Parliament’s Sustainable Development Committee approved the appointment of László Palkovics as Minister for Innovation and Technology by 7 votes to 2 at its session on Monday.

At the hearing prior to his appointment, the candidate for Minister told the Committee that the Ministry for Innovation and Technology was being established to meet technological challenges. This ministerial structure is necessary because continuously changing environmental challenges can only be handled in an integrated manner, he pointed out. Among the fields that will fall under the scope of competence of the new Ministry, Mr. Palkovics listed energy and climate policy, info-communications, transport and sustainability.

At the Committee meeting, Mr. Palkovics presented the Ministers of State he has invited to join the new Ministry. Péter Cseresznyés will be occupying the post of Parliamentary State Secretary, László György will be heading the State Secretariat for Economic Planning and Regulation, Balázs Weingartner will be responsible for sustainability, László Mosóczi for transport policy and Ákos Kara will continue to be in charge of info-communications. The State Secretariat for Energy and Climate Policy will be headed by Péter Kaderják.

Mr. Palkovics also reported on the fact that vocational training and adult education will also fall under the supervision of the new Ministry in future. These fields used to be supervised by the Ministry for National Economy, he added.

The tasks of the Ministry will also include the development of the rail and road transport network, assuring Hungary’s energy supply and preparing the National Climate Protection Strategy to be placed before Parliament, as well as waste management.

Mr. Palkovics noted that the Ministry will be working to assure that passenger and freight transport is suitably quick, comfortable and competitive, in addition to which major emphasis will also be placed on expanding the country’s network of cycling paths.

In reply to a question, Mr. Palkovics said the M1 motorway was under the greatest strain, and must be refurbished in the interests of improving the situation, following which it must also be widened. He added that a budget of 500 billion forints (EUR 1.6bn) is available for the development of the secondary road network, and the regions and settlements that are to be developed of their roads must be chosen based on a broad social consensus, he added.

According to the new Minister, it must be examined what type of energy use, be it wind or solar energy, provides a better return for the country. The country must use several different energy sources in the interests of energy security, he stressed, adding that the foundations of Hungary’s electricity supply is provided by the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.

According to Mr. Palkovics, the development of the Budapest-Belgrade railways line will enable Hungary to link to a major international rail transport system.

In reply to a question on whether the new Ministry was planning any changes to the existing public services system for waste management, Mr. Palkovics said it was no accident that he had invited the President and CEO of the National Waste Management Coordination and Asset Management Company, Balázs Weingartner, to head the State Secretariat for Sustainability, in view of the fact that he has expert knowledge with relation to the system’s shortcomings.

(kormany.hu/MTI)