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HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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15th May, 2026
Economists urge Kapitány to uncap fuel prices
Economists are asking Economy and Energy Minister István Kapitány to abolish the protected price of gasoline, warning that otherwise there will be even bigger trouble.
In an open letter, 12 economists write that the protected price sends the message that the government can stop international trends at the border.
The restrictions on fuel prices must therefore be eliminated as soon as possible, and the excise tax on petrol must be raised back to the level before the price restriction, they add.
The economists argue that the protected price encourages increased consumption of petrol and diesel oil at a time when it should be reduced.
In addition, the low fixed domestic wholesale price makes it unprofitable to import crude oil from abroad, which is why imports have largely stopped.
According to the signatories, the same danger looms again as happened in 2022: after the petrol price cap was lifted, fuel cost more than it would have if the petrol price cap had not been introduced at all.
They also point out that the subsidies overwhelmingly benefit those who do not need them at all, as the richest 10% of the country buy the most fuel, ten times as much as the poorest 10%.
Therefore, they believe that social compensation measures, as well as tax and subsidy reform, are needed instead of maintaining the protected fuel price.
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Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
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