Hungary

Budapest, September 21, 2026. As diesel prices are breaking records on both sides of the Atlantic — averaging nearly 2.41 euros per liter in France on Sunday, according to an AFP calculation based on over 8,700 service stations, and up to $6.49 per gallon in the United States according to the AAA — Hungary has chosen a different response from its European neighbors: neither generalized price capping nor reinstating the previous "protected price," but rather an automatic flat-rate aid.

Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar Péter had announced on September 11 that the government would provide compensation to diesel vehicle owners, before Parliament adopted the measure on September 15. According to Minister of Economy and Energy Kapitány István, owners of exclusively diesel cars with a maximum of 150 horsepower (110 kilowatts) will receive 20,000 forints by the end of the year, paid in four installments: September 30, October 30, November 13, and December 7. The government estimates that approximately one million motorists will be affected.

The Hungarian State Treasury (Magyar Államkincstár) will automatically transfer the funds based on data from the vehicle registry held by the tax administration (NAV), without beneficiaries having to submit an application. Those whose bank account is not known to the tax authority will receive a postal mandate. "Beneficiaries have nothing to do: they do not need to submit a request, provide an account number, or give a delivery address," the NAV specified in a statement on Monday.

According to the Prime Minister, the 20,000 forints are intended to compensate for the approximately 5,000-forint difference per fill-up between the old protected price and the current market price. The government also claims to be supporting the agricultural sector through a refund of the fuel excise tax. For Budapest, the pressure on prices — attributed to the war in the Middle East and damage to Russian refineries — directly affects the Hungarian economy, from freight to agriculture, but the official line remains to target aid rather than reinstating a national price cap, an option deemed risky in terms of budget and already a source of controversy with the European Union.