businesspersons operating in Russia.” The proposal suggests that “their immediate family members, or other natural persons, benefitting from them” should also fall under sanctions.

PM Orbán and Putin Russian gas
Read alsoPolitical analyst: EU should not allow Orbán to weaken all its sanctions against Russia

Hungary’s play with the veto did not go down well with other diplomats. “It shows Hungary’s disregard for unity and European values that they are willing to risk this in the week where we commemorate one year since the Russian invasion,” a diplomat is quoted by Politico.

According to Portfolio, EU officials are “unsurprised” by the latest Hungarian veto. They are hoping to reach a deal by 24 February, the one-year anniversary of the war.

Hungarian foreign minister wants to act against sanctions

Péter Szijjártó Serbia

Decisive action is needed to ensure that EU sanctions do not impinge on Russia’s nuclear sector, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Wednesday, adding that sanctions of this type would harm Hungary’s national interests as well as global nuclear security.

Noting that the tenth sanctions package is being finalised in Brussels, Szijjártó told a joint press conference with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, that any kind of restrictions that affected nuclear cooperation with Russia must be fought against resolutely.

“We must act decisively against any listing of Rosatom and its officials,” the minister said, saying that sanctions imposed on nuclear energy or Rosatom would “harm Hungary’s fundamental national interests” as well as threaten global nuclear security. Szijjártó accused “two green ministers of the German government” of hampering the supply of German control technology for the new blocks of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant “without any legal” grounds.

He said that only countries which can produce a significant part of their own energy needs would be strong, given the volatile global energy market, its politicisation, and skyrocketing prices. For Hungary, that meant “cheap, sustainable and safe” nuclear energy, he said, adding that Europe and the world can only achieve their environmental goals with nuclear energy in the mix.

“So Hungary is committed to increasing the use of nuclear energy…” he said, adding that the expansion of the Paks plant adhered to “the highest safety standards”.

Szijjártó welcomed the IAEA’s “rational approach based on common sense” and expressed his support for Grossi’s efforts to establish a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Warnings about the risks of a nuclear accident also prove that the Hungarian argument calling for immediate ceasefire and peace talks is right, he added.

“Let’s not forget that every day, while the war lasts, carries the risk of a nuclear incident or nuclear accident,” Szijjártó said. “We who remember Chernobyl would like to avoid this taking place here in central Europe,” he added.

In response to a question concerning speeches by the US and Russian presidents on Tuesday, he said: “They would have done a far greater service to humanity had they talked to each other.” “We are in the 25th hour, and this war must end immediately,” Szijjártó said. “If there is no immediate ceasefire and the peace talks do not start immediately, there could be great trouble,” he added.

Commenting on obstacles raised by the German government to the transport of control technology required for the expansion project in Paks, he said a consortium of Siemens Energy and Framatome had received the commission. If Berlin renders the German company’s participation impossible, then increasing the role of the French partner must be discussed, he said.

“It is somewhat wild that a nuclear power station could be built in the European Union with control technology from the two strongest European countries and the German government currently risks it that it might have to be replaced by Russian technology,” he said. “Is that a rational move by the German government?” At the same time, he added that there was no issue regarding the quality of Russian technology considering that Rosatom was a leading company in the global market.

“I hope that one day somebody will be brave enough in the German media world, where media freedom is obviously fantastic, to ask one of the two ministers what is the reason for this behaviour,” he said.

PM Orbán and Putin Russian gas
Read alsoPolitical analyst: EU should not allow Orbán to weaken all its sanctions against Russia

Political analyst: EU should not allow Orbán to weaken all its sanctions against Russia

PM Orbán and Putin Russian gas

Leading political analyst Anders Aslund, an expert in the field, believes that the European Union has good reason to impose sanctions against Russia’s Rosatom. However, the Russian company is still not included in the latest EU package of sanctions. For this, he condemns Hungary, saying that it was the country’s fault that the sanction plan went unmet.

Previous events

As rtl.hu reports, Russia often circumvents sanctions by purchasing products from third-world countries. Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States Victoria Nuland recently addressed this issue. According to her, Russia is becoming increasingly crafty at circumventing these sanctions. It imports devices from third-world manufacturers, the parts of which the country can use for its military equipment.

For this reason, as officially announced by Brussels on Thursday, the 10th package of sanctions would introduce an export ban worth EUR 11 billion on critical technologies and industrial supplies. An important part of the sanctions package is the ban on exports of a number of industrial items that Russia cannot obtain from third-world countries.

