In order to relieve the burden on citizens, the price brake for fuel and certain foods in Hungary is to be extended. Prime Minister Orban has now announced this.
The Hungarian government is extending the price brake for fuel and some foodstuffs until the end of the year. Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced this on his Facebook page on Saturday. The regulations would otherwise have expired at the end of the month.
In November last year, the government set the price for petrol (95 octane) and diesel at 480 forints (1.18 euros) per liter. In February, the government froze the prices of some foodstuffs, including sugar, cooking oil and chicken breast, from October last year.
The petrol price brake now only applies when refueling vehicles that are registered to domestic private individuals. Due to bottlenecks in the supply of petrol, foreigners were initially excluded from the price brake. Since the end of July, domestic vehicles owned by companies or institutions have also had to be refueled at the full market price. This is currently 32 percent higher for petrol and 57 percent higher for diesel.
The EU Commission has announced that it will review the charging of different prices for residents and drivers from other EU countries. The practice could violate the prohibition of discrimination.
The Orban government is passing on the costs of the petrol price brake primarily to retailers. While the state-affiliated mineral oil company MOL swallows the losses with its network of gas stations, independent gas station leaseholders complain that the business is no longer profitable for them. Many of them are considering throwing in the towel.
Chancellor’s Minister Gergely Gulyas told the press in Budapest on Saturday that the petrol price brake could be maintained for the next three months. “There have been minor bottlenecks before, but in the end everyone was able to refuel,” he said. (dpa)