Hungary is already in talks with the European Union regarding 16 billion euros in funding to bolster energy sovereignty, he saidContinue reading
Hungarian energy policy aims to make the country greener and to meet its emissions targets while achieving energy autonomy, the technology and industry minister said in Luxembourg on Monday.
After a meeting of EU energy ministers, László Palkovics told MTI by phone that he had spoken with EU energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, and they agreed that Hungary should become as independent as possible in terms of its energy supply.
Hungary embarked on this path over a decade ago, he said, creating gas and electricity interconnection points with neighboring countries.
Also, should energy drop out from a particular direction, the country should be able to rely on energy produced locally, he said, adding that Hungary is working towards this goal.
Palkovics says EU needs access to affordable energy
Earlier in the day, during a break from his meeting with EU energy ministers, Palkovics told reporters that the European Union is working on two packages aimed at making the bloc independent of Russian energy and ensuring energy availability.
Neither plan is cheap or feasible in the short term, but the Russia-Ukraine war has shone a new light on the issue of European energy supply, Palkovics said. The war has thrown not just the EU’s ambitious climate protection packages into doubt but also the accessibility of any form of energy in Europe, the minister added. Energy prices are at an all-time high, and any kind of problem raises serious questions with regard to energy security, he warned.
Palkovics argued that the increase of energy efficiency would have the quickest effect in Europe. The reason why Hungary approved raising the original target figures for reducing energy consumption is because “the best energy is that which we don’t consume,” he added. The minister said that energy efficiency in Hungary was also linked to the government’s cap on household utility bills.
Meanwhile, Palkovics noted renewable energy was not only affordable but also contributed to environmental greening and Europe’s energy independence.
via MTI
Featured image by Noémi Bruzák/MTI