Sanctions on Russian nuclear energy

The original plan was to include Russia’s nuclear sector in the sanctions proposal. This has now not been implemented, and the latest package of sanctions does not include any nuclear-related measures. Earlier, mfor.hu drew attention to the comments of Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó on the EU’s proposals to restrict nuclear cooperation. Szijjártó had earlier said that they would do their utmost to ensure the Russian nuclear sector would not be part of the next sanctions package.

Aslaund’s reaction

As rtl.hu spotted, Anders Aslaund made the following remark on Twitter:

Aslaund argues that there are several reasons to sanction Rosatom. In his Twitter post, he lists 5 reasons. Among them, he writes that Rosatom is considered to be a major armaments company. He also believes that the fact Rosatom can easily become a vehicle for corruption is another significant reason for sanctions. He argues that the Russian company has secret bilateral agreements with countries such as Hungary. In addition, the company is financed by the Putin-controlled VEB.

Aslaund concludes that sanctions against Rosatom should be taken as soon as possible. According to the expert, this would also do a lot against Orbán, as it would keep the money from his corruption scheme. The best way to deal with Hungary is to use Article 7 of the Treaty on the European Union. The article sets out EU action against member states that seriously infringe fundamental EU values.

Rtl.hu adds that the European Parliament already voted in favour of the report last year, which stated that the fundamental values of the EU are at risk in Hungary. The European Commission then decided to freeze billions of euros in EU funding. More details on this case can be read HERE.

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Hungarian FM: Brussels made it clear that it won’t help with inflation

Péter Szijjártó Serbia

The presention of the European Commission’s 10th package of sanctions against Russia “makes clear that Brussels won’t provide any help whatsoever in the fight against inflation”, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Thursday.

The new sanctions from Brussels are in addition to those that have “already proven futile”, the foreign ministry said, quoting Szijjártó, in a statement. “They have tried nine times; they failed nine times. They should draw the reasonable conclusion to stop trying. Regrettably, though, Brussels is not driven by reason,” the minister said.

Concerning the debate on the package which started on Wednesday, Szijjártó said proposals had been raised that would have an impact on Hungary’s energy security, noting calls to terminate supplies via the Druzhba oil pipe line and for tight restrictions to be imposed on nuclear cooperation with Russia. Those steps, if implemented, would again “make Hungarian people pay for the war”, he said, adding that the Hungarian government would “do everything possible” to fight against those proposals.

“Naturally, we reject all proposals concerning oil supplies and nuclear cooperation, and we will do everything to prevent them from being included in the next package,” he said. Rather than “war measures and sanctions” the EU should “at last focus on peace-making” to save lives, the minister said.

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Apart from Russia, only Hungary is likely to sink into recession in Europe

Budapest, Óbuda, block of flats, Hungary

Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE) still demonstrate its resilience. In Europe, only two countries are facing recession: Hungary and sanctioned Russia, the Vienna Institute for International Economic Research (wiiw) reported in its winter forecast. 

Economic activity has slowed significantly, with GDP growth still expected in most countries in the region in 2023, wrote portfolio.hu. While high inflation is causing serious problems for households and businesses, this is not the first time we have seen impressive resilience in the EU, according to a new winter forecast from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW).

Using energy as a weapon has failed

Putin’s strategy of using energy as a weapon has failed, said Richard Grieveson, Deputy Director of WIIW. One reason is that Eastern Europeans have also been able to considerably cut their gas consumption. By 2023, an average growth of 1 percent is forecast for the EU member states in the region, 0.8 percentage points above the growth of the euro area (0.2 percent), which will be stagnant.

The average annual growth in the Visegrád countries will be merely 0.6 percent, and the Hungarian economy will be the only one facing recession, expected to shrink by 1 percent.

Growth in the 23 Central Eastern and South Eastern European countries surveyed by the Institute is expected to be 0.1 percent this year. The south-eastern European EU member states in particular are proving to be resilient enough to largely avoid a full-year recession. The economies of the Western Balkans are also expanding by only 1.8 percent, while Turkey’s is growing by up to 3 percent.

Exceptions from growth: countries hit by recession

The exceptions from growth are Hungary and Russia, whose economies will contract by a further 3 percent this year after shrinking by 2.5 percent last year.

Hungary’s unemployment rate in 2022 was 3.6 percent. This year it could also rise slightly, with the jobless rate estimated at 4.5 percent. What will increase even more sharply this year is inflation.

“According to WIIW, annual inflation in this country could be as high as 16 percent, which could even bring a double-digit average for 2024, with a 10 percent price increase expected.”

