One of the tasks of the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister is to find points of agreement with electors on issues that the government deems important, in the fields of employment, family support and illegal immigration, Antal Rogán, ministerial candidate to head the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister said at the founding meeting of Parliament’s Economic Committee on Monday.

At the hearing held before his appointment as minister, Mr Rogán highlighted the government continues to make every effort to provide jobs for everyone, instead of benefits, and to extend the tax benefits of families as well as the benefits of those raising children.

The ministerial candidate also said that the government will take action for the preparation of the Stop Soros legislative package and the attached constitutional amendment in the coming weeks so that the government can discuss them at its first meeting to be held on 23 May, and also so that the parliamentary debate of the bills can begin at the beginning of June.

He said the Ministry will operate with a small staff during the new term and is planning to maintain effective cooperation with the government’s other organisational units. In addition to supporting the Prime Minister’s work and political coordination, the Ministry will also be given economic responsibilities.

He highlighted that during the new term of government, as a ministry that will also be responsible for tourism, they will particularly focus on supporting small and medium-sized businesses active in the sector, and they will therefore increase the allocation of the accommodation development grants of guesthouses by HUF 15 billion. He stressed that the framework has been created for the supervision of tourism by the state and the relevant development programmes have been completed; their implementation can now begin. According to the government’s plans, by 2030 the contribution of tourism to GDP will increase from 10 per cent to 16 per cent, while the number of employees working in tourism may increase by 100,000 to 450,000. He observed that the figures testifying to the strengthening of the sector – the rise in the number of guests and guest nights as well as in revenues derived from accommodation services – have exceeded the corresponding Czech and Austrian values also to date.

From among his Ministry’s responsibilities, Mr Rogán referred to modern electronic public administration as a competitiveness factor and therefore urged the development of user-friendly conditions. He highlighted, inter alia, the significance of trust services, and said the state must guarantee the possibility of platform-independent digital identification. He added that the Cabinet Office will cooperate with other ministries in the development of competitive and customer-friendly services, including cooperation with the Ministry of Human Capacities, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

In his answer to the questions of committee members, Mr Rogán pointed out that since 2010 real earnings had increased at twice the rate previously experienced, and any further pay rises must be planned in harmony with the opportunities the economy has to offer. He said it is important to lessen the impact of seasonality in tourism also on account of employment considerations as workers prefer permanent job opportunities.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)