Palkovics: EU needs access to affordable energy

The EU is working on two packages aimed at making the bloc independent of Russian energy and ensuring energy availability, Laszlo Palkovics told Hungarian reporters during a break in a meeting with EU energy ministers in Luxembourg.

Neither plan is cheap or feasible in the short term, but the Russia-Ukraine war has shone a new light on the issue of European energy supply, Palkovics said. The war has thrown not just the EU’s ambitious climate protection packages into doubt but also the accessibility of any form of energy in Europe, the minister said. Energy prices are at an all-time high, and any kind of problem raises serious questions with regard to energy security, he warned.

Palkovics said the increase of energy efficiency would have the quickest effect in Europe. The reason why Hungary approved raising the original target figures for reducing energy consumption is because “the best energy is that which we don’t consume,” he added. The minister said energy efficiency in Hungary was also linked to the government’s cap on household utility bills.

Meanwhile, Palkovics said renewable energy was not only affordable but also contributed to environmental greening and Europe’s energy independence.