If the electors do not stop Brussels, the EU will sooner or later relocate to Hungary people „who are not from among us”, and will not ask for our opinion on the matter. This is what the referendum is about, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Mr Lázár stressed: the Government „is weak in this struggle on its own”.
In his view, campaigning against participation in the referendum is a big mistake, as it is the duty of a true democrat, he pointed out, to encourage people to cast their votes.
The Minister said that Hungary has stopped immigration, and has also done Europe a favour by having observed the rules.
He said: the plan, the majority position in the EU is that hundreds of thousands and millions of people should be invited to Europe in the coming years and decades based on economic and social interests.
Hungary shares a minority view, namely that immigration must be stopped, there is no need for migrants, but instead Hungarian families must be helped, he explained. He added: they would like to represent this belief in the EU, and it is to this end that they seek the electors’ help.
The Minister told the press: the information campaign will continue, as part of which they will recommend participation and will inform the public of the stakes of the referendum. In the end, however, he added, it is up to everyone themselves to decide.
He was asked about the possibility of casting votes by mail for Hungarian nationals residing abroad. He said in reply: this is not a political, but a procedural issue. He pointed out: „If someone who has residence in Hungary and is currently staying abroad may vote by mail, in that case if I have residence in Hungary and am currently not staying at my address of residence but in the next village, why should I not be able to vote by mail?”
This constitutional problem cannot be bridged, he said in summary.
Mr Lázár further told the press that as a result of the erection of the fence and the amendment of the relevant laws in the spring, Hungary is today one of the safest countries as regards immigration.
The efforts made in this department constitute a major financial burden, and the EU „effectively contributes nothing” to these. Austria alone offered help, Germany and the EU did not, he said. He added: Hungary itself is financing 96-97 per cent of the costs related to the fence.
In answer to a question, he said: if the Hungarian people decide that they would not like anyone to come into the country, the EU – which is based on a democratic mentality – cannot afford to restrict this decision as this would have unforeseeable social consequences. He stated: the Government is not planning to resign, should there be an insufficient turnout at the referendum.
„Those who campaign against participation harm the country”, he said.
More migrants are expected to arrive in autumn
Me Lázár also said: they have extended the state of crisis because more migrants are expected to arrive in the autumn, and we may expect the intensification of the pressure of immigration. The implementation of the pact between Turkey and the EU is ineffective, the number of those waiting in Greece is increasing, and there is information to the effect that those waiting at the border „would not shrink from launching an attack”.
The Minister said: the reason why they are planning to increase the police personnel by 3,000 is that if Europe continues to remain under the same pressure in the next 5 to 10 years, the closure of the border will have to be upheld, and a smaller staff could create a security deficit elsewhere. He mentioned as an example that at the time of the change of government in 2010, the socialists left behind „internal security chaos”, and they were required to recruit 3,500-4000 new police personnel immediately.
At the time, there were 12,000 people in prison, while today this number is 18,000, and it is on account of the maintenance of order and security that six thousand criminals „have been withdrawn from circulation”, he explained.
Regarding reports that Turkey also contacted Hungary with respect to the closure of a school in Budapest which is presumed to have ties with the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of having been behind the attempted coup, Mr Lázár said: the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Economy and the Ministry of Interior to look into the request.
The Government takes the view that Hungary has a vested interest in a stable Turkey due to the security of the region and the stopping of the immigration crisis, he reiterated.
Government to develop ten-year social programme
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will engage a member of the Government in the autumn to compile a governmental programme as to what the Government can offer the country between 2018 and 2028, Mr Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at his usual Thursday press conference in Budapest.
The Minister highlighted: „we shall have some momentous issues to deal with after 2018” as, for instance, an EU development cycle will be closed in that year.
The Government therefore wishes to launch a medium- and long-term social programme for the period beyond 2018, Mr Lázár said.
He also pointed out: as part of an internal investigation, the Government will seek to find a clear answer as to whether there was any scope for influencing decision-makers in the assessment of EU calls for proposals. He said: he has no doubt that Roland Mengyi’s immunity will be suspended – he himself will vote for its suspension in Parliament – and the Member of Parliament for Fidesz himself will likewise initiate the same.
He reiterated that the Prime Minister has ordered an investigation into the case, given that public funds are at the centre of the alleged crime.
He indicated at the same time that the calls for proposals in question have been withdrawn, they have not been awarded to any applicant, and as a result no loss of EU funds has been sustained.
Mr Lázár told the press: he is not at all happy about what happened. After six years in government, this is the first case when the prosecution service is proposing the suspension of immunity in a public prosecution case involving a government party politician. At the same time, he remarked that everyone is entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and clarifying the situation is in everyone’s best interest. In response to the presumption that the authorities may not have been able to catch the Member of Parliament in the act due to instructions issued from above, he said: there is zero tolerance regarding cases involving corruption, and in his view, the authorities did everything in accordance with the letter of the law. He believes it is out of the question that anyone would have given instructions to the contrary.
Mr Lázár said in the context of EU funds: they have achieved a great deal of transparency in recent years because „where there is a lot of money being handed out, there is always a lot of interest”. In the interest of increased transparency, they introduced a new system for the assessment of proposals, as part of which external companies are no longer allowed to evaluate proposals. This job can only be done by state officials.
They have to date registered 1,135 proposal assessors, and they are ready to start their jobs, he said. He was of the opinion that the new system is „a wise and good answer” to the previous deficiencies.
The Minister also said that the new assessors are „handsomely rewarded” for their work, and must also agree to being subjected to national security surveillance. In other words, these individuals agree that their activities „are being conducted under full stringent controls”.
