The government expects Gergely Karácsony to make clear his position regarding the restarting of life in the capital in the context of the coronavirus epidemic, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at an online press conference held on Thursday.

At the press conference, Gergely Gulyás spoke about the slowing down of the coronavirus epidemic and a fall in the number of newly infected persons. He said at the same time that territorial differences remain: in Budapest and Pest County, the number of active infected persons stands at 1,240, while in the countryside the corresponding number is just 726. 301 persons have died in the capital and Pest County, while the number of fatalities in the countryside stands at 82.

Outlining the previous day’s statistics, he added that on Wednesday 39 new infections had been registered and 10 persons had died. As a result, these are among some of the best figures of the past few days, he said in evaluation.

The head of the Prime Minister’s Office continued to ask everyone to observe the containment measures, including the rules relating to the wearing of face masks because these are essential for the resumption of “a more normal” life without a drastic rise in the number of infections.

He thanked local governments for their cooperation, stating that on Wednesday, Minister of State for Developments in the Capital and Its Environs Balázs Fürjes had talks with a deputy of the Mayor of Budapest, and they agreed that the Metropolitan Council of Public Developments could meet again either in May or in June, at the latest.

Mr Gulyás observed that he himself had met with several mayors, including Mayor of Kaposvár-President of the Alliance of County-Ranked Cities Károly Szita and the mayors of Debrecen, Székesfehérvár, Nyíregyháza and Zalaegerszeg.

Regarding Budapest, the Minister said they were surprised to read in Gergely Karácsony’s letter his criticisms related to cooperation.

As far as they can see, he continued, the Mayor of Budapest seems to have changed his mind, and he now believes that it would be necessary to restart life in Budapest as well. Regarding this, the Minister said the government expects Mr Karácsony to make his position clear, and if the cabinet is right in believing that the Mayor of Budapest has changed his mind, it is ready to start talks about the conditions, including the timeframe, for the resumption of life in Budapest according to a strict timetable and against the maintenance of containment measures.

He also said pursuant to the decree on the restrictions on movement, the capital and Pest County are not in lockdown; however, the government is asking the residents of Budapest and Pest County to observe the containment measures also when leaving the central region.

Mr Gulyás highlighted that grant programmes had started as part of the economy protection action plan; so far, some 3,000 businesses have agreed to guarantee the preservation of 44,000 jobs.

The Minister took the view that this is a major result in just a week, and it shows that businesses expected these grants, are availing themselves of them, and guarantee in return that they will preserve jobs. At present, preserving jobs – and creating new ones if necessary – is the top priority in the Hungarian economy, he explained.

He said the EU has allowed governments to provide investment incentive grants worth maximum EUR 800,000; at the same time, businesses themselves are required to take part in projects with a minimum matching sum. The HUF 50 billion allocation has already been oversubscribed; the government will decide on the raising of this allocation, he said, adding that new projects create jobs which enable them to honour the promise of creating as many jobs as will be destroyed by the epidemic.

Mr Gulyás highlighted that they had also adopted further important decisions, including raising the contingency of public works scheme workers, offering retraining, further training and adult training with state funding, and raising the number of contract soldiers in the defence forces.

He said the goal is to swiftly satisfy the needs that emerge on the labour market, in particular in trade. The job-seekers’ support is available for three months, and they sincerely hope that no one will be without jobs for longer than that, he said.

The Minister stressed the government had also decided on the extension of rental arrangements in the case of properties owned by the state or local governments until the end of the state of danger, including cases where the tenant is a private individual. They want to ensure that during this difficult situation no one should be left without housing, he added.

The Minister said those who attempted to cause panic in connection with the organisation of the final examinations were not right. Mr Gulyás thanked teachers, students and parents as well as everyone who has taken part in the organisation of the examinations. The hardest part is already over, he added.

He underlined that when Parliament ratified the Treaty of Lisbon, they knew that all major changes concerning the fundamental rules of the EU and its functioning have their advantages and disadvantages. They have always believed that one of the advantages was the introduction of the possibility of European Citizens’ Initiatives; though at this point, we cannot yet see how seriously European institutions will take their obligations in the event of a successful initiative, he pointed out.

