“Increases in the rate of marriages are particularly rare in Europe, but Hungary could prove to be an example of the fact that negative demographic trends can be reversed and that we are capable of assuring our future while relying on our own, internal resources”, State Secretary for Youth and Family Affairs Katalin Novák from the Ministry of Human Capacities said in an interview for Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet published on Saturday.

In the interview, the State Secretary declared: “The Family Protection Action Plan was one of the greatest legacies of 2019. Opportunities are opening up for young Hungarians that were not only previously unknown in Hungary, but are also a rarity internationally. The whole Family Protection Action Plan is drawing a major level of interest, and we have been able to help over one hundred thousand families with various subsidies since the programme was launched in July. The baby expecting support is clearly the most popular one, since this is a never before seen opportunity: couples who are getting ready to start a family can receive ten million forints (EUR 29.9 thousand), which they can spend on anything they like. Even if some of this funding may possibly need to be repaid eventually, their room for manoeuvre will still have increased; they are being given a chance to start out in life themselves and to become financially independent from their parents. The ‘baby shower’ subsidy takes a burden off the shoulders of young people; they don’t have to save money for years before embarking on a life together”.

The State Secretary emphasised that Hungarians are family-centric, and young people also imagine their future as a family, one of the goals of Hungarian family subsidies being precisely to enable mothers not to have to choose between family and career opportunities, but to be able to flourish in both fields if they wish.

Ms. Novák also pointed out that the “sages” of the European People’s Party had not visited Hungary, and nobody had held any investigations.

“We said from the first minute that this is a rapid decision, and this is why we suspended our membership of the European People’s Party, because we ourselves were yet to decide what political community will be working as part of”, she said. As she explained, Hungary would like to see if the EPP is capable of sticking to classical Christian democratic values in the European Parliament, or if it abandons these altogether and shifts in a pro-immigration direction.

“Fidesz represents the will of the majority of the Hungarian people; this and Hungary are what are most important to us. We are standing up in support of a Europe of nations and Christian culture, and do not support immigration. We are happy to cooperate with those who have a similarly responsible way of thinking with relation to the future of the European people. If this political community is the People’s Party, then as part of the People’s Party, but if not, then outside the EPP”, Ms. Novák stated.

As she explained, Hungary will be continuing to cooperate with its allies on an ideological basis in future. “If with the EPP then with the EPP, if with others then with others”, the State Secretary said, adding that the establishment of a new political community is also a possibility.

(MTI)