The Hungarian government wants to maintain the price cap for petrol and diesel at the country’s filling stations, while at the same time preventing fuel tourism from neighboring countries. For this reason, the official lower prices are now only valid for drivers with Hungarian number plates. However, the implementation and control of the license plates is a tough test for many leaseholders of petrol stations.
The president of the association, Gabor Egri, raises the issue that according to the decree, the prices quoted by the main indicators should reflect the capped prices for Hungarian motor vehicle owners. Once you fill up, you have to pay the “correct” price – for foreigners the current market price, for Hungarian vehicles it is 480 forints per liter (about 1.24 euros). However, from the point of view of the Consumer Protection Act, such confusion among customers is not allowed, according to Egri.
Conflicts with drivers inevitable
The check, if it is not clear whether the vehicle was registered in Hungary, presents the tenants of the service station with difficult and unpleasant tasks. Because in this case, the employees have to use the registration documents. Conflicts with drivers are inevitable.
One possibility would be to check the license plates or vehicle registration documents before driving to the gas stations. Ideally, however, barriers should be erected, according to the association president, who also finds this impractical. After all, this would greatly extend the refueling time and the queues at the petrol pumps would also increase enormously.
Cabinet expects ‘discussion with Brussels’
The Hungarian government is well aware that there are also problems at EU level. Rogan Antal, chief of staff to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, admitted on television on Thursday evening that the new price regulation would lead to “discussions with Brussels”. The reason: the different treatment of nationals and citizens of other EU countries could violate the prohibition of discrimination. Incidentally, the official price does not only apply to Hungarian drivers, but according to the government decision also to foreign drivers in whose countries comparable price ceilings also apply.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