Even war-torn Ukraine is expected to recover

Ukraine’s economy is projected to recover within a certain time. The country is expected to grow by 3 percent after a 30 percent contraction in 2022 but still faces significant challenges and uncertainties due to the ongoing war and the destruction of critical infrastructure. Also, the widespread damage and power outages have increased production costs and affected economic activity in the last quarter of 2022. To get back on track, the country has to achieve a budget deficit of 20 percent of GDP, but this will require substantial financial support from the West.

Oil sanctions are taking a toll

The economic downturn in Russia gathered momentum in the last quarter of 2022. Although for the year as a whole, the GDP contraction was only 2.5 percent, lower than the minus 3.5 percent forecast. The institute believes that oil sanctions are having an effective impact on Russia.

The fall in oil prices will significantly reduce tax revenues, 40 percent of which come from the energy sector. The EU’s oil embargo and price restrictions on Russian oil have forced the country to sell its oil at a huge discount. The price of Urals – the most important Russian crude – fell to USD 47 per barrel, which is 43 percent lower than Brent in the North Sea.

“The sanctions imposed on 5 December are the most effective yet,”

says Vasily Astrov, Russia expert at WIIW. The loss of revenue will be financed from the higher – but still bearable – budget deficit. The forecast of the institution contrasts with the latest update from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which revised Russia’s GDP forecast for 2023 up to 0.3 percent growth from the previous 2.1 percent recession.

Fidesz: EP proposal suicidal, life-threatening

hidvéghi balázs fidesz mep

The European Parliament’s proposal on the full embargo of Russian fossil fuels is “life-threatening, untenable and flawed”, Fidesz MEP Balázs Hidvéghi told public radio on Sunday.

Fidesz MEPs stayed away from the vote because “this was the latest of many impossible texts we should have given our opinion on”. The proposal welcomes the shipment of tanks and calls for the delivery of fighter jets and long-range missile systems to Ukraine, Hidvéghi said. “Based on the false statement that this is our war,” NATO and the western allies are getting dragged into this war, he added. This approach only leads to escalation, he said.

The proposal also calls on member states to adopt a tenth package of sanctions, which proposes a “full and immediate embargo on all fossil fuels and uranium”. The measure would result in a “dangerous and untenable situation”, he said. Earlier, similar proposals did not bring the end of the war closer, and further steps would be “suicidal and harmful to us, slowly ruining the security and quality of life of Hungarians and Europeans, to the point of collapse,” he said.

Regarding the corruption scandal plaguing Brussels, Hidvéghi said “this is clearly an extensive system of corruption that has been in place for a long time, and I think it has shaken the trust in the entire institution.” Leftist parties are trying to deny the scope of the problem by insisting it only pertains to a few individuals, “but actually it is an institutional, manipulative practice.”

On the EP proposal on the transparency of political campaigning, Hidvéghi said the “dangerous” motion would interfere with member states’ election campaigns. “It is unacceptable that an institution essentially working as a political committee or a censor’s office should decide what can be included in a campaign ad, and what qualifies as an acceptable or good political ad,” he said. The proposal bears signs of the “anti-democratic, centralist approach treading rough-shod on member states’ competencies” generally typical of current EU decision-making, he said.

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Fidesz MEP fears censorship from Brussels, says sanctions ruin Europe

Tamás Deutsch

Giving European Union institutions a right to interfere with, censor or ban election campaigns of member states is “unacceptable”, a Fidesz MEP said on the sidelines of the plenary session of the European Parliament on Thursday. Sanctions against Russia imposed in response to the war in Ukraine have failed to end the war and are threatening to “ruin Europe,” the same Fidesz MEP said in Brussels.

Fidesz MEP protests against ‘EU right to censor member state election campaigns’

The EP is voting on a proposal on the transparency of political activities on Thursday. The proposal aims to facilitate obtaining information on campaign sponsors and the payments made, among others. The proposal would also review regulations on the periods immediately before elections and referendums.

Tamás Deutsch said that while “almost all EU institutions are mired in corruption … bureaucrats are trying to force legislation that would make it impossible to talk about corruption in Brussels at all.”

The proposal would enable EU institutions to censor the topics of all election campaigns in all member states, he warned. Defining the participants, topics and tone of election campaigns is in the hands of member states, and EU interference is “unacceptable”, he said.

The Fidesz delegation will vote against the proposal, as it “curbs freedom rights and democracy”, he said.

Deutsch: Sanctions against Russia ‘ruining Europe’

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a European parliamentary plenary, Tamás Deutsch said the EP was planning to accept a resolution on a blanket ban on Russian energy resources, bringing about “the immediate economic collapse of EU member states”, he warned. Fidesz MEPs will boycott the vote, he said.

