Two prices for petrol (and diesel). One for locals, the other, one and a half times higher, for foreigners. It is the umpteenth possible source of conflict between the Orbán government and the EU, and on an issue somewhat close to that – the Russian oil embargo – on which the counterparties have laboriously found an agreement, convincing Budapest to make drop the veto.
In summary: for a few days, in the service stations of Debrecen or Lake Balaton, indications have appeared, often on simple paper leaflets affixed above the real “pump” with scotch, which – in Hungarian, German and English – they signal the “new” fuel price. A value, which net of daily fluctuations and tariff competition between station and station, is a third higher than that practiced until recently, 720 florins against 480, just over one euro and eighty against one and twenty-one.
But there is a catch. The government has in fact decided to reduce the price of petroleum products, but only for foreigners. The mechanism by which the new legislation will be applied is not very clear. Certainly, in “half self service” service stations, where you fill the tank yourself, only to go to pay at the cash desk, the meter runs at a price that is not discounted for everyone; when paying, however, the Hungarians get the discount by showing the license plate and / or the vehicle registration document. This is the case also presented in the news of the local websites in English, which also report the complaints, for example, of the president of the association of Hungarian independent stations, Gábor Egri, according to which the new rule is impracticable both from a strictly legal point of view – the inevitable ambiguity that would in any case lead one or the other to pay a price different from that of immediate perception, whatever the artifices chosen to explain the thing to customers, – and under the practical one – the inevitable queues in tow. What is not clear is what can happen in any 100 percent self-service stations, nor what could happen, for example, to the Italian or Austrian or German tourist who travels by Fly and drive, and shows up for petrol with a rented car. with very regular Hungarian number plates and booklet.
In effect – according to government sources – to stem another type of queue, that of the border crossers who arrive from neighboring countries, in particular from the EU, but also from Serbia, attracted by gasoline prices which, even without control, are among the lowest in Europe, that of differentiated prices between locals and foreigners charged on goods and services in some way linked to tourism has historical roots in the former communist bloc: still in the early post-perestroika years, upon leaving Prague airport, there were two rows of taxis: for the Czechs (oslovacc) hi, Lada, Moskvich and popular fares, for the Westerners, German cars of the latest generation and prices barely cheaper than those in Rome or Paris; the ticket to the Hermitage, a Russian, was charged 20 times less than a Western European guest. Certainly, times have changed now, and the geopolitical location of Budapest has also changed. Now there is the EU legislation, to prohibit each member state from any form of tariff discrimination, including that between citizens and residents of a member country and foreigners. A rule that Brussels has already reminded the Hungarian government and that should soon lead the Union to ask for the abolition of the decree. The detractors cite an illustrious precedent: that of Germany, where motorways have always been free of charge, which wanted to impose the tax – even in the form of a periodic subscription, as happens in Austria in other countries of the Central European area – but was stopped.
Budapest, for the moment, has only slightly limited the scope of the measure, also admitting Serbian and Slovenian motorists among those entitled to the reduced price. The reason given is that of reciprocity: Belgrade and Ljubljana have in turn calmed the price of petroleum products at the pump, and the rule – of course one might say – also applies to Hungarians who make gasoline there. The Hungarian government has announced that a list of countries exempted from full price will soon be released: in theory, given a similar provision by Draghi in force since March, Italians should also join the list.