János Bóka, the minister for EU affairs, said the European Commission’s initiative is harming the bloc’s competitiveness and putting its energy security at risk.
Minister Bóka said on Facebook that together with his Slovak counterpart, they turned to the EC in a joint statement “in the interest of Hungary and Slovakia’s safe and affordable energy supply”.
Minister Bóka said that the heads of state and government of the EU had tasked the EC with aiding European citizens’ and companies’ access to safe, reliable and affordable energy, “but the Commission’s schedule for REPowerEU is the direct opposite of those aims.”
The joint statement called on the EC to prepare “thorough, country-specific impact studies on energy security, energy prices and competitiveness; to engage in consultation with the most-hit member states to identify the adequate measures to fight damaging effects; to look into ways to compensate those member states for their costs in energy diversification; and to provide financial guarantees covering possible indemnity obligations resulting from the proposed legislations,” the post said.
Minister Bóka warned that the EC’s plans were directly impacting the energy security of member states, as well as their sovereign choice of energy mix, nuclear security and energy prices.
Hungary and Slovakia stand by respecting the sovereignty and energy security of member states while implementing EU energy policies, he added.
Member states must retain the right to decide over their energy mix, resources of procurement and their diversification, he said.
Meanwhile, the signatories also warned the EC that member states’ leaders had not given it a mandate to restrict the peaceful use of nuclear energy in any way, including the imports of nuclear fuel.
