The Government has decided to reinstate mandatory immigration detention detention, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at the press conference Governmentinfo 75 which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács.
Mr Lázár told the press: no one may freely move in the territory of Hungary until the assessment of the asylum application submitted, and in the event of refusal, no one may leave the country until the assessment of the application on a final and absolute basis.
The Minister referred to the increased threat of terrorism and security risks as the reason for the measure, and in his evaluation, the pressure of migration weighing upon Hungary may increase in 2017. The Government asked the Interior Minister to make the necessary preparations for reinstating mandatory immigration detention urgently.
As he said, the meetings of the European Commission and the European Council held in the autumn and in December failed to yield tangible results, and were unable to resolve the crisis. The situation of those who are already within the borders of the EU continues to remain problematic. He further said that the number of those heading for Hungary from the Serbian border is also on the increase, and therefore the protection of the borders must be significantly upgraded.
The Minister was also asked about the status of the Körmend reception centre. He said in reply that the reinstatement of mandatory immigration detention will solve the problems, and there will be no need for the operation of the facility. At the same time, he said thanks to the city’s leadership and those living there, indicating that the Government is ready to reward their cooperation with developments.
NGOs must be transparent
Mr Lázár was asked at length about statements made by government-party politicians regarding civil society organisations. He said in explanation for the plans concerning the transparency of the sector that everyone has the right to find out who wants to influence their opinion from abroad. There are at present no regulations of this kind with respect to non-governmental organisations, despite the fact that they form part of political life, he added, indicating: the Justice Ministry will prepare a balanced proposal which will equally apply to everyone. However, there is at present a debate about a non-existent proposal. The Government does not want to „clear anyone out of the way”, he stressed.
At the same time, he asked members of the press to manifest some empathy towards his fellow-politicians who responded to foreign attempts to manipulate public opinion with a degree of sensitivity. As an example, he pointed out: it is evident that half a million illegal immigrants were organised to approach the Hungarian border with foreign assistance, and US businessman György Soros stated on a number of occasions that in the absence of a genuine opposition, he and his networks constitute the opposition in Hungary.
Government to file report for criminal investigation regarding metro line 4
The Minister also told the press that the Government will file a report with the police against unknown perpetrators regarding the case of the construction of metro line 4. As he said, OLAF has closed the investigation of the project which had been ongoing as of December 2012. Its report renders an account of a „series of international left-wing crimes”. The socialist and free democrat city leadership and multinational corporations may have jointly committed these crimes under the leadership of former Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky, he added, indicating that suspicions of fraud, corruption, abuse of power and cartel practices have also emerged.
The European Commission would impose a fine of HUF 76.6 billion on Hungary due to the irregularities, the Minister said, who agreed with Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós that the fine must be shifted onto those who were responsible for the transactions.
Hungary has adequate energy reserves
Hungary has adequate energy reserves, and is able to meet the emerging demands even in the event of the most extreme weather circumstances, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office stated. Mr Lázár said: at the beginning of the winter, they increased the quantity of gas to be stored by 13 per cent, and a sufficient quantity of electricity is also available.
He said: at present, the daily gas consumption amounts to 87 million cubic metres, but there is available capacity for a substantially larger quantity as well. At the beginning of the winter, there were 3.7 billion cubic metres of gas in the storage facilities, he added, and so gas is available without any restrictions.
The Minister also told the press: the Government offers its assistance to every local government with providing care for the homeless and helping those in need or in trouble. The local governments must contact the Ministry of Interior for any help they need.
Mr Lázár also appealed to the homeless, asking them to contact a shelter designated for the homeless within the shortest possible time, and in addition to local governments, he also thanked the civilians who have helped.
More stringent assessment expected regarding excess expenditures of developments
The Minister further reported that the Government will assess any municipal and other investor requests for additional expenditures for ongoing projects more stringently in the future.
Mr Lázár said: the competent ministry may decide on extra expenditures below 15 per cent. However, in the case of additional expenditures between 15 and 30 per cent, the Minister of the Economy has a right of veto, subject to the involvement of a forensic expert. There will be no scope at all for the approval of extra expenditures in excess of 30 per cent.
He also told the press: they wish to disburse all HUF 9,000 billion of EU development funds by the end of next March, and all calls for proposals will be published with respect to the EU funds available for the period extending to 2020 by the end of March this year, and decisions on the awarding of the calls will be adopted by the end of the year, at the latest.
As he said, they are planning to disburse funds worth minimum HUF 2,200 billion, but this sum may be as high as HUF 2,700 billion which may significantly contribute to a minimum 4 per cent economic growth.
In answer to a question, he said: last year, in the case of projects worth some HUF 1,300 billion, excess requests worth HUF 230 billion were received by the Government. They wish to make these funds transparent in the future with the involvement of forensic experts.
The Minister was further queried about the topics on the agenda of the Budapest meeting of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In his answer, he mentioned energy and economic cooperation, and the Paks 2 project. At the same time, Mr Lázár rejected all claims or provocations to the effect that „we would yield an inch on any national interest, whether in the West or in the East”. If the new block of the nuclear power station is not built, the country’s energy dependence on Russia will further increase, he pointed out, adding that the Government’s position is clear: „we do not want the Russians to cross the Carpathians”. A fair relationship between the two countries which is based on mutual respect is in the best interest of the Hungarian economy, he said.
Mr Lázár confirmed that the Prime Minister invited the Israeli Prime Minister to Hungary in person by telephone. He was, however, unable to tell when the visit will be due.
He informed the press that the Prime Minister will visit the City of Szeged on 30 January and will meet with socialist mayor László Botka. He reiterated: the Government promised grants for the implementation of an industrial park of 200 hectares at the seat of Csongrád County inter alia, but as he said, the city has also received substantial government funding for the implementation of ELI (Extreme Light Infrastructure).
In answer to a question, the Minister said that the Government and the Prime Minister do not wish to further concern themselves with the changes made to an interview with the Prime Minister at the publishing company Pannon Lapok. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not file for criminal investigation in the case, and leaves the settlement of the affair and of the issue of accountability to the publisher.
Reduction of sovereign debt is the target
At the press conference Governmentinfo 75, Mr Lázár also told the press: the Government authorised the Prime Minister’s Office to further review government support institutions and to look into the operation of state-owned companies. He added: state-owned companies may also undergo changes and staff streamlining this year.
He further said that they will initiate a legislative amendment in order to make it easier for those availing themselves of the new family housing benefit to build residential buildings. Construction regulations will be simplified with respect to running water, holiday zones and garden plots.
The Government heard Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga’s report on the new government securities market strategy. The target continues to remain to reduce the sovereign debt to 65 per cent to GDP by 2020. At the same time, based on the country’s economic performance, the sovereign debt can be financed more cheaply at present. The Hungarian population finances 40 per cent of the total sovereign debt, Mr Lázár told the press, while foreign creditors now only have a share of 40 per cent. In other words, the country’s exposure has decreased.
The Cabinet has further decided that there is no need any more for any auxiliary money market solutions, and as part of this has decided on the phasing out of the settlement bonds which will remain on sale until 31 March. He added: the total proceeds of the land auctions from last year and this year amounting to some HUF 270 billion, too, will be used in their entirety for the reduction of the sovereign debt.
Mr Lázár was also asked about the continued construction of the M0 express road. He said in reply that they would like to close the route disputes this year, and to invite the relevant public procurements in the second half of the year. The construction works may begin in 2018 and may be completed by 2022.
Mr Lázár further told the press that the Government acknowledges the Miskolc mayor’s request, and there will be no prison hospital in the city.
(MTI)
