Palkovics calls on EU to compensate households for growing emission costs

Speaking after a meeting of EU environment ministers in Luxembourg, Palkovics told MTI over the phone that households could not be burdened with higher energy costs without compensation.

The EU is mulling to expand its emissions trading system, which determines the maximum annual greenhouse gases for member states, to include emissions by households and vehicles.

Meanwhile, “certain member states” are pushing to slash the European Social Fund, which could compensate households, from 59 billion euros to 41 billion, he said. Such a step would also threaten to curb the 2.7 billion euros Hungary is receiving from the fund during a six-year cycle, he said.

The minister called on the EU to keep the fund at the current level to ensure the compensation of households.

The EU’s Fit for 55 package for green transition aims to reduce greenhouse emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, Palkovics noted. Curbing emissions from households and vehicles is key to that process, Palkovics said, but the ministers decided to postpone the introduction of regulations on the matter until 2027, he said.

“We can’t introduce such regulations in the current energy situation,” he said. Should the regulation come into effect in 2027, Hungarians can be compensated fully from the Social Fund, and “Hungarian utility price caps are not threatened”, Palkovics said.