File photo of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó
Europe is racing toward an energy crisis, and in this situation, repealing the utility bill cuts would be a tragedy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a video posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Péter Szijjártó said he would visit six locations in the countryside on Thursday. “As we head toward our first stop in Békés County (eastern Hungary), the European continent is taking giant strides toward an energy crisis, as the war in Iran shows no signs of ending or easing, and this war currently blocks 20 percent of the world’s crude oil consumption.”
He added that the Gulf War had previously blocked 5 percent of supplies, and at the same time, natural gas reserves in Europe are rapidly dwindling: today, only 9 percent of the European Union’s annual natural gas demand remains in storage facilities.
It is no coincidence that the European economy has had to endure a 60 percent rise in gas prices and a 70 percent rise in oil prices in recent weeks,
he said.
“What should be done in such a situation? We would need to increase the supply of gas and oil on the European market, but since there is neither Arab oil nor Russian oil nor Russian gas on the European market, the price hike is dramatic, and in this situation, it would have tragic consequences for Hungary, Hungarian families, and the domestic economy if the Tisza Party’s so-called energy transition plan were to come to fruition,” the minister emphasized.
He explained:
The Tisza Party was exposed a few days ago when a document was made public describing their plan to phase out Russian crude oil and Russian natural gas, thereby eliminating utility bill reductions and the protected gasoline price.
For Hungarian families, this would mean that utility bills would triple at the end of the month, and gasoline prices would rise to 1,000 forints (2.6 euros; 1 euro=385 forints); assuming two fill-ups a month at 50 liters each, this would amount to an extra 40,000 forints in fuel costs, plus tens of thousands of forints in additional utility costs each month, so the two combined would amount to 100,000 forints in extra costs for families each month if the Tisza Party were able to implement Brussels’ energy policy,” he said.
“Of course, we are working to ensure that this does not happen. This is also a key issue in the parliamentary election. It is clear that the Tisza Party will stop at nothing, as they are lobbying in Brussels for the European Commission to force the Hungarian government to abolish the protected gasoline price. This would mean an immediate increase of 1,000 forints in the price of gasoline. We cannot allow this. We are fighting for affordable energy sources, we are fighting for lower utility bills, and we are fighting for the protected gasoline price. This is also at stake in the April 12 election,” emphasized Péter Szijjártó.
Via MTI; Featured image: MTI/Kovács Márton
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