We may expect the conclusion of agreements in the next two weeks which will enable the First National Public Utility Service Provider to also start supplying electricity, in addition to gas, in the second half of the year, and consultations have likewise begun regarding district heating services, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office announced at the press conference Government Info 9, which he held jointly with Secretary of State for Government Communications András Giró-Szász.
Based on Mr Lázár’s account, in the wake of the negotiations concerning district heating services, some 90 municipal companies have been transferred to state ownership. As a result, the national public utility company will be able to supply cheap gas, electricity and district heating, he said.
The Minister also said that the planned replacement of gas meters in buildings of freehold flats may result in another reduction of household expenses.
In this context, Mr Lázár said: upon the takeover of the gas company Főgáz, it was revealed that the company – “perhaps not the only one” in Hungary – had for decades been “manipulating” gas meters by virtue of having operated larger gas meters in buildings of freehold flats than warranted, and consequently charged higher base fees.
According to the current governmental plans which apply to all universal service providers, gas companies will be required to install gas meters in each building of freehold flats, the capacity of which is adjusted to the consumption of the building, János Lázár told the press.
In the case of the wronged customers of Főgáz, the amounts to be refunded will be credited onto their accounts, the Minister said in answer to a question.
At the Wednesday cabinet meeting, the transformation of the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) was also on the agenda. This process is expected to be completed in the summer, and will result in a new corporate management structure, the streamlining of expenditures, and the cleansing of the Bank’s profile. In the future, one of the important tasks of the Bank will be the mediation of repayable EU funds, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office told members of the press, and remarked that MFB will withdraw from certain activities, and will primarily only focus on major, high-priority developments.
The state of the Hungarian Postal Service was also reviewed at the meeting of the Government held the day before, and members of the Government concluded that the postal service had improved more in the last two years than it had done in the twenty years before, Mr Lázár informed the press, and mentioned that, according to plans, the post offices will also function as customer service points for the national public utility service provider.
The Minister remarked in the context of the criticisms levelled at the public procurement bill currently before Parliament that the opposition should reason with the European Commission because the Government presented to Parliament the directives approved in Brussels. Mr Lázár added that the final vote on the bill is expected to be held in the autumn.
The Minister also told the press that the Government had reviewed at its meeting held on Wednesday the relevant chapters of the book by former US Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis. He pointed out that the Government does not assess proposals or applications but decides on the direction for developments. It is the duty of the Government to discuss the operational programmes; however, the action plans and calls for proposals drafted on the basis thereof fall within the prerogative of the Government Commission for National Development, in a procedure that is approved and monitored by the European Commission.
The actual calls for proposals are published by the competent divisions of the ministries, and upon closure, calls in excess of HUF 1 billion are returned to the Committee once more for a review. The Prime Minister does not make decisions with his Ministers, has no access to applications, and adopts his development policy decisions with a view to the funds available in the budget, the Minister highlighted, and pointed out that the awarded winners of public procurements and the beneficiaries of the EU development programmes are not the same. The beneficiaries are municipalities, the State, state agencies, universities and churches which conduct the relevant public procurement procedures independently of the Government.
The Minister also told the press that opposition parties attempt to discredit the institutions of development policy “in fabricated cases”. The reason being that the closing of the financing period between 2007-2013 is approaching, and some HUF 2,236 billion is yet to be disbursed this year which will have a decisive impact on the growth of the economy. The Minister pointed out that the payment of funds is flawless in 98% of cases, and the 2% margin of error conforms to the relevant international average.
According to the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, the decision on the integration of savings cooperatives has been justified more than expected: the Government has won this battle both before Hungarian courts and the European Commission. From among the nine savings cooperatives which decided to “opt out” of the integration, only two are still operational, Mr Lázár said. The Minister also told the press that all local savings cooperatives have been scrutinised in Hungary, and the savings of the some 1,100,000 customers are perfectly safe. He indicated that almost 30 institutions were required to boost their capital, and there were dozens among the 121 in total which would have faced the threat of bankruptcy without integration.
The Minister informed the press that savings cooperatives will offer new products on the market, including an investment fund, with state guarantee. Those who take their money to a savings cooperative tomorrow will entrust their funds to a member of an organisation which enjoys the support of the State, he explained. Mr Lázár also said that 6,000 corporate and 12,600 retail loans had been audited, and in the case of some savings cooperatives, the investigation found that the management of funds had been taken overly lightly. In these instances, the savings cooperatives concerned were required to restore the full observation of the law.
