The year 2016 was an extremely successful year in terms of EU developments: a higher sum of grants was successfully paid to applicants than at any time before.
Minister of State for Financial Affairs Ágnes Hornung said that Hungary’s economic outlook was promising, stressing that GDP growth is expected to exceed 2 percent this year despite the lower volume of EU funding absorbed by the economy.
“2017 will be about tax cuts, pay rises and increased support for families, while we must also apply all possible instruments to increase Hungary’s and Europe’s security”, Parliamentary State Secretary Csaba Dömötör from the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister emphasised at his press conference on the last day of the year.
The government debt-to-GDP ratio may decline this year and next, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a press conference held jointly with Government Debt Management Agency (ÁKK) CEO György Barcza.
Bertalan Havasi, Head of the Prime Minister’s Press Office, has informed kormany.hu that “In a letter of condolence to Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yildirim, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conveyed his sympathies to the families of the victims of the Istanbul terrorist attack, and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured”.
In an interview for the Mediaworks group of regional newspapers published on Saturday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared that “Hungary is an island of stability in a troubled Western world”, adding that “our goal is to make Hungary a winning country”.
According to the Prime Minister’s Chief Security Advisor, the European Union is continuing to work on unifying new refugee procedures and the quota system, and this clearly indicates that the EU has difficulty learning and drawing conclusions.
“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has personally informed President of the Republic János Áder that Fidesz has once again nominated him for the post of Head of State”, the Prime Minister’s Press Chief told kormany.hu on Friday.
“The secret services are overworked and are having to monitor too many people who pose a danger to national security, and this could also have played a role in Monday evening’s attack in Berlin”, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said on M1 Hungarian television’s Friday evening current affairs programme.
Hungarian police officers who have been on tours of duty in Serbia and Macedonia have returned home. The contingent was received by Chief Police Commissioner Károly Papp on Friday in Budapest.