Will utility price caps remain in Hungary?

The European Commission has no right to recommend that Hungary scrap the price caps on household utility bills, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday, adding that Hungary would preserve the achievements of the scheme.

Reacting to the European Commission’s recently released country-specific recommendations, Gergely Gulyás told a regular government press briefing that Hungary considered it important to reduce the budget deficit and was the only country where the government had managed to cut the deficit in the last three election years.

“So we can’t be accused of not keeping this in mind, even in times of crisis,” Gulyás said.

But how this goal is achieved matters, he said, adding that the government rejected the EC’s proposal to scrap the utility price caps.

Even though the EC’s recommendations say Hungary should do away with its existing energy support measures by the end of 2023, the country can reduce its budget deficit without accepting this advice, Gulyás said.