The EU has accepted nine sanction packages against Russia since the war began, all of which have failed to end the war while stoking inflation and triggering an economic and energy crisis, he said. Deutsch called for an end to “suicidal sanctions policy and a return to common sense”. The bloc should strive for a ceasefire and peace talks, he said.

He called it “unacceptable” that the EP resolution had failed to address Ukraine’s legislation on ethnic minorities which, he said, harmed the rights of all minorities in the country. The Fidesz MEP said he hoped that EU representatives would address the issue at the Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, Johannes Hahn, the budget and administration commissioner, said the EU had allocated a further EUR 400 million for supporting Ukraine. Fully EUR 100 million will be used as humanitarian aid, and 300 million will boost bilateral cooperation, Hahn said.

The funding will be announced at a Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on Friday, Hahn said.

At the plenary session, Deutsch said Hungary had been supporting Ukraine beyond its means since the start of the war, and has accepted some 1 million refugees. Hungary has always condemned the Russian attack and stood by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, he said.

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Russian companies are flocking to Hungary amid the sanctions

The European Union is slowly approaching Russia with the tenth package of sanctions, while Hungary has become popular among many international entrepreneurs. More than 10 percent of all domestically registered companies registered last year are of Russian interest. 

The EU is approaching Russia with the tenth package of sanctions

Due to the war, the European Union is approaching Russia with sanctions in the form of export restrictions, such as the ban on the import of Russian coal, the ban on maritime oil trade, or the termination of the export of various technological devices that can also be used for military purposes. In addition, there are a lot of debates about the fact that Russian financial institutions have been excluded from the international SWIFT interbank payment system. However, most of the sanctions apply mainly to private individuals and Russian state organisations, a total of 1,386 individuals and 171 organizations in the European Union, writes Portfolio. Part of the measures imposed on them is that it is forbidden to directly or indirectly provide them with any funds or assets, which makes it impossible for them to launch businesses within the EU.

Russian private assets have been frozen

Altogether, around 19 billion euros of private assets have been frozen in the 27 member states, but the exact amount of Russian state assets is not known. And in Hungary, from one month to the other, in December, the value of Russian properties closed by the authorities jumped from 3,000 euros to 870 million euros. This measure affected many companies within the EU: according to a survey by the NGO Transcrime, there are 31,000 companies in Europe owned by Russian beneficiaries. Out of these enterprises, 1,400 are controlled by 33 individuals who have recently been sanctioned. Real estate, construction, hospitality, financial and energy sectors are the ones most affected. In terms of countries, Germany, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria list the highest numbers of companies operated by oligarchs. The assets of these companies exceed 420 billion euros.

Russian companies are fleeing

However, not all Russians have been banned from conducting business in the EU. In fact, several entrepreneurs critical of President Vladimir Putin’s regime have left Russia. Most of them fled to Serbia with their wealth, where the investments of foreign companies and individuals exceeded 4 billion euros. 1,020 Russian-owned companies were founded in Serbia in 2022 – over 12 times more than in the previous year when 82 such companies were established.

Hungary is a popular destination as well

According to data from the Opten.hu company database, there are currently 671 operating companies in Hungary, one of whose owners is either an economic entity with Russian ties or a Russian citizen. Russian companies are continuously appearing in Hungary, since the pandemic; roughly 50-60 companies linked to the country have been established each year. After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, 77 companies of Russian interests were founded in Hungary. In other words, more than 11 percent of all operating businesses appeared in Hungary last year. This year, however, the momentum has stalled for the time being: by 27 January, only 3 companies had been registered.

Hungary vetoes aid for Ukraine

Ukraine war hungarian border russia

Hungary vetoed a 500-million-euro defence aid package intended for Ukraine, which was to be provided by EU Member States. The Ukranian leadership is outraged, though the Hungarian government has expressed its position on aids several months earlier.

According to Polish press reports, Hungary has blocked the seventh instalment of EU financial for arms purchases by Ukraine. The news was spotted by index.hu on the Polish portal RMF FM, which obtained the information from a high-ranking EU diplomat. The aid, worth half a billion euros, is part of the European Peace Facility. The facility has been used by EU member states to finance weapons and protective equipment for Ukraine since the start of the conflict. EU diplomats are of the opinion that the veto only serves Russia’s interests. However, the EU is reportedly considering alternative measures to bypass Hungary’s veto and proceed with the package.

This is not the first time

According to press information, this is not the first time that the Hungarian government has sought to interfere in EU decisions. Most recently, a few days ago, it was revealed that Hungary wanted to remove nine Russian oligarchs from the EU sanctions list.

