At present, the threats the Italian Prime Minister is levelling at the Central-European countries, including Hungary, have no legal or political basis of any kind, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at the press conference Governmentinfo 67 which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács.
Matteo Renzi said on Tuesday that if Central-Europe says no to migrants, Italy will „veto” the EU budget. Mr Lázár pointed out in response: the Government takes the view that Hungary is taking its share of the management of the migrant crisis through the protection of its borders. He indicated at the same time that the management of immigrants and the fate of the cohesion funds cannot be connected together today.
Hungary is, however, not opposed to the revision of the Treaties of the EU, thereby initiating a debate on the matter, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office told the press.
In contrast to Matteo Renzi’s words, Hungary is able to take the critical statements of the Greek Government somewhat less seriously as Greece has failed to comply with the Schengen regulations for almost three years now, Mr Lázár said.
Reiterating the results of last week’s EU summit held in Brussels, he said: the quotas continue to remain on the agenda, but the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker asked Slovakia which currently holds the EU Presidency to make a proposal for reaching „a fair compromise” by December. The mandatory resettlement quotas will „compete” with this Slovak proposal, he said. At the same time, the Minister described the move on Brussels’ part to propose the extension of the temporary maintenance of internal border controls as mistaken.
The head of the Prime Minister’s Office expressed his condolences at the press conference to the family of the police officer who was shot dead in Bőny on Wednesday. He referred to the murder as one of the harshest incidents of the past 25 years as no one „from among the leaders of far-right organisations” had before carried out an armed attack against police officers. He urged the administration of justice to evaluate the crime „without compromise, and consistently”. In the context of the incident, he told the press: the investigation which seeks to clarify the situation and the totality of the circumstances is ongoing.
Review of settlement bonds has been ongoing for six months
The Government refuses Jobbik’s blackmail, and will not tie the withdrawal of the bonds to the amendment of the Fundamental Law.
Mr Lázár said: the financing of the sovereign debt has improved, demand for Hungarian government bonds has increased, and in consequence, there will be no need for the settlement bonds during the period to come. He added: the review of the settlement bonds has been ongoing for six months, independently of Jobbik’s initiative.
The Minister said that the Government refuses the opposition party’s blackmail, and will not connect together the withdrawal of the bonds and the amendment of the Fundamental Law. He described the latter as a pan-national cause which „does not bear being connected to petty affairs”.
Government disagrees with head of state regarding wind turbines
The Government does not agree with the position of President of the Republic János Áder regarding wind turbines, and therefore it will repeatedly present the electricity law previously returned for reconsideration to Parliament with minor amendments.
The head of state returned to Parliament the amendment of the electricity legislation – which tightened the rules regarding the construction of wind turbines – for reconsideration last Friday. Mr Áder takes the view that the amendments frustrate the construction of such power plants. Mr Lázár said in response: the Government is of the opinion that Hungary will be able to attain the goals of the Paris climate agreement also without wind turbines.
He said: the Cabinet’s position is not an outright no to wind turbines. It is merely „cautious” for certain ecological and economic reasons. He indicated that they will review how wind turbines are being re-regulated in Germany.
The Minister also said at the press conference that the amendment of the public procurement law will be presented to Parliament on Friday as expected, by virtue of which the legislation will be tightened, the relevant procedures will be simplified, and the assessment of applications will accelerate. From among the planned amendments, he highlighted that those who violate the rules of the public procurement procedure will be disqualified from public procurements for 90 days. Another purpose of the legislative amendment is, he continued, to receive the largest possible number of applications in response to each call, and further to protect the considerations of subcontractors. They will also review the public procurement limits, and will introduce the rule that minimum three offers must be requested even below the public procurement limit.
Five-party consultation regarding new Code on Penal Proceedings
Mr Lázár further informed the press that the Government sees the need for a five-party consultation on the law on penal proceedings and the police legislation as well. In his view, the time has come to re-write the Code on Penal Proceedings. Among the reasons, he mentioned that Parliament has been compelled to amend the legal rule which has been in force since 1988 some 80 times, and further that the average administration time is between 380-390 days which represents a 10 to 20 per cent increase.
He also told the press: he believes that court proceedings are inevitable on account of the infringement procedure which was instituted due to the land sale law. The EU wants foreigners and legal entities, too, to be allowed to buy land without restriction, while the Government wishes to prevent this, he said, adding that they will respond to the EU’s remarks by 15 November.
