The government started the economy measures necessitated by the coronavirus epidemic in its own court, and has pledged to withdraw from ministries and to regroup HUF 1,345 billion which will be available in the fund set up with a view to protecting and restarting the economy. They will transfer HUF 663 billion to the fund whose mission it is to contain the coronavirus epidemic; 50 per cent of this year’s party grants, the trade tax payable by multinational companies, the contribution of the financial sector and the part of the automobile tax due to local governments will all have to be paid into that fund, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office announced at the press conference ‘Governmentinfo’ held online on Saturday.

He said the government has decided to fundamentally rearrange the budget, has created a fund for the containment of the virus, and will also set up a fund which will serve to protect and restart the economy.

In the interest of making the necessary funds available for an effective containment effort, the government will carry out major reallocations, and will also require others, including political parties, multinational supermarket chains, banks and local governments, to share the burdens, he said.

According to Mr Gulyás’s information, party grants amount to HUF 1.2 billion, the tax payable by multinational companies means a sum of HUF 36 billion, while they are expecting HUF 55 billion from banks.

He added that the part of the automobile tax redirected to the central budget would amount to HUF 34 billion; they are asking local governments to contribute to the containment of the virus with this sum.

He said they will be able to make HUF 663 billion available for the fund in total as the central reserve set aside for the containment effort amounts to HUF 378 billion; however, this is an allocation with no upper limit.

He indicated that these measures will take effect from 15 April or 1 May.

In the fund set up for the protection and restarting of the economy, HUF 1,345 billion will be available, he said.

The Minister explained that the fund set up with a view to protecting and restarting the economy includes savings collected from central institutions, meaning funds taken away from ministries amounting to HUF 922 billion in total. The totality of the revenues of the National Employment Fund, too, a sum of HUF 423 billion will be redirected to this fund as well. In total, HUF 1,345 billion will be available in the fund set up for the implementation of measures which serve to protect and restart the economy, Mr Gulyás highlighted.

He said the economy protection measures implemented in the past month in the interest of preserving jobs had cost around HUF 100 billion so far.

He also indicated that they would guarantee the November 20 per cent pay rise of health visitors and health care specialists in addition to the extra bonus of HUF 500,000 – expected to be paid at the beginning of the summer, sometime in June or July – announced on Friday which all health care workers would be eligible for. The latter – as a means of appreciating the “heroic struggle” of health care workers – will set the central budget back by HUF 70 billion, he said.

The Minister further highlighted that at its Sunday meeting the government will adopt a decision on an economic stimulus plan which will be the most overarching economic action plan in the history of Hungary since the fall of communism. It will make available the funds necessary for the containment effort and the “hundreds and thousands of billions of forints” essential for restarting the economy, he said.

He said so far the number of unemployed had risen by approximately 30,000 due to the coronavirus epidemic, and from the beginning of April the number of those losing their jobs will be around 4,000 daily, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

At the same time, the figure of 30,000 does not mean that only this many people have lost their jobs, the Minister pointed out, adding that the earlier 70,000 free jobs have fallen to between 40,000 and 50,000.

Mr Gulyás insisted that protecting human lives and health continues to remain the number one priority, stressing that the budget will make unlimited funds available for epidemic-related health care purposes.

He informed the press that so far the government had spent some HUF 380 billion on the procurement of supplies related to the containment of the epidemic.

In answer to the question as to whether they will issue an order for the mandatory wearing of face masks in public areas, and if so when, Mr Gulyás said these matters are decided by the Operational Group, based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the opinion of Hungarian disease control experts. So far there has been no such proposal, the Minister indicated.

To date 85 health care workers have been infected with the coronavirus, he said in answer to another question.

Regarding reports that patients are required to wait for as long as two days before paramedics arrive to carry out the test, the Minister said the number of tests performed has increased radically; two weeks ago, it was well below ten thousand, while by today it will have reached twenty thousand. In this regard, too, they are following the WHO’s recommendations, he laid down.

As to whether he believes there is a realistic chance of another procedure under Article Seven being instituted against Hungary due to the coronavirus legislation and of Fidesz being expelled from the European People’s Party, in his reply he said in the past few years they have grown used to the fact that it is something of a hobby for many to criticise, slander and make false accusations about Hungary. They can live with that, he said, adding that they find it unusual that in a crisis situation when not only Hungary, but also the entire continent is being faced with extraordinary difficulties they continue to pick on us. All they can ask for – as they did in the past – is for them to stop doing that. If there are disputes, they are ready to conduct them after the disease control efforts are over. Until then, the Hungarian government is not prepared to rise to the bait of any provocation, whether originating from the EU or from the People’s Party, he stated.

Regarding the depreciation of the forint, the Minister said a powerful speculative attack has been launched against the Hungarian currency which the central bank has managed in an exemplary manner. The current state of the Hungarian economy does not warrant a HUF/EUR exchange rate of 360-370; in his view, this will return to within a normal range.

In answer to another question, he said the suspension of the amortisation of credit debts can be requested at any time up to 31 December.

In answer to the question as to why they have withdrawn plans to change the powers of mayors, he said they did so because they would like – as far as possible – national unity and political cooperation behind the containment effort, and they also wanted to avoid political disputes.

He added that the government acknowledged that local governments and mayors were not happy about the contemplated changes, and in actual fact, in the present situation, they perceived them as an attack. As a result, within a few hours they amended the provision in question, and so local government powers will not change.

