The Government will summarise the rules of the preferential family housing programme in two new decrees on 3 February, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office announced at the press conference Governmentinfo 37 which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács.
János Lázár said: one of the decrees will provide for the conditions of the purchase of used homes, while the other one will regulate the purchase of new homes. The necessary theoretical decisions were adopted regarding the anticipated easing of restrictions at the Wednesday cabinet meeting.
Based on this, the Minister confirmed that the Government will do away with the limit of HUF 30 million and the proprietary restrictions. It will also be possible to do away with the „bureaucratic rules” which currently relate to the utilisation of the proceeds of the sale of formerly owned housing properties, he added.
Additionally, the decrees will lift a number of former restrictions, e.g. regarding the definition of the availability of all modern conveniences in the case of the construction of new homes. Consequently, where there is no drinking water, the availability of drinking water will be the main criterion, while where there is no sewer system, the solutions formerly authorised in the relevant construction regulations may continue to survive.
The Government is also prepared to support the building in of attic spaces in large cities and the construction of new farm buildings in non-residential areas through the family housing benefit, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said. He further remarked that the family housing benefit will also be available for the construction of homes on garden plots in residential areas.
According to the Minister’s information, people employed in the public work schemes will have the possibility of availing themselves of the family housing benefit for the purchase of used homes and the refurbishment of their homes.
He further informed the press: they wish to identify the guarantees in cooperation with the architectural profession which ensure the observance of construction regulations with the abolition of planning permission. The objective of the Government is, he said, the reduction of bureaucracy and the development of a homogeneous landscape.
In the context of the family housing benefit, Mr Lázár stressed: the primary goal is a family policy objective, while the secondary goal is to boost economic growth. Consequently, the programme is more than a mere social policy campaign.
The Government also discussed the planned introduction of the institution called National Housing Community to enable those with housing savings to buy a home within the shortest possible time, the Minister said.
Dairy producers in crisis, Government must step in
The Minister said in the context of the situation on the dairy market that if the current purchase prices continue to prevail, many farmers may abandon their activities. The Government is therefore seeking ways to help supplement dairy purchase prices.
Mr Lázár confirmed his announcement made last week: the Government wishes to sell minimum 150,000 hectares of land in land auctions at the same prices and under the same conditions. The list of the plots of arable land to be offered for sale will be completed by next week, he said, and promised that the list will be disclosed to the public by the beginning of February.
He added: the Government will continue to provide preferential loans for the bidders of the March land auctions. In other words, another facility of HUF 100 billion will be available at the Hungarian Development Bank.
The Minister informed the press that 18 foreign nationals may acquire land at the auctions to date, provided that no one exercises their pre-emptive right. He pointed out that several of these foreign nationals have lived in Hungary for twenty to thirty years, are married to Hungarians or have Hungarian parents or grandparents.
Mr Lázár reiterated: the auction value to date amounts to more than HUF 170 billion. The proceeds of the auctions will go to the National Land Management Agency, and may only be used for the purpose of increasing the assets of the State. In the vast majority of cases, the landed areas were sold 10 to 20 per cent above the market price, but there were instances when plots were purchased for triple the market price, he said.
Taxi drivers are right this time
Regarding the demonstration of taxi drivers, Mr Lázár advised taxi drivers to exercise moderation. The Government believes that they are right this time. The Cabinet is of the opinion that taxi drivers should be helped because the taxi industry is a market regulated by the State, and if something is regulated by the State, it is also entitled to protection, he explained.
The Minister said that they should find a common denominator with taxi drivers as to what should be regulated and how. He stressed that the Government would like everyone in Hungary to observe the laws and to pay taxes, and would additionally also like to guarantee the quality and transparency of taxi services.
The Minister remarked that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán asked members of the Government at the cabinet meeting whether they use Uber. None of the members of the Government use Uber, but the majority of young people working in government offices do travel by Uber, he said.
