Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday defended a cap on petrol prices that the EU has described as discriminatory, saying that runaway inflation and economic fallout from the war in Ukraine justified it.
"We hope the EU sees that there is an extraordinary situation," Orban said during a radio interview.
With inflation in Hungary reaching a 20-year-high in May and the war in Ukraine impacting the country's economy, such "extraordinary measures" were necessary, the leader argued.
Orban - who imposed a state of emergency in Hungary late last month citing the challenges posed by the war - has frequently clashed with Brussels.
Orban said that without the cap - introduced last November - of 480 forints (€1.21) per litre, petrol prices would be between 700 and 800 forints, as elsewhere in Europe.
Budapest said last month that the price cap would only apply to cars with Hungarian licence plates to prevent cross-border "fuel tourism".
But "the difference in treatment seems to amount to indirect indiscrimination," Thierry Breton, the EU's internal markets commissioner, said in a letter sent to Budapest this week and seen by AFP.
Breton suggested that the measure "might constitute a violation of EU law" and lead to infringement proceedings against Hungary.
To fund a range of price caps on energy and foodstuffs, Hungary has also imposed a windfall tax on companies' "extra profits", mainly targeting the banking and energy sectors, but also airlines.
Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair has called the tax "beyond stupid" and urged Budapest to scrap it.
The tax of between €10 and €25 per departing passenger from July 1 "will irreparably damage Hungarian tourism, connectivity, traffic and jobs," it said.
On Thursday, the airline said it would charge passengers even on bookings prior to that date, and that unhappy passengers could cancel and receive a refund.
On Friday, Hungary's economic development minister, Marton Nagy said the move was "unacceptable" and the country's consumer protection watchdog would look into it.
"The government expects the extra-profit special taxes to be paid by all companies and not passed on to the population, as the price of the war should not be paid by Hungarian families," Nagy said.