Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister's Office, has revealed that the Hungarian government is setting up an independent energy ministry, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has tapped economist Csaba Lantos as minister.
At the same time, PM Orbán accepted the resignation of incumbent technology and industry minister László Palkovics, Gulyás said. The technology and industry ministry will be dissolved, and its tasks will be taken over by the ministries of economy, construction and investment, and culture and innovation, Gulyás said. Thanking Palkovics for his work, Gulyás said the outgoing minister will not take on another role in government but help its work in the areas of higher education, vehicle innovation and the defence industry. Parliamentary committees will hear Lantos in the coming two weeks, and he is expected to enter office on Dec. 1, Gulyás said. The government is not planning further reshuffles, he added. The upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant will not be under the new minister’s purview, due to a European Commission requirement that it should be supervised separately from energy provider MVM, Gulyás said. At the same time, responsibility for energy safety and energy security will rest on the minister’s shoulders, he added.