In Viktor Orbán's view, EU Member States seemingly put Ukraine first, instead of their own citizens.Continue reading
Banning the purchase of nuclear fuel from Russia would have tragic consequences not only for Hungary, but for the entire European energy market, as it would have a brutal impact on prices, said Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Monday in Budapest.
The Minister reported that Brussels wants to ban the purchase of fuel elements from Russia that are necessary for the operation of nuclear power plants, even though several Central European countries have nuclear facilities using Russian technology that currently operate exclusively with Russian-made fuel elements. Péter Szijjártó emphasized that this would have a price-driving effect that would put the European economy in an even more difficult position than it is now.
Today, we pay two to three times as much for electricity and four to five times as much for natural gas in Europe as in the United States or China.
It is clearly impossible to build a competitive economy this way. This is evident in the economic performance of many European countries,” he underlined.
“However, the Hungarian people have the opportunity to say no to this. The Hungarian people have the opportunity to put a stop to these Brussels plans. The Hungarian people can do this by participating in Voks 2025,“ he said, referring to the referendum on Ukraine’s EU membership. ”That is why I am asking everyone to express their opinion on whether Ukraine should become a member of the European Union. It is time to stop this Brussels plan, which wants to support Ukraine while increasing the utility costs of Hungarian families several times over,” he added.
The Minister pointed out that
Brussels has unfortunately decided that it wants to support Ukraine even if it means destroying the European economy and imposing further hardships on European families.
He added that the suspension of natural gas and oil supplies from Russia would lead to even more brutal energy price increases across the continent. “If Brussels really does turn off the gas tap from Russia, if Brussels makes oil deliveries from Russia impossible, if Brussels bans the delivery of nuclear fuel from Russia, then it will achieve that Hungarian families’ electricity bills will double and their gas bills will more than triple,” he emphasized. “The average monthly electricity bill of 7,000 forints (17.30 euros) would increase to at least 14,000 forints (24.60 euros) for Hungarian families, and the average monthly gas bill of 16,000 forints (39.56 euros) would rise to 54,000 forints (133.52 euros) in the future if Brussels’ plan were to be implemented,” the Foreign Minister summarized.
According to the latest research by think tank Századvég,
22 percent of Europeans are unable to heat their homes adequately, and 26 percent have been unable to pay their utility bills in the past year due to a lack of funds.
Thanks to utility bill cuts, Hungary has the lowest rates for both indicators among EU Member States. However, Brussels’ plan to ban Russian energy would jeopardize the program, which would have serious social consequences.
They pointed out that Brussels’ plan would significantly increase energy prices on the stock market and make it much more difficult for Member States to implement residential tariff support programs. The move would have disastrous social consequences, as the European Union is already struggling with serious energy poverty problems even with current prices and support programs.
New findings from the think tank’s Europe Project research show that more than a fifth of EU citizens are unable to heat their homes adequately, more than three times the 6.9% recorded before the energy crisis and the war, meaning that the number of energy-poor Europeans has increased by more than 65 million in four years. Payment arrears caused problems for an even wider section of the population: according to the survey results,
one in four Europeans had been unable to pay their utility bills on time at least once in the past year, adding that the rate had almost quadrupled since 2021.
The analysis shows that differences between EU Member States highlight that high relative average incomes do not necessarily provide protection against the spread of energy poverty, as sudden, drastic tariff increases can pose serious existential challenges for broad sections of society even in high-income countries.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Pixabay