He said the cause of nationalities – which is also a cause of the Hungarian nation – has always been a special priority for the Hungarian government, in particular, for civic governments. Therefore, they support all initiatives which help to promote the protection of the rights of national minorities and their direct access to funds, he underlined.

He said there is such a cause now; the deadline for signing the petition of the citizens’ initiative serving to strengthen European national regions – which he signed a year ago – will expire at midnight tonight. The Minister encouraged everyone “who believes that the cause of the Hungarian nation is important” to sign the initiative.

Mr Gulyás answered the question as to whether there is a timetable for the recommissioning of vacated hospital beds in the affirmative. He said a decree concerning this has been released. They first seek to resume basic health care at the level of general practitioners and outpatient care; this has already started this week, and many people have already availed themselves of the services now available again. The Ministry of Human Capacities will continue to keep members of the public informed about the availability of health care services, and the goal is to resume normal life within the shortest possible time, the Minister pointed out.

The data of all counties in a detailed breakdown has been available on the koronavirus.gov.hu website for weeks, he said in answer to another question. He also indicated that on Wednesday a record number of tests were carried out, and in the coming days they will reach a hundred thousand. At the same time, under the supervision of Semmelweis University, they are carrying out a representative survey which is unique in Europe. The detailed findings of this test survey will be released next week.

As to what will happen to the ventilators now that we seem to have succeeded in flattening the epidemic curve, he said they are happy to be able to procure such machines in large numbers. He added that there is hardly any scientific opinion that does not reckon with a second wave of the epidemic. As long as there is no vaccine, there is a realistic threat that the infection will have a second wave in the autumn, at the latest, and they would like to ensure that ventilators are available in sufficient numbers even for the event of mass incidences. As a result, we will be able to avoid situations similar to those we observed in Italy or New York, Mr Gulyás observed.

According to the Minister’s information, the oldest recovered Hungarian patient is 97 years of age who was treated in Szent János Hospital in his own constituency. This patient’s case shows that even those in the most at-risk group could succeed in recovering from the disease, he said.

Regarding the fact that Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony published the documents of the inspection conducted at the Pesti út elderly care home together with the metropolitan municipality’s refutations, and asked the government to exclude the metropolitan government office from the investigation, he said almost every 10th infection occurred in this institution, and the ratio of fatalities is not any less shocking. He does not believe that they should not be looking for the persons who are responsible; they are aware of the omissions made. As to who is responsible and to what extent should be decided not in a political debate, but in a procedure conducted by the competent authority. The competent authority is the metropolitan government office, and the procedure which seeks to answer, inter alia, the question of whether the relevant disease control regulations were observed, is being conducted by experts. The investigation conducted so far has revealed that these regulations were clearly not observed, he pointed out. He remarked that the era when a politician who was unhappy with the proceeding authority could ask for the appointment of another one has been over for more than 30 years.

He also said the coronavirus crisis highlights that a significant percentage of active hospital beds were used solely for rehabilitation purposes. In his view, this is an incorrect practice, and they will have to explore what could be done to increase the number of rehabilitation beds.

In answer to a question about the delay in the BMW project, he said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó will have talks with the company’s executives next week. They have already confirmed that the project will be implemented, he indicated. 2023 is the earliest date when the plant could start operating, and it is to be hoped that this deadline could be observed. As a result, this could only have a minimal impact on the country’s economic growth in 2023 or 2024.

Mr Gulyás also informed the public that so far the government had spent HUF 600 billion on the containment effort. Hungary has not received a penny from the EU for containment purposes, he confirmed.

In response to a question about already booked holidays abroad, he said the general ‘force majeure’ rules of civil law apply to what should be refunded and in what form; however, in the present situation, travel agencies themselves are not in an easy position.

He added it is to be hoped that by July and August there will be no restrictions on travel and borders will be reopened; however, at this time, there is no guarantee.

