The security situation has never been worse in Europe, the “good old days of peace” are over, terrorism is an everyday threat in the life of any European country, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at the press conference Governmentinfo 89 which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács.
The security situation has never been worse in Europe
Mr Lázár said at his usual Thursday press conference held in Budapest: the Manchester attack is a new chapter in the history of acts of terrorism committed against Europe as children had never been targeted before.
The Minister pointed out that the state of alert need not be increased in Hungary, but the situation requires greater attention and tighter security in the case of major events.
Mr Lázár stressed: it is important that European Member States should be able to protect the borders. It is inconceivable and unacceptable that, in this security situation, anyone should be allowed to cross the borders of Europe without checks, he added.
He said: the European borders must be checked more tightly, and in certain situations, it is even right to seal the borders.
Mr Lázár said: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will attend the NATO summit during the course of the day where Europe’s leaders will meet with US President Donald Trump. In answer to a question, he added: there are no plans for a private meeting between the Hungarian Prime Minister and the US President.
National Security Cabinet approved defence forces development concept
He told the press that the National Security Cabinet had approved Hungary’s defence forces development concept.
He said: the goal is to raise the country’s military and defence expenditures from one per cent of GDP to two per cent in the next few years. The Minister told the press: at present, this means HUF 400 billion, while by the beginning of the 2020s, against the background of increased GDP figures, the military budget will exceed HUF 1,000 billion, and may even reach HUF 1,200 billion by 2022-2023.
The Minister said that they will increase the personnel of the defence forces and will implement technical developments from this sum. The reinforcement and development of military capabilities will begin already this year, he indicated, stating that this also means the procurement of assets and the „restoraton” of former capabilities.
Mr Lázár said in summary: the purpose of NATO is for the members of the organisation to be able to protect one another when Europe or the allies are exposed to a common threat. The Hungarian defence forces must additionally be able to defend Hungary in a regional conflict, he added.
The Minister said: they are expecting the intensification of the pressure exerted onto Hungary during the period to come in order for us to take in a few hundred or thousand refugees. At the same time, if they once open the gate, this may induce unforeseeable processes, Mr Lázár said upon stating his view.
Immigration is a factor conveying risks
He stressed: they continue to take the view that immigration is a factor which poses risks to the defence and situation of Europe. The threat of terrorism is one of the greatest risks conveyed by uncontrolled and unrestricted immigration.
The Hungarian Government maintains its position that illegal migration conveys potential risks, he said.
Mr Lázár stated: the Government insists that the borders must be kept closed, those arriving at the border must be strictly checked, and free movement must not be allowed in the territory of Hungary. According to his information, there are some 300 people waiting in the transit zone, “the pressure weighing upon Hungary has decreased significantly in recent periods”.
Government to increase family support to five per cent of GDP within two years
The goal of the Government is to increase the amount of family support from 4.6 per cent at present to 5 per cent of GDP within two years, he said.
Mr Lázár told the press: they would like to achieve by 2030 that those who wish to have children should consider having more than two children. This is what they would like to urge young Hungarians to do.
He pointed out: if the current trends continue, within a foreseeable time, the active population will significantly decrease in Hungary. They would therefore like to increase the number of children born by more than 30 thousand, the Minister indicated, and stressed: they would like to support every young person who wishes to raise children.
In answer to a question, he said: the budget of the action plan seeking to boost child births may amount to one hundred billion forints next year. The growth of the GDP is able to generate this sum, and there will be no need for the regrouping of funds.
He informed the press: “the measures concerning individual life models”, that is, those concerning parents who agree to have second or third children will enter into force as of 1 January 2018. These measures have an open budget, and may amount to as much as HUF 30 to 40 billion, he said. He added: the reduction of student loans which will also enter into force as of 2018 may constitute an item in the magnitude of tens of billions of forints, while the assumption of a part of the mortgage loans of parents undertaking to raise more children may be another item worth tens of billions of forints. Additionally, they will likewise allocate tens of billions of forints for the construction of crèche facilities.
He remarked: Parliament determined the tax benefits of families with two children up to 2018. The question is what will happen after 2019: they will extend the tax benefits of families with two and three children as well, he said.
He indicated that the majority of the benefits will be tied to residence in Hungary. However, the availability of baby bonds will only be subject to Hungarian citizenship. The Minister pledged: the Government is planning to implement a number of further measures which seek to enhance a family-friendly environment in Hungary.
Regarding the rules of the family housing benefit “csok”, he said: there should be consultations as to whether the current age limit should be left in force, this is a technical issue. They should review how many people applied and how many were barred from this opportunity on account of their age. The Minister did not rule out possible changes.
Mr Lázár further said that the Government supported the concept, based on which parents who have received nursing benefits for 20 years continuously on account of looking after their severely ill children should receive a monthly pension supplement of fifty thousand forints.
This measures currently concerns some 500 people, and amounts to a few hundred million forints annually, but provides security for the parents concerned and serves to recognise their nursing and care work, he said.