According to Szabad Európa, the government wants to cross among others Alisher Usmanov, Pyotr Aven, and Viktor Rashnikov off the list. The government had already tried to remove these three names from the sanctions list in September, but without success.

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The Ukrainian leadership is outraged

Ukrainian military expert Mykula Siruk said in an interview with the Czech Aktualne that they are very upset with Hungary. They are furious that Hungary has blocked the EU financial aid to Ukraine. The report of the Czech newspaper was also spotted by index.hu.

However, as he explained, there was already a lot of resentment towards the Hungarian leadership for another reason, which had to do with the issue of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. From time to time, disputes between the Hungarian and Ukrainian governments over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine recur. Most recently, the removal of Hungarian national symbols in some Transcarpathian cities has led to significant press coverage in Hungary.

Yet, according to the Ukrainian expert, no one is taking away the rights of Hungarians living in Transcarpathia. “Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says he is concerned about the rights of the Hungarian minority living in Ukrainian Transcarpathia. But no one is taking away the rights of Hungarians. They are only being asked to learn Ukrainian, like Hungarians in Croatia learn Croatian or Hungarians in Slovakia learn Slovakian. There is now a lot of anger and resentment in Ukraine towards Hungary,” he explained.

For more information on what exactly happened in Transcarpathia and how the Hungarian foreign ministry state secretary reacted to the incidents concerning the Hungarian minority, see HERE.

The Hungarian leadership’s view on aid

Regarding Ukrainian aid, the Hungarian Prime Minister has already expressed his position earlier. On the one hand, the government was not in favour of supporting Ukraine with arms even at the beginning of the war. In their opinion, humanitarian aid should be provided instead of weapons.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister also has a particular view on the joint loans of EU Member States. He does not support this either because, although he believes that the Ukrainian people must receive help, Hungary is not willing to put the interests of others before its own.

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Government think-tank: Budapest residents reject sanctions

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Fully 85 percent of Budapest residents want peace to be forged between Russia and Ukraine, while 63 percent see sanctions on Russia as excessive or sufficient already, the Századvég Foundation said on Friday, revealing its latest survey. It is important to note that Századvég Foundation is entirely pro-government. Please bear this in mind when looking at the results of the survey.

Fully 78 percent expressed opposition to the European Union and its member states buying weapons for Ukraine, and 76 percent objected to the EU training Ukrainian soldiers.

The think-tank said Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, had “created the impression” that the views of Budapest residents were at odds with the pro-peace government in respect of the war.

During an official visit to Kyiv, Karácsony said: “The Hungarian people are not synonymous with the Hungarian government” and “the majority of the people of Budapest understand exactly what is happening in Ukraine,” the think-tank added.

Budapest citizens “against sanctions”

Such comments prompted Századvég to conduct a survey of Budapest adults on issues related to the war in Ukraine in December, its statement said. Accordingly, there is a dim view of top politicians who back the continuation of the war, it said.

Meanwhile, 82 percent of respondents in the capital had a negative view of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while 57 percent saw US President Joe Biden in a bad light. Fully 52 percent had an unfavourable view of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Some 65 percent of Budapest residents said they were against Hungarian taxpayers’ money being used to finance Ukraine and 66 percent said that Brussels was acting in a unfair manner holding back some of the EU funds allocated for Hungary and Poland, Századvég said.

It added that some 56 percent of Budapest residents expressed agreement with the way that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had handled the situation developed as a result of the Russian-Ukraine crisis.

Hungarians against withholding of EU funds

Fully 74 percent of Hungarians object to the EU withholding funds from Hungary, the Századvég Foundation said on Saturday. The think-tank’s latest survey also shows that 60 percent are of the view that the EU is not even making an attempt to strike a compromise or reach an agreement with the government to unlock the funding, but wants to punish Hungary instead.

Regarding perceptions of double standards in the European Union, 64 percent of respondents thought the EU applied different yardsticks to Hungary compared with other member states, Századvég said in an report on its survey.

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Brussels conducts ‘self-destructive’ sanctions policy?

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Brussels’ policy of sanctions is “ill-advised and self-destructive”, Tamás Deutsch, the head of ruling Fidesz’s EP delegation, said on Wednesday, calling for the sanctions to be scrapped.

Fidesz’s European parliamentary group will continue to support changing Brussels’ “ill-advised and self-destructive” sanctions policy, Deutsch said in a statement. Those outside Europe who support Brussels’ sanctions policy consider the economic crisis about to hit EU member states along with soaring energy prices and inflation to be “collateral damage”, the MEP said. “It is time for Europe to finally represent its own interests so that the Brussels bureaucracy too will admit that the sanctions policy is ill-advised,” he said. “It causes greater economic damage to Europe’s national economies than to those it is targeting.”