The Cabinet heard Flórián Farkas, Commissioner of the Prime Minister, in whose activities they continue to have faith, the Minister said, adding: according to Eurostat data, inclusion figures have improved in Hungary since 2010. As he said, he would be intrigued to see if there would be the same amount of interest, were the person in question not of Roma origin. He also said that Flórián Farkas will attend a hearing before OLAF on 24 August as far as he is aware.
Ambulance service career model may start
Mr Lázár further informed the press that the Government was planning to launch a career model for the ambulance service after consultation with the personnel concerned. The new programme would extend to some 6-8,000 people, and would significantly improve the security of the ambulance service. Additionally, pay rises will continue in health care: as of 1 September all specialist physicians and pharmacologists will receive a pre-tax basic pay rise of HUF 107,000, and their basic pay will increase by another pre-tax HUF 100,000 on 1 November 2017, he reiterated, adding: residents will receive a pay rise of HUF 50,000 as of 1 November 2017, and there will be a new pay scheme for health care workers as of 1 September.
He also told the press that, based on the decision of the strategic cabinet, HUF 6 billion will be awarded from EU funds for the conclusion of the unfinished projects of dozens of hospitals.
The Minister further reported that effective as of the first of September, 14 support institutions will be phased out, another 40 will be transformed as of the first of January, and the process will continue next spring as well. He also told the press that 215,000 people stated their views on the reduction of bureaucracy in the government offices. Private individuals mostly find the costs related to the operation of automobiles excessive, while businesses would like to see simplifications in the various company procedures and the licensing of business premises.
We have reason to be proud of every Hungarian athlete
The head of the Prime Minister’s Office expressed his appreciation to all Hungarian athletes participating in the Rio Olympic Games. As he said, we have reason to be proud of every Hungarian athlete; qualifying for the Olympic Games is a remarkable achievement in itself.
He told the press that after the Olympic Games the Government will take stock in order to analyse the operating conditions of the priority disciplines and to review how they can help the cause of Hungarian sports.
The Minister confirmed that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán travelled to Rio as the head of a government delegation, and during the Olympic Games they did a great deal of valuable work in order to convince the world that Budapest is the most suitable venue for hosting the Olympic Games.
In answer to a question, Mr Lázár also spoke about the Seuso treasures. As he said, Hungary has re-acquired some of the finds, and the missing items are in England. The Government has taken measures in order to obtain them, but these have not yielded the desirable results to date.
A third instalment of the treasures may also exist, however, no reliable information has been found yet to clarify its status, he added.
The Minister also mentioned that the Government will discuss at its next meeting whether they will nominate former SZDSZ politician, Mátyás Eörsi, who is currently active in the political party DK, for the post of Secretary General of the international organisation Community of Democracies.
They will consider every opinion, no final decision has been taken yet, he said.
In answer to another question, the Minister said: the repeated introduction of the Sunday closure of shops was not on the agenda of the meetings of the Government, while regarding the transformation of the public administration of the capital, he said that this was not a realistic issue.
Hungarian economy did well in first half of year
Mr Lázár said at his Thursday press conference held in Budapest: economic growth came within the range planned by the Government in the second quarter, and the schedule of the disbursement of EU funds will only accelerate in the next few months. This means that the growth rate is a considerable achievement even in the absence of EU funds.
He highlighted as a major result that, according to Eurostat, the rate of unemployment has decreased from 11.6 per cent in 2010 to 5.1 per cent, and 4.4 million people pay taxes on their wages.
This positive trend will also continue in the next six months, the Minister said.
He informed the press: 140,000 new jobs were created in one year in Hungary, and 670,000 more people are in employment compared with 2010.
Mr Lázár said: the Government is ready to look into the reduction of the costs of employment to determine whether there is any realistic scope for this before 2018.
He remarked: the positive effect of the reduction of the VAT on pork is already perceivable, and the VAT on certain basic foodstuffs and Internet services will decrease next year. Regarding the latter, he said: there is a chance of close cooperation on the matter with the EU.
Proceeds of sale of land may be used for reduction of sovereign debt
The head of the Prime Minister’s Office also reported that the Government would use the HUF 270 billion which was raised through the sale of state-owned land for the reduction of the country’s sovereign debt. The Government will decide on the fate of the proceeds next week. At the same time, the government cabinets will propose that the sum should be used for financing „the national debt accumulated by the socialists”.
He confirmed that the Government will close the land auctions in a law in September. As part of these, 206,000 hectares of land of the 280,000 hectares offered for sale have been sold.
There were some 30,000 buyers, 20,000 of whom purchased landed areas of less than 3 hectares, the Minister informed the press, and said in answer to a question: they will establish a lease on the unsold areas which are fit for cultivation.
The Minister further reported that they have reviewed the status of the e-invoice, and according to plans, this payment option would be introduced as of 1 January 2018.
Mr Lázár was also asked about the road projects forming part of the Modern Cities Programme. He said in reply: there will be no change compared with what they promised.
In answer to a question relating to the reduction of utility bills, the Minister said: there is scope for further reduction in the case of the gas and electricity services if the organisational changes go to plan.
In answer to another question, Mr Lázár said: pursuant to the new public procurement law, which conforms to the relevant EU Directive, the price is not the only consideration. Other criteria, such as environmental and employment considerations, may also be taken into account, and therefore the lowest price in itself is no guarantee for the awarding of a project.
This practice which will be reviewed in the autumn is beginning to work now, he pointed out.
The Minister told the press: at the government meeting they also spoke about the family housing benefit „csok”. They will review the experiences in November, and as part of this review, they will also consider the ombudsman’s latest recommendations.
The daily Magyar Nemzet reported in its issue on Thursday: the ombudsman found it objectionable that the government decree which is currently in force bars young individuals over the age of twenty who attend full-time secondary education from the range of those eligible for the benefit, while university students of the same age are eligible.
(MTI, Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)
