Southern Slovak gas stations were flooded with Hungarians from border regions this week as Hungary deals with fuel shortages caused by the government’s price cap.
According to local media reports, long queues have been forming outside Hungarian gas stations since the weekend, with chaos continuing on Monday and Tuesday.
Hungary’s fuel supply situation is “critical” as demand has soared and panic-buying has started, which led to shortages, Hungarian energy giant MOL said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The Hungarian government decided to cap the price of petrol and diesel at 480 forints (€1.17) a year ago a part of Viktor Orban’s measure to shield households against rising energy prices.
On Tuesday, Orban’s government scrapped the price cap, citing Brussel’s ban on Russian energy imports as the reason. MOL previously warned it “has reached the limits of its logistical capacities” to import fuel, while foreign suppliers such as Shell or OMV lowered their exports to Hungary because of the price cap.
After Orbán capped the fuel prices, Slovaks from border regions travelled to Hungary to refuel their vehicles, even taking gas canisters. Hungary later limited access to regulated prices to Hungarian license plate owners and private cars.
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Some southern Slovak cities report queues of cars with Hungarian licence plates forming at their gas stations.
Analyst Lukáš Kovanda from Czech Trinity Bank warned that if the shortage in Hungary continues, it can spill to Slovakia as well.
Meanwhile, the price of gas in Slovakia continues to fall with one litre of petrol currently costs €1.57 on average.
(Michal Hudec | EURACTIV.sk)
Source: euractiv.com