“Our most important task is to have our voices heard as the sober-minded minority in the European Parliament that supports ending the sanctions,” Deutsch said.

Hungary’s government fulfilled its commitments, reaching an agreement with Brussels after a successful series of talks and clearing all legal and political obstacles to gaining access to EU funds, Deutsch said. He added, at the same time, that Brussels could be expected to throw more obstacles in Hungary’s way of gaining access to the monies.

Concerning the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, Deutsch called for eliminating “the corruption machine” in Brussels. He said most MEPs implicated in the scandal belonged to the Socialist group.

Deutsch said there was “no way” that the “Brussels bureaucracy” would change the system that was “politically useful to them”. “Only we, European voters can change this system in 2024,” he added, making reference to the EP elections.

PM Viktor Orbán
Read alsoOrbán: we have no interest in severing all economic ties with Russia – interview

Orbán: we have no interest in severing all economic ties with Russia – interview

PM Viktor Orbán

While “Hungary’s government is supporting Ukraine and has a vested interest in its sovereignty and we have an interest in Russia not posing a threat to Europe’s security, we have no interest in severing all economic ties with Russia,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the daily Magyar Nemzet.

In an interview published on Saturday, Orbán said “we stand on the Hungarian side of history.”

Orbán said 2022 had been the “most dangerous year since the change of regime” in 1989, as Hungary was in danger of being dragged into the conflict.

“Had left-wing parties won [in the general election] in April, we would be up to our necks in it. Hungary is the only European country to have managed to stay away from this war because Hungarians voted for that,” he insisted, reports Magyar Nemzet.

Growing energy prices are another threat to Hungary, he said. The costs of energy imports have grown from 7 billion euros “before the sanctions” imposed by the European Union on Russia to 17 billion this year, he said.

“If a Christmas angel wiped away energy-related sanctions, energy prices would fall immediately,”

he said, adding that Hungarian inflation would also plummet and the country could plan with a 5 percent growth rather than the current 1.5 percent.

The war may be drawn out for decades, Orbán said. “But Ukraine can fight only as long as the United States supports it with weapons and money… so if the Americans want peace, there will be peace,” he added.

Ukraine, as a sovereign state, cannot be expected to sacrifice part of its territory for European peace, energy security and welfare, he said. “But we can decide to what extent we support them. Hungary has decided to provide humanitarian aid as this war is not our war.”

Orbán said the government planned to push inflation back into single digits by the end of next year.

He called central bank governor György Matolcsy’s recent criticism of the government’s work “unusual”, adding that the governor’s job to handle inflation had put him “in a difficult spot”. At such times, “it is understandable if one chooses unorthodox ways of behaviour in public,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government will make the home purchase subsidies for families (CSOK) more targeted in the second half of next year, Orbán said. The subsidies for home buyers in small localities will remain unchanged, he said.

At the same time, women raising children will be exempt from personal income tax until the age of 30, he added.

In connection with a former Vice President of the European Parliament detained on suspicion of corruption, Orbán said it was time to “drain the swamp” and “revive” a proposal by Hungary to disband the current EP and replace it with an assembly of the representatives of national parliaments.

“The root of the problems” is that “Hungarians and Westerners” have different visions of their future, Orbán said.

“We do not want to become a country of immigrants, we don’t want to allow gender activists into our schools or dismantle the normal framework of family life, we don’t want war or sanctions, and we want to maintain our connections with the non-Western parts of the world,” he said.

Referring to allegations that Hungarian opposition parties had accepted support from abroad during the spring election campaign, Orbán said “the Hungarian Left could be bought but not Hungary”. “As long as our national and political community stand together, Hungary’s independence will not be for sale,” he said.

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Pro-govt survey: Europeans want peace, not sanctions

ukraine war

Europeans want peace, not sanctions, according to a survey by the pro-government Századvég Institute published on Tuesday, which found that Europeans expect leaders to try to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and a peace agreement as swiftly as possible.

The think-tank said the “Western political elite” had concentrated more on punishing Russia than on fostering peace talks, adding that EU sanctions and foreign policy had stalled the possibility of securing peace between Ukraine and Russia.

In Hungary 62 percent of respondents to Századvég’s survey found the war “highly concerning”, while 31 percent found it unsettling, while in Germany the corresponding ratios were 51 percent and 30 percent.

The only EU member state where a majority did not find the war to be quite so worrying was Slovakia, (48 percent and 41 percent, respectively). One explanation for this is that Slovaks may be more preoccupied with domestic problems, the think-tank said.

