Hungary Loses €10 Bln Due to EU Sanctions Against Russia

By Staff, Agencies

Hungary has lost €10 billion this year due to EU sanctions against Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

The premier was speaking at a meeting of the Permanent Hungarian Conference - an organization created to strengthen ties between Hungarians at home and abroad.

He noted that the botched sanctions of Brussels "have resulted in skyrocketing energy prices, creation of a €10 bln annual deficit in Hungary’s economy." The government hopes that the country's economy will "swallow" some €6 billion of that deficit, but the budget will be left with a €4 billion "hole."

Orban noted that this sum "will be missing from social spending, wages hikes and tax cuts."

"From that point of view, Hungary’s policy demanding a review of the sanctions does not seem at all over the top," he said.

The premier did not explain what calculations resulted in the loss of €10 billion. However, earlier Orban and members of his cabinet stated that if Hungary spent €10 billion on energy imports last year, then this year these costs could increase to €17 billion, and next year they could double.