European Commission Once Again Targets Hungarians’ Wallets

Brussels has already threatened Hungary and Slovakia, arguing that their differentiated pricing violates EU law. The European Commission has therefore called on both countries to abolish protected pricing.

Photo: POOL/John Thys

According to calculations by the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, European governments have allocated more than ten billion euros to fiscal measures, including reductions in fuel taxes, to ease the impact of the war on energy bills.

In Slovakia, drivers of cars registered abroad pay a regulated diesel price that is fixed weekly and follows prices in neighboring countries, while drivers of cars registered in Slovakia benefit from a lower price, the Commission said.

Slovakia introduced these measures at the end of March, and Prime Minister Robert Fico described them as “positive discrimination” against fuel tourists, especially those coming from Poland. “We reached a situation where dozens of petrol stations in northern Slovakia were literally emptied, as prices there were lower than in Poland,” Fico said at the time.

In Hungary, the pricing system is reversed: local drivers benefit from a fixed price cap, while drivers of foreign vehicles pay a higher market price, according to the Commission’s statement. 

The European Commission’s demands came just as Peter Magyar traveled to Brussels to meet Ursula von der Leyen to discuss unlocking funds earmarked for Hungary. “Regulated pricing for both diesel and petrol will remain in place even after the new government is formed, and this will not place an additional burden on the Hungarian budget,” Magyar said earlier at a press conference.

Although the European Commission is seeking to pressure the two governments into rolling back these measures, Poland has recently indicated that, in order to curb fuel tourism, Warsaw may also introduce restrictive measures for vehicles with foreign license plates.

Cover photo: Peter Magyar, Hungary's incoming Prime Minister, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (Photo: AFP)