The European Union Expected To Reconsider Sanctions Against Russia To Reshuffle Energy Costs

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban. (Wikimedia Commons/Vlada Republie Slovenije/Bor Slana)

JAKARTA - The European Union needs to reconsider sanctions against Russia, as that keeps energy prices high, thus hampering the block's economic competitiveness, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

EU leaders signed a declaration of competitiveness at their informal summit last week.

"Energy prices need to be lowered at all costs. This means sanctions need to be reconsidered because under current sanctions policies, energy prices will not fall," PM Orban said in an interview on Hungarian public radio.

PM Orban said US companies paid a quarter of the amount their European counterparts spent on gas and electricity, a loss that could not be overcome in other ways.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, PM Orban has emerged as a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Moscow, as well as the block's financial and military support for its neighbors.

It is known, while countries in Western Europe have made serious efforts to stop their dependence on Russia's energy, mainland-locked Hungary acquired 80-85 percent of its gas from Russia, while 80 percent of its crude oil supply also came from Moscow.