The Minister was also asked about whether they had received any letters or calls of apology in response to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s letter to European political leaders. Mr Gulyás said the Prime Minister had sent letters to the member organisations of the European People’s Party. At the same time, they are expecting an apology from President of the European People’s Party Donald Tusk as he levelled slanderous accusations at the Hungarian Prime Minister which the European Commission has refuted since. The body made it clear that the concerns related to the Hungarian coronavirus legislation were unfounded, and the law is in harmony with all European regulations.

In the context of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis’s anti-Hungarian statements, he said the government believes that the Hungarian State is also responsible for Hungarians beyond the borders. This is laid down in the Fundamental Law, and the political decisions of the past ten years have been made in this spirit. We should take on a degree of confrontation on this matter that serves the best interests of Hungarians living in Transylvania. It is especially shocking that – in the absence of a better candidate – they supported the incumbent Romanian president with their votes. In his view, the Romanian President is indeed taking part in a chauvinistic and xenophobic campaign which is an insult to the Hungarian minority, and he would do well to abandon it.

There is no need for the Romanian president to spoil Romanian-Hungarian relations for – it is to be presumed – petty, momentary political reasons. The Hungarian party has a vested interest in the maintenance of sincere and high-quality relations, he said.

In answer to a question, Government Spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said the government hopes that domestic tourism could be resumed in the provinces in June, at the latest, or even earlier. The current rules will remain in force until 18 May, and the cabinet will decide on the period thereafter at its meeting next week, she added.

The spokesperson said the recommendations of the Hungarian Tourism Agency seek to enable businesses in catering to provide high-quality services whilst preventing the further spread of the virus.

Ms. Szentkirályi encouraged everyone to consider domestic destinations this summer as by doing so they can also contribute to the preservation of Hungarian jobs.

Mr Gulyás said those currently arriving in Hungary by plane must retire to quarantine for two weeks.

He highlighted that sports federations are free to decide on the continuation of national championships, while the general rules of safety also apply to them. According to the Minister, there is no reason why groups of friends should not play football or engage in other leisure-time or sporting activities together as physical exercise – provided that the necessary precautions are observed – can contribute to the preservation of health.

Mr Gulyás confirmed that the government does not wish to uphold the state of danger any longer than it is absolutely necessary. He recalled that the special legal order which also allows the restriction of fundamental rights is necessary because it would not otherwise be possible to adopt measures such as the restrictions on movement which violate the constitutional right to freedom of movement.

He said it is sad that while those working in hospitals are doing everything they can to contain the virus, some people are increasing their workload by submitting to them requests for data of public interest. The government has extended the deadline available to institutions for responding to such requests because in the present situation this task is perhaps secondary, he added.

The head of the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that Minister of State for Family and Youth Affairs Katalin Novák will explore the issue of summer camps for children, and the government will decide about whether they can be organised at its meeting to be held next Wednesday.

Mr Gulyás said the funds now withdrawn from the Paks enlargement project will not delay its implementation.

The Minister stressed it is an untrue and malevolent claim that the rejection of the Istanbul Convention by the government parties has anything to do with the rejection of violence against women. The government has put in place the harshest possible sanctions for incidents involving violence against women, but believes that we cannot possibly endorse the Convention’s liberal gender approach as this would be contrary to Fidesz’s position that was also part of its manifesto in the election campaign. Additionally, the Convention contains provisions relating to immigration which the government cannot identify with, he said.

Regarding Freedom House’s recent report which claims that Hungary is no longer a democracy, but a hybrid regime, Mr Gulyás said Freedom House is beginning to make a transition from non-governmental organisation to “party-political actor”. Freedom House owes its existence to liberal governance and George Soros’s financial support. As a result, this organisation is not a judge of, but a participant in Hungarian political debates, and evidently not on the government’s, but on the opposition’s side, he said.

In the context of the next seven-year EU fiscal cycle, the Minister said the Hungarian opposition’s machinations in Brussels are, no doubt, spoiling Hungary’s positions, but not to a degree that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could not offset in the European Council. At the same time, it would be beneficial to forge cooperation to enable Hungary to have access to maximum EU funding, he added.

(MTI)