By: V4 Agency
The main responsibility lies with Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission, because “his calculations were incorrect and the EU’s residents must now pay the extra price,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in response to a press question at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Brdo, Slovenia, on Wednesday.
The prime minister made a brief statement that the European Commission was partially to blame for recent energy price rises. Unless regulations are changed, “everyone will be put at a disadvantage”, Hungary’s news agency (MTI) quoted Mr Orban as saying.
Hungary, he added, will not be affected by the price hikes for now, given the current regime of price caps. The prime minister said that Hungary also regarded the EU Green Deal proposal, which he insisted involved an indirect tax on homeowners and car owners, as “unacceptable.”
Following the meeting in response to a question by the press, PM Orban said that the main responsibility lies with Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission in charge of the issue, because “his calculations were incorrect and the EU’s residents must now pay the extra price”.
The premier stressed that “the prices will continue to increase every day unless this foolish plan is withdrawn”. He called for the suspension of the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) and said that “we have to return to realities [on the ground].”
He reiterated that in Hungary, households will not be affected by the price hikes for now, given the current regime of price caps. However, companies, especially small and medium-sized companies, are already feeling the effects in the form of higher prices.
At their working dinner on Tuesday evening, the leaders of the EU member states also touched on rising energy prices, and the EU indicated that it would look into the issue in more detail in the coming weeks.