The Transport Ministers of the Visegrád Countries and Austria, Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič and EU Commissioner for Transport and Mobility Violeta Bulc attended the Bratislava Meeting on 26 March, 2015. The discussion held on board a train to Zilina focused on the work plans for the transport corridors affecting V4 countries, the efficient utilisation of CEF funds and the investment stimulation programme of the Juncker-package.
The Hungarian Government pays close attention to the situation of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, and makes every effort to ensure that they feel safe in their native land. This was among the topics of the meeting of László Zubánics, President of the Hungarian Democratic Alliance in Ukraine and Árpád János Potápi, State Secretary for National Policy.
State Secretary for National Policy Árpád János Potápi received the leaders of the Democratic Community of Hungarians in Croatia (HMDK), President Sándor Jakab and Executive Chair Róbert Jankovics in his office on Thursday.
The number of people in employment continued to rise, according to the latest report of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH). In December 2014-February 2015, the number of those in employment aged 15-74 years increased year-on-year by 111 thousand, to 4 million 124 thousand. Thus, the number of people with a job has been above the 4 million mark for more than one year and unemployment also fell in the observed period.
The key to European competitiveness is that the EU-level alliance be further consolidated by bilateral relations between nations, too, Minister of National Development Miklós Seszták said at a business forum held for Italian and Hungarian construction companies in Budapest.
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár and Minister of State for Government Communication András Giró-Szász have announced that from 26 March, regular press conferences will be held on Thursdays following cabinet meetings; in these press conferences the public will be informed of the Government’s decisions.
Compared to 2012, the amount of EU funds disbursed has doubled: in 2014 HUF 1 840 billion was disbursed. For this year, the Government is working with a figure of HUF 2 263 billion, so that Hungary will not waste a single forint of the EU funds available in the budgetary cycle ending this year.
Deputy State Secretary for Taxation and Accounting Zoltán Pankucsi asked for zero tolerance at the plenary session of the European Audit Inspection Group (EAIG) held in Budapest. He stressed that the supervisory authorities of the twenty-eight EU member states must take a firm stance against negligent auditors or those involved in fraud.
Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said that cutting government debt and improving employment are the two main objectives of Hungarian economic policy.
In a letter addressed to the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, explaining why he will not accept the invitation to appear at a sitting of the committee, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that “I regard as absurd and ridiculous such political attacks and provocations, which seek to falsify the past and which ignore self-evident and documented facts.”