According to János Lázár, the greatest domestic work force reserve is “in the State”. The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office spoke about this on Friday evening at a business forum organised by the Hajdú-Bihar County Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Debrecen.

There are 4.4 million workers in Hungary today – their number increased by 137 thousand in December, and not among those employed in the various public works schemes. As it is, however, still some 1.1 to 1.2 million people receive their pay from the State which is a rather significant burden, the Minister said.

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He added: some 20 per cent of those in employment work in the public sector in Hungary, while this percentage is 13 per cent in the Visegrád countries, and 8 per cent in Germany.

In the next five years, the number of public sector workers “will have to be cut drastically”, the Minister stated.

Mr Lázár said that the fact that the number of taxpayers is on the rise is valuable, and the concept of the workfare society plays a key role in this. The goal of the Government is “to significantly reduce the number of those in state employment and to channel them to market jobs”.

At the same time, the Minister mentioned the effect of the public works schemes on public security: since the introduction of the programme, the number of crimes committed in the country has decreased from 450 thousand annually to 200 thousand.

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Mr Lázár also covered the issue of competitiveness at the business forum. In his view, the competitiveness of the State must be improved “through the reduction of bureaucracy and the number of bureaucrats”, the competitiveness of society with more effective work and work force training, while the competitiveness of the economy with technological developments.

For 20 to 30 years, Hungary’s competitiveness lay in its low-paid work force. We must put an end to this, and raise wages, he remarked, pointing out that it is an untenable situation that some one million workers in the country are registered as earning the minimum wage.

For the first time in Hungary the bulk of the EU funds need not be used for state spending, but 60 per cent is allocated to the development of the economy, and the State supports enhanced competitiveness with regulatory means as well, he said.

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He pointed out that it is important that HUF 480 billion has been spent on research and development in this cycle, but, as he said, this sum will have to be raised.

He also said that, pursuant to the agreements concluded with twenty county-ranked cities, HUF 2,300 billion will be granted to support local developments, HUF 1,000 to 1,200 billion of which is local funding.

Mr Lázár highlighted in his lecture that “Budapest declined development funds worth a thousand billion forints for the Olympic Games”, and so this sum can now be used for the development of the countryside. He mentioned the plan of a four-lane express road connecting the cities of Kassa, Miskolc, Debrecen and Szeged together which will be completed from local funding worth HUF 450 billion by 2021.

The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office spoke about the level of activity regarding calls for proposals in Debrecen in words of praise: during the EU fiscal cycle between 2007 and 2013 2,500 awarded proposals were granted funding worth HUF 245 billion in the city, and this sum will have to reach HUF 340-350 billion during the current cycle.

László Papp (Fidesz-KDNP), Mayor of Debrecen, said at the forum: as part of the New Phoenix Plan, they have a development allocation of HUF 200 billion at their disposal, and the preparations have already begun. “In three quarters of a year’s time, the whole city will be a construction site.”

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Zoltán Szilvássy, Rector of the Debrecen University, described the close cooperation that exists between the city, the university and the Chamber of Commerce as “Debrecen’s unique innovation model” which now has specific results manifested in products.

Mr Lázár said before the some one hundred and fifty attendees of the Debrecen business forum: “the Government looks upon the City of Debrecen as the eastern capital of the world of Hungary”, and fully supports its aspirations.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)