31 October 2024, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó / Szijjártó Péter, stated the following at the II Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security:
For us, economic neutrality means that we do not accept excessive ideological and political considerations on issues such as energy supply because this issue in Europe has been overly ideological and politicized. And now we are paying 2-3 times more for energy. We pay 5 times higher gas prices than people living in America.
The editorial team of FactCheck.BY decided to verify this statement made by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Verdict: Mostly Incorrect
Yes, on average, the cost of natural gas for households in the EU remains higher than in the US. The highest prices are observed in Sweden and Portugal, where they exceed American prices by up to 3.675 times. However, this does not reach a level of five times.
In Hungary, the price of gas is indeed lower than in the US. At the same time, the Hungarian economy faces serious challenges, including insufficient investments and the devaluation of the national currency, which exerts pressure on the energy sector and its development.
Rating scale of verification
In the first half of 2024, the price of natural gas for households in the US was approximately $0.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). In the European Union, the average price was around €0.1125 per kWh, which is equivalent to approximately $0.12 per kWh. In some EU countries, such as Sweden, Portugal, and the Netherlands, prices reached 13.5-14.7 purchasing power standards (PPS) per 100 kWh, while in countries like Hungary, they were only 3.9 PPS per 100 kWh (Source: Natural gas price statistics). 
Natural gas prices for households in the US vary by region. In 2024, the average price for households was about $13.81 per thousand cubic feet, which is equivalent to roughly $0.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for most states. More detailed information can be found on the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) website at this link.
All prices in the table have been converted to US dollars (USD) for ease of comparison.
Additional sources of information regarding Péter Szijjártó’s statement: Szijjártó: Powerful forces in the world are working to create hegemony Hungarian Foreign Minister in Minsk called for “building bridges, not burning them”
