Nagy said the probe would include test purchases.

The government capped prices of petrol and diesel at HUF 595 and HUF 615/liter, respectively, from midnight on Monday. Only private individuals, businesses, hauliers and farmers operating vehicles with Hungarian number plates are eligible to pay the regulated price.

Kovacs: Fuel price caps create predictable environment

The protected price of fuels creates the conditions for Hungarian businesses to continue their activities in a predictable environment, the state secretary for communication and international relations said on Wednesday on the Truth Hour podcast.

Zoltan Kovacs added that when Prime Minister Viktor Orban convened the relevant forums, it had been clear that preparations had to be made for a protracted issue that could take "weeks or months to return to normal."

Europe's decision to move away from Russian oil was "a political decision that we do not need the cheap, readily available Russian energy" at a time when the Iran conflict caused energy prices to rise by 50 percent in Europe and double in Asia, Kovacs said.
 

"We are saying that sanctions on oil and gas supplies must be ended... We need to sit down with the Russians to negotiate, because that is where energy resources are available."

Regarding the Ukrainian cash and gold transport halted in Hungary last week, Kovacs said: "We have every right to investigate what exactly is going on behind the scenes," even by granting additional powers to the national tax authority or other investigative authorities. "No compromises can be made when it comes to protecting our national sovereignty."
 

He said the transport of such vast sums raised questions. "Tisza party leaders earlier said the party needed 10-20 billion forints [EUR 26-52m] to counter the so-called excessive power of Fidesz. The national security services presented evidence to parliament's national security committee, proving how Ukraine is financing the party through various means," he insisted.

On the matter of the upcoming election, Kovacs said Fidesz will "start a new phase next week, with the prime minister and all leading politicians taking to the streets to explain the context of everything we are facing."

He called on people to attend the Peace March starting at 11am on March 15 and listen to the prime minister's speech from 1pm, "because the stakes have never been higher than that of our decision" at the April 12 election.

Motor fuel sellers seek changes to allow price caps at unattended stations

Motor fuel sellers associations have asked the Energy Ministry to amend regulations to allow recently introduced price caps on petrol and diesel at unattended stations, state secretary Attila Steiner said on social media on Wednesday.

The ministry is cooperating with the National Economy Ministry to find a solution, Steiner said.
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com
 

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