The Hungarian Government conducted a dialogue with some 1.7 million people, this is how many people were successfully involved in the process of governance, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said in evaluation of the recently closed national consultation at the press conference Governmentinfo 90 which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács. Mr Lázár also refuted in the name of every Hungarian the statement made by Hungarian-born American businessman György Soros in Brussels on Thursday because in his view it is unfair on Hungary, and seriously distorts the truth.
Mr Lázár said: the people who took part in the consultation stand up for the fence, the legal border closure, low energy prices and the principle that the Hungarian Parliament should have the right to say how much people should pay in taxes, how much money should be provided in the form of social benefits, how much should be paid in job protection and creation grants, and how much electricity and gas should cost.
He indicated that they wish to maintain this dialogue as there are a number of issues lying before the Government, including the infringement procedure instituted against Hungary on account of the fence.
Instead of recognising Hungary’s efforts made in the interest of protecting Europe, the European Commission attacks Hungary, and those who failed to meet their obligations and failed to protect Europe’s borders receive a pat on the head, he stressed. He reiterated that far more people took part in the present consultation compared with the earlier ones.
He also remarked that this number, 1.68 million „extends far beyond” the 2014 election results of some parties when 1.4 million people voted for the left-wing parties in total, and almost one million people for Jobbik.
Mr Lázár spoke about the news reports to the effect that, based on a German proposal, access to grants from the cohesion funds would be tied to requirements relating to the rule of law during the next EU fiscal cycle. Germany is one of the greatest beneficiaries of these funds, and they committed the most serious constitutional violation by having let in millions of migrants into their territory in 2015, thereby breaching the European border control regulations, he added. In his view, the protection of the borders is one of the most important criteria of the rule of law.
A debate on this would be pointless and extremely harmful for Western-Europe, rather than for Central-Europe, he stressed. If they look at the observance of various obligations and laws, they will find that a number of Western-European countries fail to comply with the laws of the EU, while Eastern-Central-Europe fundamentally observes them, he said, indicating that, in his view, this requirement could hardly be a genuine challenge for Hungary.
Mr Lázár further indicated that as of the summer, Hungary will take over the Presidency of the Visegrád countries, and it has a great many proposals regarding the more just, bureaucracy-free and transparent utilisation of funds.
He told the press that at last week’s NATO summit, there was a dispute between the Member States of the EU, the United States and Hungary on account of terrorism. The Americans and Hungary take the view that there is a connection between terrorism and immigration, while quite a few EU Member States are not prepared to acknowledge this, he stressed.
He also reported that Hungary had turned to the European Council, the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and NATO on account of the fact that in a former resolution, the European Parliament unprecedentedly sided with Ahmed H., a person who perpetrated an act of terrorism.
In answer to a question, he said: if they were to oblige us to take part in the mandatory resettlement quotas, Hungary would only be able to do so by using the transit zone for the purpose. He further highlighted that they would only build a fence on the Hungarian-Romanian border section due to illegal immigrants in a worst-case scenario, as a last resort. There is no need for this at this point in time, he added.
János Lázár refutes Soros’s Brussels statement in the name of every Hungarian
György Soros claimed no less in Brussels than that there is a mafia state in operation in Hungary, the Minister said, who refuted this allegation in the name of every Hungarian.
It is not the Hungarian State, but “the organisations funded by György Soros” which have failed to comply with the laws of Hungary in recent years, and have shied away from transparency and publicity, Mr Lázár said, who pointed out that it is not the Hungarian State, but these organisations that have operated in a mafia-like manner.
He said in response to György Soros’s comments concerning the EU: the EU is in need of change indeed, but that should not be dictated by financial speculators.
The politician further confirmed that the Government has sent its reply to the questions of the European Commission regarding the CEU. In his view, however, the Brussels body’s questions were more of a political than a legal nature. The Government will discuss the latest developments related to the CEU next week, he said, indicating repeatedly that they are prepared to engage in talks.
Funds to be reallocated to family support, infrastructure development and tourism
Funds will be reallocated in the proposed bill on next year’s budget, on which Parliament will vote in mid-June, to the programme which seeks to boost the number of child births, public infrastructure developments connected to the Paks atomic power station project and tourism, Mr Lázár said.
The total sum of the fiscal reallocation proposed by the Government is HUF 98 billion, and is to be covered from tax revenues which are planned to be this much higher, he told the press.
These funds would be used for family support, the boosting of child births, as the goal of the Government is for every family to have more than two children on average by 2030. As part of the action plan, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced a week ago, a part of the mortgage debts of families raising three or more children will be cancelled, for the purposes of which they are allocating HUF 10 billion next year. Additionally, they are planning to use HUF 1 billion for the reduction of student loans, HUF 3.5 billion for the crèche extension programme, and HUF 600 million for baby bonds which will now also be available to Hungarian children born abroad. They are allocating HUF 3 billion for the year of families promotional programme, the Minister detailed.
Additionally, HUF 20 billion has been allocated for public infrastructure developments related to the Paks enlargement project, including the preparations for the construction of the Danube bridge at Kalocsa, and housing and road construction projects, and a sum of HUF 16.4 billion would be assigned in the proposed budget for tourism purposes. They will further support the Order of Prémontré and the Cistercians, he said.
