Orban urged Hungarians to speak out about sanctions to stop price rises

BUDAPEST, September 28 — PRIME. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on all citizens of the country to express their opinion on the sanctions during the national consultation and thus “put an end” to the increase in energy prices caused by sanctions imposed by Brussels on EU member states.

“Brussels imposed energy sanctions on EU member states, and since then, energy prices have skyrocketed … Now every European citizen pays half the sanctions price for energy. The government today at a meeting accepted the initiative of the Fidesz faction, we are launching a national consultation on the issue I ask everyone to express their opinion, because only by joint efforts can we put an end to the rise in energy prices,” Orban said, his speech was broadcast on social networks.

Earlier, Orban said that Hungary was the first in Europe to launch national consultations to find out the opinion of citizens on EU sanctions against Russia.

He also claimed that 11,000 sanctions were imposed against Russia, but they were unsuccessful, and the resulting inflation and energy shortages could bring Europe to its knees. According to him, Europe needs to change its sanctions policy, because otherwise the situation will be difficult, the continent itself makes its own life more expensive and complicates the situation of its own industry. The Hungarian prime minister considers the sanctions “extraordinary” because they are imposed by “energy dwarfs against the energy giant.”

His political adviser Balazs Orban said that the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia did not live up to expectations, therefore, they are likely to be revised in the new political season. The representative of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Tamas Menzer, also said that a revision of the EU sanctions policy can be expected in the fall, since with the onset of cold weather, “reality is knocking on every door” in Western Europe.

Hungarian government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirayi said that the EU sanctions are a weapon that fired in the opposite direction, as a result of which Europe became poorer and Russia richer. According to a poll by the public opinion research center Szazadveg, more than 70% of Hungarians believe that anti-Russian sanctions harm Europe, including Hungary. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said the EU sanctions strategy had “completely failed”.