Fully 82 percent of respondents to the Europe-wide survey were in favour of prioritising peace and forcing Russia and Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war.

Divisions are apparent along the lines of states which are pro-sanctions and anti-sanctions/pro-peace, Századvég said.

There is a preponderance of southern states whose respondents were in favour of forcing negotiations (91 percent in Cyprus, 89 percent in Portugal and Greece) than rejecting sanctions. In Hungary, the corresponding ratio is 88 percent, the think-tank said.

The think-tank said that whereas in all countries surveyed there was a majority for swift peace talks, “this proportion is lower in the pro-sanctions member states”.

Fully 42 percent of Estonians, 36 percent of Latvians, 31 percent of Poles, and 29 percent of Lithuanians do not agree with forcing peace talks.

In addition to the EU member states, the research covered the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with 38,000 randomly selected adults interviewed by phone between October 13 and December 7.

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Ukrainian politician: “Ukrainians think Orbán is as crazy as Putin”

putin orbán Will the Budapest meeting of eurozone finance ministers be boycotted?

The “Brave People of Ukraine” received the Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s best-known human rights award. The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, spoke about the Russian-Ukrainian war, EU sanctions, and Hungary in an interview.

Ukraine’s brave people

A prize named after Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov, the famous Russian political refugee, was presented at the European Parliament. “The Brave People of Ukraine” has been awarded the European Union’s most prestigious human rights prize. It is the first time that the prize has been awarded to an entire nation.

The Ukrainian people were represented by some activists and politicians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered a message via video link. He asked for a minute of silence for the Ukrainian dead. At the end of Zelenskiy’s speech, there was a long standing ovation in the European Parliament.

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War, Hungary, sanctions

Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, was interviewed by 24.hu. The 34-year-old politician was kidnapped by the Russians at the beginning of the war. The kidnapping was caught on a public camera. Fedorov was a prisoner for a week and said he was not harmed, but heard others being tortured. Zelensky personally intervened to secure his release, and Fedorov was eventually released after a prisoner exchange and the surrender of nine Russian prisoners of war.

Fedorov says the situation is difficult. There are no services, pharmacies have closed, doctors have fled. The Russians are watching Ukrainian sympathisers and they could end up in prison, so the 34-year-old politician is calling for everyone to go to Ukrainian-controlled territory, because only there can they guarantee the safety of their citizens.

There is a debate in Hungary about the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia. “If war broke out in Hungary, all political questions would be put aside. If Putin were to invade Hungary and try to free you from some problem that you haven’t really been struggling with, you would put all your political debates aside. Putin is a terrorist. What can you do with a terrorist? Isolate him. With weapons, with sanctions, with contacts. Ultimately, he must be punished. Every action is important, including taking away tourist visas, and Hungary must do the same,” Fedorov said.

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Survey: majority of Hungarians support sanctions against Russia

eu hungary flag

According to the latest Eurobarometer poll, 74 percent of EU citizens approve of the EU’s support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. The proportion is lower among Hungarians, but still more than half of the population agrees.

Eurobarometer conducted the survey between 12 October and 7 November. 74 percent of EU citizens approved of the European Union’s support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

The highest proportions of people in Sweden (97 percent), Finland (95 percent), the Netherlands (93 percent), Portugal (92 percent) and Denmark (92 percent) agreed with the EU’s decisions, Euronews.hu reports.

However, among Hungarians, it was below the EU average, with 59 percent in favour of the EU standing by Ukraine, napi.hu reports.

The survey asked which values the European Parliament should focus on protecting. The most common answer was democracy (36 percent), followed by human rights (29 percent) and freedom of expression and thought (28 percent).

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Hungarian FM: The gas cap proposal is harmful and dangerous

Szijjártó Péter

Though European Union member states have yet to reach a decision on the introduction of a price cap on gas imports, Hungary has succeeded in having two “particularly dangerous” provisions removed from the proposal put forward by the Czech presidency, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Brussels on Tuesday.

The Hungarian government maintains its position that introducing a price cap on gas “is a bad idea and it is useless”, Péter Szijjártó told a press conference, after a meeting of EU energy ministers. He said that most EU member states, with the exception of Hungary, would accept the introduction of a price cap, but stated different opinions concerning the details of the planned measure.

“We think that the price cap is a bad thing, it is unnecessary and it is a dangerous idea raised as a solution to tackle the energy crisis,” Szijjártó said. The measure, if introduced, would be “a rude artificial intervention in the gas market, something the EU has never done before”, he said, calling such a step “extremely dangerous” in an important, sensitive and vital market without an impact study at hand.