János Lázár told the press that the Government approved an IT development for savings cooperatives, the entire system will be upgraded, and the institutions will also function in the future as green and agrarian banks, on a market basis, he added.
Mr Lázár also informed the public that a state agency will purchase the areas necessary for enlarging the Miskolc, Debrecen and Pécs industrial parks, and these areas will then be handed over for management.
The salaries of administrative workers in the police force will be increased in two stages, the Minister announced.
The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said: public servants working in the police force who do not come under the effect of the police service legislation will receive a pay rise in two stages, on 1 July 2015 and 1 January 2016, at the rate of 10 per cent.
The Minister also stated that Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog was authorised at the all-day-long cabinet meeting held on Wednesday to table a proposal regarding a pay supplement for social sector workers.
Mr Lázár told the press that the Cabinet had set up a task force for the coordination of the governmental actions related to Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin.
The Minister said that the Government had reviewed the situation of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin, with special regard to the Hungarian Government’s support policy, at its meeting held the day before. In the context of the latter, the Cabinet decided that the new support system will have to focus on the raising of children and education also beyond the borders, he reiterated.
As part of the renewed support policy, the Hungarian Government looks upon the historical churches operating beyond the borders, settlements where the Hungarian community has succeeded in preserving its demographic majority, and the interest representations of businesses as priority allies of the Hungarian Government, János Lázár said.
As regards immigration, Mr Lázár reiterated, the Government has confirmed its position: this issue must be restored to national competence.
In the context of the death penalty, the Cabinet repeatedly expressed its view, the Minister continued, that Hungary must conduct the debate on this issue which has not taken place to date, and which may take decades to complete.
The Minister remarked that the Government reviewed the first hearing of Justice Minister László Trócsányi’s report on the three-strikes law which has been found successful and effective, and decided: the need has emerged for exploring the limits to its application which have evolved in the last few years.
Issues concerning higher education were also raised at the press conference. János Lázár told the press that the Government is planning to implement another development worth HUF 37 billion at the National Public Service University; however, an investment on such a scale only makes sense if it is achieved that only the Public Service University offers training in law enforcement, public administration and political science.
Mr Lázár was also asked about the Buda campus of the Budapest Corvinus University (BCU), and the news regarding the detachment of the faculties of horticulture, food sciences and landscaping from the university. In answer to these questions, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said: the Government has not adopted any decision on these issues, and the future of the BCU’s buildings was not on the agenda of the cabinet meeting.
As regards the news reports that one of the faculties of the University may relocate to the town of Hódmezővásárhely, the Minister, who is Member of Parliament for the locality, and was formerly Mayor of the town, said: it is surely a bad joke that any unit of Corvinus would be transferred to Hódmezővásárhely. At the same time, Mr Lázár indicated that he is personally a great fan of Corvinus’ faculty of horticulture. He added that he, too, looks forward to the resolution of these issues by the management of the Corvinus University and the State Secretariat for Higher Education.
Mr Lázár further told the press that a group of Fidesz and KDNP MPs will present an independent motion to the House next week in which they will propose the payment of compensation to the some 17,000 to 18,000 World War II orphans and widows who are still alive, including applicants beyond the borders, and who were deprived of this status by the State in 1949. According to plans, they would receive a monthly HUF 8,000-8,500 pension supplement from the Hungarian State.
In answer to a question concerning the management of the Hungarian Paralympic Committee, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said: he does not wish to interfere with the Committee’s internal affairs, but his personal view is that a sports executive should take better-than-average care in preserving his social prestige. In the Minister’s opinion, the sports leader in question has lost the trust that was vested in him, and the question of a loss of dignity may also emerge.
The Minister said in answer to a question relating to the Zagyvaszántó waste contaminated with asbestos that the waste will not be transferred to Várpalota; the protests of the locals are duly respected, and the Government is currently in the process of finding a waste disposal site which is suitable for accommodating waste of this quantity within the next few weeks or months.
As regards the pipe bomb that was found on a Bulgarian bus on the M0, Mr Lázár said that it was not discussed at the cabinet meeting; there is no new risk factor in Hungary.
(MTI)
