There are no genuine grounds whatsoever for the new debate on Hungary in the European Parliament, and the government will not attend, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office stated at a press conference held on Thursday in Budapest.
At the press conference Governmentinfo, the Minister stressed that the mandate of the incumbent EP will run out in May, and so it is “a product nearing its sell-by date". Hungary is hoping to see an anti-immigration majority in EU institutions – including the European Parliament and the European Commission – instead of the present pro-immigration majority, and the EP elections are a crucial element in this, he said.
Issue of rule of law is only an excuse
According to the Minister, the EP’s decision adopted last week clearly reveals the intentions represented by the pro-immigration majority as they are seeking to triple the grants of NGOs which have assisted immigration in the past few years.
The issue of the rule of law is only an excuse, imposing sanctions of any kind on those grounds merely seeks to punish Hungary for having been the first to make it clear that it will not take in immigrants, and instead of migration it intends to address its demographic challenges with family policy measures, Mr Gulyás said.
He pointed out that “the government stands on the foundations of the Treaties”. EU membership is in Hungary’s best interests, but we signed the Treaties in order to join a community where the law is upheld and the Treaties govern. Today, however, with its decisions the EP seeks to overstep the boundaries of the Treaties in order to find new ways for supporting immigration, he said. He observed that it is necessary to explore how European institutions can be induced to remain within the boundaries of the Treaties.
Mr Gulyás described the proposition that issues regarding the rule of law should be tied to payments from the EU budget as sheer blackmail. The Council adopts the budget with a unanimous vote, and therefore proposals of this nature will be rejected, he said.
In answer to a question, he said George Soros had become part of the debate on immigration by virtue of the fact that he had published his plans and the government had responded to them. During this term of the EP alone, George Soros met with various leaders of the European Commission on 21 occasions, he said. He took the view that this is an illegitimate attempt to influence politics without any political power, and the Commission’s policy is a reflection of that attempt.
In response to a statement made by US political consultant George Birnbaum with respect to the Soros campaign, Mr Gulyás observed that neither the government, nor Fidesz was ever engaged in any contractual relationship with George Birnbaum. He never advised either the cabinet or the government party.
Promotion of migration is unpopular
The Minister pointed out in response to a suggestion that migration does not feature in the official programme of the Davos World Economic Forum that more than 95 per cent of the forum attendees support migration. It is not in their interest to prevent immigration, and therefore they would rather not even talk about it because it would be unpopular if they explicitly supported migration.
Mr Gulyás further highlighted that many forecasts project a minor economic crisis for Hungary. There are no internal reasons why Hungary should not be able to produce an economic growth rate that is similar to the growth rates observed in the past few years; there are, however, external economic threats and risks.
In answer to a question, he said that as the developments in Venezuela are only just unfolding, at this point in time the Hungarian government has not yet decided whether to recognise the interim president.
The Minister said in response to an enquiry concerning the case of former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski that in the case of an extradition request, reviewing the refugee status is mandatory, and this procedure is currently under way.
Regarding the fact that in 2023 Veszprém will hold the title of European Capital of Culture, he said the government would specifically address this issue to ensure that the city meet its obligations arising from the privilege to the highest standards, in a way which would make the whole of Hungary proud.
In answer to the question as to whether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will indeed pay a visit to Minsk, Mr Gulyás said there is no such programme in the Prime Minister’s calendar of foreign visits.
On the situation at Honvédkórház (Military Hospital)
He also highlighted in answer to a question that 99 per cent of the three thousand workers of Honvédkórház had accepted the new defence worker status. Those who signed the contract will receive a 35 per cent pay rise on average, he pointed out. He said the neonatal intensive care unit has a new head, and operations are normal and ongoing. He observed that Miklós Kásler has led the Ministry of Human Capacities for eight months, and is exercising his powers to the maximum satisfaction of the government. There are hospitals where there are no debts, and others where debts re-emerge on a regular basis. Therefore, this is potentially not a financing, but a management problem, he said.
He also told the press that the competent state secretariat of the Ministry of Human Capacities had made a number of recommendations to the government regarding the separation of state and private health care. This would require a significant increase in the funding of the sector as well as in salaries.
Regarding the Székesfehérvár hospital development, he said the government is all for the implementation of every development everywhere. However, if reality is this far removed from expectations, if there is a price increase of this magnitude, we must wait until further fiscal resources can be assigned to the project. This decision concerns Székesfehérvár only, he added.
In the context of the funding provided by the Hungarian government for the operation of hospitals abroad, Mr Gulyás said Hungary as a member of the international community can be expected to provide humanitarian aid in the magnitude of a few hundred million forints for Syria.
He also said that in the case of Audi, they would like to see an agreement between the workers and the company, but the government cannot take part in the dispute directly, at most it can encourage the parties to come to an agreement. The wage dispute that has erupted is a direct consequence of wage competition. He added that there is no danger of a general strike.
It is the government’s intention to provide an allowance for pensioners once a year, but there is no decision yet regarding its form, he said in answer to another question.
