Minister: Competitiveness Council debates new competitiveness pact

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will submit the draft to the European Council in the autumn, he said.

Cutting the red tape on companies is an essential part of the draft plan, he said.

Besides European competitiveness, the first of the two-day meeting focused on speeding up the transition to e-mobility by 2035 and issues around AI. Nagy called for a joint European strategy to speed up the transition, saying that the diverse programmes and funding in member states were hindering the process.

The government will publish an 11-point proposal package on e-mobility on Wednesday, containing points on coordinating e-car purchase subsidies, support for carmakers, development of charger infrastructure, and financing, Nagy said.

He said the current plan to phase out new cars with internal combustion engines by 2035 was “not realistic”, because the ratio of new electric vehicles remains under 15 percent.

Regarding financial resources for the programme, Nagy proposed that the cohesion funds could be channelled into it.

Meanwhile, Nagy said the EU council could decide on making tariffs on the Chinese car industry final in the autumn, “but there is no consensus among member states on this issue either”. Hungary’s government will not support “protectionist measures that would curb the reach of the market”, he added.