Regarding other elements of the proposal, he highlighted that the containment of the virus is affecting a number of areas, but that does not mean that the government will give up submitting proposed legislative amendments in the normal course of legislation. In contrast to unfounded accusations, the government does not wish to close down Parliament; it would like Parliament to carry on working as normal, and therefore, they are asking Members of Parliament to do their jobs properly as much as possible under the present circumstances, he explained.

In connection with expected changes in Városliget (City Park), Mr Gulyás said all buildings planned to be erected on the premises have final and absolute planning permission, and not even the Metropolitan General Assembly’s ban on alterations can override this. In order to finally tidy up the green areas of the park, the planned changes are necessary, he said.

The employer’s certificate necessary for baby expecting loans must be issued also during the state of danger, the Minister said in answer to a question, suggesting that those who are not furnished with such certificates should contact the labour authority.

In answer to the question as to why the Hungarian government has joined the statement which several European governments worded due to a presumed deficit of democracy, Mr Gulyás said Hungary is able to identify with this statement. While many find this cynical, the Hungarian government joined the statement in earnest, he stated, adding that Hungary took due account of the values of rule of law upon the adoption of the coronavirus legislation.

He said in answer to a question that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is not planning any programmes abroad. His scheduled programmes have been cancelled, and the meetings of the European Council are conducted via video conference.

He added that the Prime Minister was investing all his energy in the containment effort. He said the Prime Minister is seeking to contain the risk of infection as anyone else, though in his case there is a higher risk of infection, given that by virtue of his office he comes into contact with many people.

The Prime Minister is in good health, he remarked.

As to whether the traditional sprinkling of women will be allowed at Easter, Government Spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said, based on the present regulations, only those living in the same household are allowed to do so. She confirmed that further information regarding the rules of restrictions on movement would be released on Wednesday. She asked everyone to continue to observe the rules because by doing so they can do the most for slowing down the epidemic. They will make an announcement regarding this year’s final examinations before Easter, she indicated.

She also said, in the interest of putting an end to debates related to EU funds, the government will open an EU fund, and if any additional funds are received from the EU, they will go to this fund. So far, the EU has not provided a single extra penny for Hungary in connection with the containment of the epidemic; Brussels is only planning to relax the rules of settlement, she observed.

Mr Gulyás received a question about how the government is handling “the latest series of attacks levelled by the EU”, the “crossfire” against the coronavirus legislation and repeated suggestions regarding rule of law proceedings under Article 7. According to the Minister, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán fittingly stated in this case that “we are busy concerning ourselves with the epidemic, while Brussels is busy concerning itself with us”.

He pointed out that the Hungarian coronavirus legislation fully conforms to all rule of law criteria. He added that in this regard a great many lies had been repeated in the European press which, he remarked, they are used to, but their extent “goes beyond what we observed in the past”.

He said if these claims were true, then the accusations levelled against Hungary could even be well-founded. At the same time, he continued, one can read absurd claims such as that elections will be cancelled in Hungary, while no one believes that the state of danger will last for another two years. However, even if it did last for another two years, not even in a state of danger could the government overrule the constitutional provision about the holding of elections. It is only by-elections that are not allowed to be held, something on which all political sides agreed, he argued.

He also said, by their account, the opposition agree with the vast majority of the government’s measures, and only did not vote for the bill because it did not state a specific time limit. Apart from the absence of a time limit presumed by the opposition, there is no measure and there is no authorisation they did not agree with, he said.

He stated that “there is a political witch-hunt under way against Hungary”. He observed that this is something that they have got used to in recent years, and so on that account “this is nothing special”. At the same time, they see this as “extremely unethical and wrong” because at this time the whole of Europe and also the European Union should concentrate on the containment of the epidemic, rather than picking on some Member States.

In answer to a question, Mr Gulyás pointed out that he asked the metropolitan municipality to solve the current public transport situation in Budapest within the shortest possible time because, he said, human lives are at risk if masses of people are clustered together in public transport in a way that has been observed on buses and trams, in particular, in the mornings, in the past few days.

The Minister underlined in response to a question about the latest regulation related to fake news that, in the present situation, the government is fully committed to guaranteeing press freedom, and so the new factual scenario introduced through the amendment of the Penal Code does not in any way relate to serious and sharp criticisms levelled at the government’s measures during the state of danger. He asked everyone to abstain from spreading news which constitute fake information related to the crisis.

In answer to a question about the details of the government’s action plan, the Minister indicated that there were ongoing consultations with the central bank, whilst fully respecting its independence. Therefore, after the next meeting of the Monetary Council to be held on Tuesday, the National Bank will make important announcements. Mr Gulyás said the action plan as a whole will affect 18 to 22 per cent of GDP.

He stated in response to a question regarding the introduction of a curfew that there is no such proposal on the government’s agenda. The present measures appear to be sufficient to slow down the spread of the virus. At the same time, he continued, they have no way of knowing how disciplined people will be during the Easter holidays as if the number of interactions increases for a few days, that could bring about a change in the status of the epidemic.

The Minister believes there is no need for the extension of the deadline for the submission of tax returns, given that the tax authority prepares everyone’s tax returns. He said the special legal order task force is dealing with issues related to the taxation of economic actors, and in the next two weeks they will adopt detailed rules regarding these matters.

(MTI)