The dissatisfaction of Europeans has been exacerbated by Brussels' sanctions policy and the resulting increase in prices, Századvég reports.Continue reading
The government has compiled the results of the national consultation, and they are clear: 97 percent of Hungarians reject sanctions that would cause serious damage, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi announced.
The EU sanctions imposed on Russia for attacking Ukraine have failed to stop the war, and instead have caused and are continuing to cause Europe extreme economic hardship, she said in a video message posted on the official Facebook page of the Hungarian government on Saturday, thanking the almost 1.4 million people who expressed their views by filling the questionnaires online or by mail.
Hungarians overwhelmingly reject the oil sanctions and the planned gas sanctions, as well as the restrictions on nuclear energy, and also say a clear “no” to sanctions that would further increase food prices or put additional burdens on European tourism, Szentkirályi said.
She noted that
the Hungarian government was the first in the European Union to ask citizens about sanctions.
The message of the national consultation is clear: fewer expensive sanctions and more say for the people, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office told public broadcaster Kossuth Radio on Sunday.
Csaba Dömötör, referring to a Reuters report published a few days ago, added that Brussels is already planning to propose a tenth package of sanctions covering nuclear energy, which would have “far-reaching consequences” for countries that use a large proportion of nuclear energy, such as Hungary.
He said that the economic outlook for Europe as a whole is deteriorating, with the slowdown being greatest in the European economic area worldwide. Dömötör added that the EU’s economic growth as a whole could be just above zero, with the energy situation being the main culprit, with sanctions behind it.
Featured photo via Kormány.hu