Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told public radio on Friday that Hungary is still able to maintain the caps on utility fees. “Prices are not breaking loose, families will remain protected up to average consumption and the government aims to also help SMEs,” he added.
The prime minister said passes were being introduced in all counties nationwide, so support was being shared around equally, and what has only been available in Budapest so far will also be granted to people outside the capital. The government will try to maintain family protection measures despite the war most likely not coming to an end this year, PM Orbán said. The price of energy purchased from Russia is affected by a delay, with both price cuts and price increases appearing a couple of months later, he said. What’s most important is that there will be enough energy available when the heating season begins and this will be achieved by topping up storage facilities, he added. Meanwhile, the prime minister said nine countries headed by Germany were currently publishing a new initiative aimed at deviating from the EU basic treaty and preventing member states from pursuing an independent foreign policy. If a two-thirds majority of the EU makes a certain decision then no member state will be allowed to act differently, he said. “This means that independent Hungarian foreign policy will cease to exist,” he added. “Attempts are being made in the whole of the Western world to restrict the independence, powers and sovereignty of countries and to take more and more out of their hands,” he said. This is a breaking point because “we believe in the Europe of nations”, PM Orbán said. “The only cure is if nations get strengthened, which is the basis for Western culture, and it’s what made the West great, but the globalists are trying to eliminate nations,” he added. All nations must be cautious, especially a small one like Hungary and “if we don’t want to be trampled, we must insist on the concept of the Europe of nations”, he said.