Energy Policy of Hungary

In Hungary, the energy sector was modernised on the basis of public ownership after World War II. Hungary’s large, centrally controlled and vertically integrated energy systems were established at that time. Simultaneously with the regime change, western-based energy orientation also began in the energy sector and in 1990 it continued with the implementation of privatisation. Hungary’s accession to the European Union provided grounds for and reinforced the process ideologically. This was followed by full liberalisation called “market opening”. The policy of the second Fidesz government, formed in 2014, is characterised by the restoration of an energy policy serving national interests. This process is described in the article in a European perspective