Cabinet has approved railway developments worth HUF 1,200 billion
Mr Lázár further announced that the Cabinet has approved railway developments worth some HUF 1,200 billion. The concept extending to 2022 includes, inter alia, railway and railway junction developments, the construction of suburban railway lines and the procurement of railway carriages.
According to plans, the lines between Budapest and Százhalombatta and between the capital and Hatvan will be upgraded, while the railway network around Lake Balaton will be modernised on both the southern and northern shores, he informed the press. He added: they are allocating some HUF 100 billion for the procurement of railway carriages. 80 per cent of the funds will originate from the European Union, and the remaining 20 per cent will be supplied from local resources.
The Cabinet has also approved the development of the Debrecen and Kecskemét airports, the Minister announced.
At the same time, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán initiated an enquiry into the current inadequate connection between the airport at Ferihegy and the centre of Budapest. The strategic cabinet will therefore place the issue of the connection by road and rail between the airport and the centre of the city on its agenda, the Minister said.
The Minister informed the press that the Government approved HUF 137 billion for the modernisation of metro line 3 on Wednesday. In answer to enquiries regarding this issue, he raised the question: how could the Government be an enemy of this programme when the Government itself is its biggest supporter? As he said, they will not take any responsibility, should the operation of the line stop because they adopted all grant decisions in a timely manner. He added: he sincerely hopes that should there be any stoppage in the service, it will not be for political, but for safety reasons, and should this occur, the Government is ready to help the metropolitan municipality.
He also pointed out that they asked the metropolitan municipality to give Hungarian buses a chance on a number of occasions. There is nothing more they can do.
Reduction of tax bureaucracy must continue
The Government also discussed the proposal of the Ministry for National Economy regarding the amendment of the tax laws, and adopted several decisions: the reduction of tax bureaucracy must continue; the rules regarding the taxation of businesses qualifying as micro-taxpayers will change, and the range of available benefits will be significantly extended as of 1 January; additionally, the Minister for National Economy has been authorised to engage in talks with players of the economy with respect to the measures that are necessary in the current situation, including, for instance, the reduction of work-related contributions and the issue of pay rises.
Mr Lázár likewise rendered an account of agricultural issues, including the fact that the purchase of the Mezőhegyes stud farm has been closed, and those who had acquired land lease entitlements on the premises of the farm earlier will receive compensation worth some one billion forints in total.
The Government has approved the national castle and fortress programme, as part of which 19 castles and 20 fortresses will be refurbished from an allocation of HUF 45 billion, he informed the press. Upon disclosing the decisions of the strategic cabinet, he said that the Defence Sports Association may be set up as a national public body. He further informed the press that construction procedures will be subject to changes, and in the future they will waive planning permission not only in respect of new buildings, but also with respect to extensions and enlargements.
Mr Lázár was asked about the planned staff reductions in the public sector. In this context, he confirmed: the fact that out of the some 4.3 million workers in Hungary one million receive their salaries from the State is an untenable situation, in particular, in the case of a shortage of work force. Too many bureaucrats live off the money of the State, he said. He told the press that there will be a 20 per cent staff reduction as part of the legal succession procedures and the takeover of responsibilities from the state offices and support institutions that will cease to operate as of 1 January. This means that some ten thousand workers will be laid off.
In answer to a question, the Minister also pointed out that he agrees with the initiative of the managers of oncological institutes that certain medicines which may at present only be prescribed on the basis of individual considerations should be available to everyone.
The Minister said in response to a question regarding the fact that the police interviewed one of the journalists of the weekly Figyelő on account of an article: he is opposed to journalists being harassed on account of their sources.
He was also queried about the Christian Democratic People’s Party’s (KDNP) proposal regarding working hours. He said in reply: the Government did not discuss them, and is at this point in time not planning to support them. He added: 24 December is likewise not expected to be declared a bank holiday.
Mr Lázár was further asked for his opinion regarding the promotion, on the occasion of 23 October, to police lieutenant-general of Major-General László Tasnádi, State Secretary for Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Interior, who served as a III/II operative in 1989. He said: „this is an embarrassing and unpleasant story that is not in order”, and all the members of the Government take the view that this is a problem. In explanation, he cited the normal course of promotion, and in his words, the Prime Minister, too, appreciated the unpleasantness of the situation.
(MTI)