Szijjártó said the price cap had been designed as a measure to respond to record high gas prices in the summer, noting however that prices had gone down and stabilised without any intervention in the past couple of months. He warned that the scheme could also allow wide-scale speculation, putting the EU at a disadvantage.

What’s even more important is that the proposal would seriously endanger energy security, Szijjártó said, arguing that it was physically impossible to completely replace Russian natural gas in the medium term, and the price caps would further reduce the volume of gas the bloc would have access to.

“The whole proposal is harmful, dangerous and threatens the security of European energy supply,” Szijjártó said, adding that it gave room to speculation and could lead to price increases. He said the plan went against the European Council’s guidelines according to which the price cap could not apply to long-term supply agreements and had to take into consideration the specific energy situation of member states.

Szijjártó said the price cap interfered with pricing on the Dutch TTF gas hub and would impact long-term gas supply agreements. At the same time, the minister welcomed that two provisions had been removed from the proposal. One of them concerned the regulation of prices when it came to transactions outside the gas exchange, Szijjártó said, adding that this would have restricted member states’ freedom to procure gas as it would have made bilateral agreements without the application of the price cap impossible.

The other proposal would have required member states to consult the European Commission prior to amending any long-term gas supply deals, Szijjártó said, adding that this provision “would have totally destroyed the security of Hungarian gas deliveries”. As no agreement was reached at Tuesday’s meeting, the price cap plan will be back on the agenda next week, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said he had spoken to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak by phone on Monday, who he said had “expressed openness” to amending the long-term gas delivery agreement between the two countries if it became necessary because of the price cap. “What matters most to us is the security of Hungary’s natural gas supply; this is what we have to guarantee, this is the top priority,” the minister said.

Asked about Monday’s agreements among EU finance ministers concerning Hungary, Szijjártó said Hungary had fulfilled all of the European Commission’s demands and expectations for unblocking funding. He welcomed that the EU had “finally listened to and considered” Hungary’s stance when it came to providing aid to Ukraine and the aid package being provided to the country will now be covered by the EU budget.

Concerning the global minimum tax, Szijjártó also welcomed that it had been made clear that the local business tax can be included in the calculation of the minimum tax, allowing Hungary to introduce it without having to raise taxes.

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Breaking news! Orbán cabinet scraps the fuel price cap with immediate effect!

price cap hungary over

In view of the recent crisis, the Hungarian government will remove the HUF 480 (EUR 1,17) price cap from Hungarian petrol stations, Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Zsolt Hernádi, CEO of Mol, announced on Tuesday evening.

The fuel shortage has been growing in recent days at Hungarian petrol stations, with queues snaking near filling stations across the country. Mol said earlier it was seeing the effects of panic buying, but said it could not import more fuel from abroad because of the price cap.

Hungary has been exempted from the EU oil sanctions against Russia, but as Hungary relies on imports, we are also affected, as we can buy fuel from Europe at a higher price, Gulyás said. Petrol prices have skyrocketed because the EU reacted to Russian aggression with sanctions, he said.

The abolition of the price cap will raise inflation, the government expected, the minister said.

According to Hernádi, the sanctions created a situation in Europe that led to the introduction of a price cap in Hungary. But the barrier cap is now dysfunctional rather than functioning well. This decision has gone to the point where it was manageable with a mast. The whole European petrol market has been badly affected by the sanctions, he says.

According to Hernádi, a normalised supply situation can be achieved within one to one and a half months. Panic buying will end at 23:00 today, but it will take a few weeks before importers are back to the old system.

The Mol boss expects the abolition of the price cap to bring a noticeable improvement quickly.

According to Hernádi, the target price for Mol stations is 641 HUF (EUR 1,56)/liter for petrol and 699 HUF (EUR 1,70) /liter for diesel.

Two minutes after Gergely Gulyás announced the end of the petrol price freeze, the relevant gazette was published, stating that the regulation enter into force at 23:00.

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“The implementation of the sanctions has caused tangible disruptions to Hungary’s energy supplies,” Gulyás said.

MOL said in a letter to the energy minister on Monday that it would be unable to ensure supplies without imports, he said.

The company’s chief executive Zsolt Hernádi said a quarter of station pumps had run dry at some point in the past few days, an unprecedented occurrence during MOL’s existence.

What about the other price caps?

“Are there shortages of milk and sugar, will they be eliminated?” asked RTL.

If the shortage becomes general, then it should be phased out. If only 1% have a deficit, it is worth maintaining, if it causes national difficulties, it should be removed.

The government is monitoring the situation for all products, Gulyás said.