Quick EU decisions needed on energy independence

The European Parliament has adopted during its plenary the REPowerEU package for the EU’s energy independence. Member States will be able to spend €20 billion on energy investments of new resources and the remaining credit line from the Recovery Fund. The Hungarian Government negotiated successfully: it will receive twice as much EU funding as the Commission proposed, €700 million, for energy efficiency, increasing the share of alternative energy sources and strengthening the electricity system. Hungary will also use its uncommitted recovery credit line for these purposes, totalling more than HUF 4000 billion.

Fidesz MEP Enikő Győri said that “Hungary is working hard and in good faith to fully meet its commitments to disburse EU funds by March. I trust that the European Commission will keep its previous promises and will not impose new conditions on Hungary after the milestones have been met”. She said that “for good faith compliance, it is not enough for one party to enshrine the agreement in law, it is also important that the other does not create new obstacles. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Commission did in December”.

MEP Enikő Győri expressed her hope that with the swift assessment of the REPowerEU chapters and the disbursement of the funds, the Commission will eliminate the unequal situation currently affecting Hungary in the single market.

In his plenary speech, Fidesz MEP Andor Deli said that the REPowerEU, which is largely linked to the resources of the Recovery Instrument, is about alleviating Russia’s dependence on fossil energy. Although the tenth package of sanctions is already being negotiated, the REPowerEU is still in the planning phase. The Commission needs to move with maximum speed with regard to the assessment of Member States’ plans and payments.

MEP Andor Deli stressed that REPowerEU could help Member States to mitigate the impact of EU sanctions, but only if the European Commission disburses the funds quickly and does not turn it into a tool for new political pressure on certain Member States, such as Hungary or Poland.

Background: on 15 December 2022, the European Council formally endorsed the Hungarian Recovery and Resilience Plan. The approved plan will provide €5.811 billion in non-reimbursable aid for the measures under the plan. In addition, Hungary will have access to a loan of €9.663 billion under the instrument. The €20 billion earmarked by the European Union for REPowerEU includes an additional non-reimbursable grant of €701.56 million for Hungary.