On Thursday morning, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the government’s intention to make available all the financial resources that are necessary for the refurbishment of the Ráday Student Residence in Budapest which caught fire the previous night. At his Budapest press conference, the Minister said that he had reassured Reformed Bishop István Bogárdi Szabó of this by telephone.
During the firefighting operation, a burnt body was found on the stairs on the third floor. Most of the residents of the Ráday Student Residence are students studying at the Theology Faculty of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
Government to arrange Andy Vajna’s funeral
At the press conference, Mr Gulyás informed members of the press that the government will arrange the funeral of Andy Vajna who passed away last weekend. The film producer-government commissioner will be buried at the Fiumei út Cemetery in Budapest.
The government will make the arrangements for the funeral of Andy Vajna, the government commissioner responsible for the development of the national film industry, who made a major contribution to the recognition of the Hungarian film industry world-wide with his activities, the Minister said.
Mr Gulyás further informed the press that several issues concerning Budapest had also been discussed at the cabinet meeting. He said the government supports the preparation of plans for the extension of metro line 3 to Káposztásmegyer. The cabinet will place the necessary funds at the capital’s disposal.
Regarding the relocation of the Metropolitan Grand Circus, he confirmed that, according to the government, a new venue must be found for the institution. While there is no final decision yet regarding a potential venue in Podmaniczky utca, a decision may be made at the next meeting of the Council of Metropolitan Public Developments.
Mr Gulyás also spoke about the continuation of the refurbishment of the Buda Castle District. He said the goal is to restore the buildings which were destroyed in the war and during communism, including the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs building – to which, however, the Ministry will not relocate – and partly the one-time general headquarters. They will also rebuild the Teleki Castle and its stable building.
Concerning the consultation on the protection of families, the Minister said, according to plans, a detailed action plan will be adopted at the cabinet meeting to be held on 6 February which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will disclose at his state of the nation address on 10 February. The family support system will be extended significantly in 2019, Mr Gulyás said.
About the Sneider case
At the press conference Governmentinfo, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office was asked about the latest news reports related to Jobbik party president Tamás Sneider.
In politics, there is no place for anyone who commits such hate crimes, said the Minister regarding the fact that years ago Tamás Sneider assaulted a physically disabled person, in Mr Gulyás’s words, “due to his origin”.
The Minister described this scandalous event as positively shocking.
According to the Minister, the collaboration of Jobbik and the Left is about nothing other than that the Left is seeking to make racism and anti-Semitism presentable. This is particularly ironic in light of the fact, he added, that ever since 1990 the Hungarian Left seems to have found its own identity in some sort of an anti-Fascist struggle.
He also mentioned that István Szávay, who was involved in another scandal, is still a Member of Parliament for Jobbik, while a former Jobbik MP who desecrated a Holocaust memorial is still a constituency chair in the party. He further observed that Márton Gyöngyösi – another leader of Jobbik, currently the head of Jobbik’s parliamentary group – had intended to list political office holders and Members of Parliament on the basis of their origins. At the time, left-wing politicians Attila Mesterházy and Gordon Bajnai as well as Fidesz politician Antal Rogán spoke out together at a demonstration against his statements.
In response to the proposition that journalist Zsolt Bayer used obscene language in connection with a secondary school student who herself used obscene language addressing a demonstration, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said it is unfair to pass judgement on a reaction before passing judgement on the cause that provoked the reaction. Regarding the secondary school student’s words, he said no one can speak about the President of the Republic or any other state office holder in the unacceptable style that the student adopted. As for Zsolt Bayer’s words, he said the reaction was in proportion to the action itself.
Regarding the demonstrations in general, he said the law must be observed by everyone. We must draw the conclusions of the demonstrations of the past few weeks: there is an aggressive minority which is happy to go out to the street, but they have no meaningful mass support, he said. He believes that today observing the law appears to be extremely hard both for opposition MPs and for those who do not go out to the street to peacefully demonstrate, but to carry out destructive acts of vandalism.
In answer to a question concerning corporation tax donations for cultural purposes, he pointed out that the Mayor of Budapest heavily criticised the government’s plans to change the system, and so the parties started negotiations. While the government has the right and the responsibility to make a decision on the matter, they would like a solution which is also acceptable for the Mayor of Budapest, and an agreement is now within reach, he explained. He recalled that earlier everyone criticised the system, and so it was abolished. Now, however, everyone is sorry to see it gone. The goal is to distribute funds more efficiently, without corruption, he pointed out. He said it is for the competent state secretary to decide who receives how much, and no decision has been made yet on this matter.
He said in response to the question as to whether the cultural struggle will influence the state secretary’s decision that it will not because “there is no cultural struggle”.
Regarding the problems related to waste collection in Budaörs, he pointed out that if Budaörs is unable to perform this task via its own company, Disaster Management will do so as they did in December.
In answer to the question as to whether István Hollik will remain government spokesperson also as a Member of Parliament, the person concerned said he had received no instruction to the contrary from the Prime Minister.
(Prime Minister’s Office)