Mr Lázár commented as follows on the recently released economic data, including Hungary’s economic growth rate in excess of 4 per cent: the Hungarian economy is stable, is on a balanced course, and this economic growth rate is an important station in the development of the country.
The three main elements of this expansion are the 7.8 per cent growth of industrial output in the first quarter, the 25 per cent „jump” of the construction industry, and the wage agreement, he listed.
The economy has gained impetus in Hungary, he continued, a number of Hungarian and foreign businesses are enlarging their capacity. He highlighted the rise in the construction of new housing as well as the ongoing increase in real wages and retail sales, also stressing: families have received tax and contribution benefits worth HUF 1,550 billion since 2010.
Case of metro line 4 is most serious case of corruption
Mr Lázár also spoke about the OLAF investigations regarding the transparency of EU funds. In this context, he drew attention to the fact that, compared with the European average, “there are twice as many people filing reports” in Hungary. He pointed out at the same time: the EU’s anti-fraud office closed its investigations and found errors in 13 cases last year out of the 41 thousand grant agreements, and the organisation’s findings concerned 4 per cent of the EU grants. He remarked: according to OLAF, the case of metro line 4 has been the most serious case of corruption in Hungary in recent years.
In answer to a question related to the refurbishment of metro line 3, the Minister said: at the capital’s request, the Government provided funds worth HUF 137.5 billion which the EU approved “with a one hundred per cent grant intensity”. It later transpired, however, he continued, that even the cheapest public procurement bid exceeded that sum, and following this, even in response to a call for proposals with a reduced technical content, proposals were received in excess of the sum of HUF 137.5 billion. At the same time, the Government can hardly provide “funding in excess of 100 per cent” because the EU does not consent to this, he said. He told the press: they are expecting Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós at the cabinet meeting to be held next Wednesday to update members of the Government regarding the status of the metro line.
Regarding the pay demands of the workers of the Hungarian State Treasury, Mr Lázár said, on the one hand, that strikes are not allowed in ministries, and on the other hand that there will be no pay rise in central public administration.
Government would like to see improved housing circumstances
In answer to a question to the effect that, according to news reports, the Government would pull down the upper floors of breezeblock apartment buildings, the Minister said: the Government does not wish to demolish a single building. They would merely like to see housing conditions improve as the life cycle of breezeblock apartment buildings and the so-called „Kádár blocks” has come to an end. According to the politician, a governmental programme would be required for the reconstruction of the latter, and a solution should also be found to improving the quality of life of those living in breezeblock housing as due to the climate change life is becoming unbearable in these buildings in the summer. They should consider providing support for those who are prepared to move out of breezeblock apartment buildings, and the remaining homes must be made liveable, he said, stressing that a solution must be found together with the residential communities concerned.
Regarding the partial demolition of breezeblock apartment buildings, he said: it only emerged as an idea that those who agree to the demolition of their breezeblock apartments would be given support for moving to suburban green areas. He remarked: the Hódmezővásárhely municipality raised the idea that a pilot project involving 60 apartments should be conducted in the city. If Fidesz remains in government also in the next four years, helping those living in breezeblock housing should be elevated to a programme, he said in summary.
Regarding the plan of a mandatory service charge, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said repeatedly that he does not agree with the idea because, in his view, that would be a simple price increase. He added that the reduction of VAT on restaurant services may help restaurant owners raise the wages of waiters.
He said concerning the protest of ambulance workers: he does not believe that it has any realistic foundations as their salaries are being increased significantly, by 80 per cent in total over the course of five years.
In answer to the question as to whether he would agree to become Minister once again, Mr Lázár said: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s request made in 2014 extended to 2018, and he is therefore planning to continue as Minister until then.
Disbursement of rural development grants to be accelerated
He said that area-based grants will be paid to 120 thousand individuals by the end of June, and they will accelerate the disbursement of rural development grants.
He informed the press that they will convene the 23 county-ranked cities participating in the Modern Cities Programme in September and will inform them about the status of the programme.
In the context of the amendment of the education laws, Mr Lázár said that they concern children with integration problems and disorders. There was a long professional consultation regarding the amendment, and according to the Ministry, it will be an incentive for these children if they, too, receive grades, he said, indicating that this is an education technical debate.
In answer to a question relating to the companies which operate the Buda Castle, he said that there was no investigation of any kind regarding these companies, there is merely a due diligence procedure extending to 30 June because there are plans for mergers in the company structure, and they would like to delegate further functions in the magnitude of tens of billions of forints to them. In his view, Deputy State Secretary Csaba Gyutai, former Mayor of Zalaegerszeg, who heads the two companies, is doing a good job and resolves the problems that emerge. They are currently looking into the regularity of his activities. In response to the question as to whether Csaba Gyutai may be found in any way responsible, Mr Lázár said: only László L. Simon could owe responsibility, but he is no longer a Minister of State.
The Minister denied news reports to the effect that the planned pedestrian-cycling bridge would not be completed by the summer World Aquatics Championships. The costs of the project will likewise not increase substantially, he added.
(MTI)