The Minister also reported that the Government will integrate the Pension Insurance Directorate General into the State Treasury. As he said, the experiences of the past six months to one year refute claims that the termination and reorganisation of support institutions should jeopardise the functioning of the Hungarian State.
European Commission did not cite arguments which would warrant the amendment of the higher education legislation
The Hungarian Government is convinced that the European Commission has not cited a single argument, on account of which the national higher education legislation should be amended, Mr Lázár stated. He reiterated that the European Commission instituted infringement proceedings against Hungary due to the amendment of the higher education law, the Commission’s questions had to be answered by Thursday.
He said: “György Soros lobbied well in Brussels as he managed to mobilise both the European Commission and the European Parliament, and Hungary has received a great many blows”. He described the infringement procedure instituted by the European Commission as the most serious blow.
In his view, the Commission has to date been unable to cite any normal legal argument that could be taken seriously, they have only come up with the arguments that are customarily used as part of the political hysteria, and these cannot be taken seriously. This is nothing more than a hysteria which could be remedied with normal negotiations, he stressed,
Mr Lázár laid down: the Government is ready to talk about the higher education legislation – the same as about any other law – directly with Brussels, whether with the European Commission or the European Parliament.
He stressed: according to the Hungarian Government, the amendment of the higher education law does not violate the EU’s regulations and fundamental principles. They will see the debate through which is about whether the Hungarian Government may require a foreign university to also have a campus in its country of origin, he said. He added: “the goal is not to engage in warfare with Brussels, the goal is to conduct a normal dialogue”.
While there is „an ongoing storm of hype” regarding the CEU, the individual countries are ready to talk to the Hungarian Government, he said. He mentioned as examples China and the McDaniel University operating in the United States. He said in the context of the latter that the leadership of the university which also operates in Hungary had talks with the Hungarian Government, and both the leaders and the State of Maryland which is competent according to the university’s seat are prepared to come to an agreement with the Government.
The Minister also said that they see no obstacle of any kind to conducting talks with the Governor of the State of New York. He indicated that they are also in contact with the government of the United States.
He added: those who operate universities in Budapest all contacted the Government of their own accord. Mr Lázár does not feel the need to seek out the operator of any foreign university.
He said: the Hungarian Government regards the future of Közép-európai Egyetem as satisfactorily settled. The question is how the New York-based CEU will be able to issue documents in Hungary in connection with higher education studies. In answer to a question, he said: if György Soros contacts the Hungarian State, they will negotiate with him.
Developments worth more than HUF 40 billion in metropolitan zoo up to 2020
The Minister further informed the press that developments worth HUF 40 billion may be implemented in the metropolitan zoo up to 2020.
According to Mr Lázár’s information, by virtue of a project worth HUF 5.7 billion, an underground parking facility with 700 parking spaces instead of the originally planned 450 will be built on Hermina út. By the end of this year and the beginning of next year, a children’s story park will be created in the zoo, and the Cabinet has agreed to finance the extra costs of this project in the magnitude of almost HUF 1.7 billion.
The construction of a bio-dome from an allocation of some HUF 34 billion – the details of which were announced by Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós and Miklós Persányi, the director of the zoo – also forms part of the project. He remarked: the zoo has more than a million visitors annually, and the goal is to showcase what has taken place in the Carpathian Basin on the basis of samples that are thousands of years old.
Mr Lázár indicated: the Cabinet also heard a status report about the Liget Project. As he said, consultations were held with the involvement of 118 organisations, and these tabled more than 500 proposals with respect to the future of the park. Most of these proposals were accepted. The full rehabilitation project will be completed by 2020. At the same time, the refurbishment of the Museum of Fine Arts is in an advanced state. A garden will be created around it which will show the general public what the Government intends to do with the green area. He added: they will also reconstruct the green area at Hermina út, new sports fields will be built, and traffic, including private cars and public transport, will be reduced. Additionally, an area will be reserved for dogs, and the Liget will also have a part where dogs can be walked without a lead.
He said: they have set aside a considerable sum for the construction of a new circus, but its location has not been designated yet.
Modern Cities Programme to be closed in Hódmezővásárhely
Mr Lázár told the press: the Modern Cities Programme launched in March 2015 will come to a close on Friday in Hódmezővásárhely. Within the framework of the programme worth HUF 3,400 billion, HUF 250 billion, including local funds worth HUF 170 billion, has already been disbursed, he detailed. He said: the programme covers the construction of industrial parks, road developments, local public transport, educational, health care and sports developments. There had been no economic development programme on this scale in the past thirty years, he stressed.
He also informed the press that the Ministry of Human Capacities will set up a fund worth several billion forints for the promotion of folk culture, folk dance ensembles, folk singers and folk choirs. He further highlighted: the Government also discussed a foodstuff management concept, as they would like to support and reinforce the village way of life.
Regarding the news reports that Jobbik may have received funding from Belarus in October 2014, he said: based on the news reports released, he asked his colleagues to verify the actual facts as they would like to clarify this issue.
In answer to a question, Mr Lázár indicated: he does not believe there is a conflict of interests in the employment of Péter Polt’s daughter at the National Bank of Hungary.
(MTI)
