BUDAPEST, November 15. /TASS/. The European Union should overhaul sanctions against Russia as they cause a rise in energy prices and undermine Europe’s competitiveness, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the Kossuth radio station.
EU leaders adopted a declaration on Europe’s competitiveness at an informal summit in Budapest on November 8, he noted. The document is aimed at a decline in prices for oil, gas and electricity among other things. "Energy prices should be lowered at every possible way. This means that sanctions [against Russia] should be overhauled because with the current sanctions policy energy prices will not go down," the prime minister said.
Industrial companies in EU countries pay for gas and electricity several times higher than their main competitors in the US and China, Orban noted, adding that this undermines the EU’s competitiveness.
Hungary’s government has been consistently opposing sanctions against Moscow imposed by the EU due to the conflict in Ukraine, emphasizing that the restrictions have done more harm to the economy of Europe itself.