“The European Union must allow member states to pay over 800 thousand euros in funding out of their own budgets towards job-creating and protecting investment projects”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a video posted to his social media page on Tuesday.

Following an EU council meeting to discuss foreign trade and the foreign economy, Mr. Szijjártó said one of the topics of discussion at the meeting was the new global economic situation following the coronavirus pandemic. As he explained, a new global economic competition is certain to begin, in which the distribution of power among the participants, and the rules, will both be new. “In this new global economic competition, we can only be successful at European level if we support enterprises that realise investment projects in the interests of expanding their capacities or improving their level of technological development”, the Minister declared.

“If the European Union makes the mistake of not supporting these enterprises, then the whole of Europe could find itself at a competitive disadvantage, and it will be impossible to replace the lost workplaces”, he added. Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that the EU currently allows member states to provide a maximum of 800 thousand euros in funding towards investment projects aimed at job creation or technological modernisation.

“Hungary is exploiting the new threshold and the government is providing 50 percent funding towards the investment projects of enterprises operating here, up to a maximum of 800 thousand euros, as a result of which it is providing around 170 billion forints (EUR 494 million) in funding towards the 377 billion forints (EUR 1.095 billion) in investment being realised by 806 Hungarian enterprises, which is enabling the rescuing of over 143 thousand workplaces”, he added.

Mr. Szijjártó indicated that Hungary initiated talks with the European Commission on the raising of the 800-thousand-euro limit over one and a half months ago, but the EC has not reacted thus far. “I regard this as an astonishing mistake. Even in peacetime, it is unacceptable for a reply to such a question not to arrive within one and a half months, but this is particularly unacceptable when there is an economic emergency because of the global pandemic”, he stated.

He said that in his opinion the fact that the Commission has not reacted for over six weeks indicates “why European coordination between member states has become insignificant in many cases”. He indicated that as soon as the proposal receives the green light, Hungary will launch its new funding system.

Mr. Szijjártó said that another topic of discussion at the meeting was the extend to which Europe was vulnerable during the pandemic, with the majority of countries having to acquire the equipment necessary to protect against the virus from external sources. According to the Minister, it cannot simply be a “market economy issue” for the EU to establish capacities for the production of, amongst others, face masks, respirators and protective clothing.

As he explained, this is a strategic issue, and is necessary to assure that Europe is not as vulnerable during a possible second wave of the pandemic, or the appearance of a new epidemic.

Mr. Szijjártó also said that the EU ministers had discussed free trade agreements, and that he had called on the EU to accelerate free trade negotiations between the EU and its partners. “Hungarian enterprises are internationally competitive, and accordingly the freer international trade, the better for Hungarian enterprises”, he added.

“The coronavirus pandemic is not just a health issue, but also an economic issue, and Hungary has not only performed well with relation to health protection, but also within the field of economic protection”, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade added.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade / MTI)