Government preparing for institutional reforms in the spirit of reduction of bureaucracy
Within the framework of the reduction of bureaucracy, the Government is planning the reorganisation or phasing out of more than seventy state support institutions and centrally financed agencies, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said. There are some 72-73 institutions „targeted by the Government”; these may be terminated with or without a legal successor. In answer to a question, Mr Lázár said that he was given the task by the Government to compile the list.
Consultations will start between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries in the next few days as to how support institutions and centrally financed agencies can be reintegrated into the Ministries, how to terminate outsourcing, and how to operate the system more simply and swiftly as well as more cost-effectively, the Minister said. Mr Lázár indicated that some 50,000 people work at these institutions and agencies.
The Government only sees scope for the survival of these centrally financed agencies, offices and institutions in exceptional cases, the Minister said, who mentioned the police, the defence forces, the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Centre, the State Health Care Centre and the Directorate General for Social Services as institutions that will remain in place under any circumstances. Mr Lázár further mentioned the National Health Care Fund, the pension disbursement institution, the Office for Agriculture and Rural Development and the transport authority among the institutions that will undergo reforms. The Government will decide on this issue on 10 February, he said.
The Minister took the view that in order to maintain the country’s competitiveness, it is necessary to reduce red tape; this is effectively the sum total of the consultations held with industrialists and employers, the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers.
Mr Lázár said that the reduction of red tape also means that further legislative packages will be submitted to Parliament to this end. At the same time, the reduction of bureaucracy also means faster, more effective and cheaper public administration, as well as fewer bureaucrats and fewer bureaucratic institutions.
Mr Lázár pointed out that the review of the system of support institutions is one of the elements of red tape reduction. He highlighted: the functions of district offices will be reviewed in 2016, involving the jobs of some 16,000 people in the first half of the year, while the operations of government offices will be reviewed in the second half of the year which will concern the jobs of another 16,000 people.
He added: the goal is to transfer as many functions and powers from agencies with national competence to the government offices as possible. The district offices will proceed at first instance, while the government offices will serve as institutions of second instance. At the same time, this will also mean the relocation of state agencies to the countryside as the national authorities will fulfil their duties, he continued, under the auspices of the county government offices.
Any functions which are not strictly the functions of the authorities, such as the preparation of decisions, the drafting of strategies and planning, must form part of the relevant ministries, he stressed.
Mr Lázár also said: the Prime Minister’s Office will propose that the ministries take over the functions of support institutions in respect of eighty per cent of the former pay allocation.
Nothing came of EU promises
The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said: „the Government was shocked” to hear from Minister of Internal Affairs Sándor Pintér’s report that nothing came of the significant EU financial promises made in the context of the migrant crisis.
„Not a single penny has been transferred” from the funds promised last September, he said, and asked opposition parties to help to create the regulations related to the threat of terrorism.
The Minister was also asked about the Paks power plant project. He told the press that they were required to answer the questions of the European Commission (EC) by 20 January in the infringement procedure. The Government answered the questions, and professional talks will start next week.
In his view, if the EC calls into question the extension of the nuclear agreement concluded with the Russians, it will be contrary to the Treaty of the EU, and Hungary will go to court because this measure would limit the country’s sovereignty.
Several objects of art with disputed ownership status may be held by the State
Another topic raised at the press conference was the announcement made by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday: the State is unable to satisfactorily prove its title and may release the painting The Sermon of St. John the Baptist by Pieter Bruegel the Elder to the heirs.
In this context, Mr Lázár said that the State may be in possession of a significant number of objects of art, in respect of which it will, as anticipated, be unable to prove its ownership beyond doubt, Mr Lázár said. At present, there are five cases in progress.
He stressed: the Breugel painting, which is worth EUR 80-100 million according to appraisals, cannot leave the country because it is a protected object of art. He remarked: the heirs, too, indicated that they are ready to come to an agreement with the State as to the conditions under which the painting may remain at the Museum of Fine Arts.
In answer to a question, he confirmed: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been invited to Moscow for 17 February in order to review bilateral relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin – as they have done every year in the recent past – where they will with all probability also discuss the issue of the Paks power plant.
In answer to a question as to whether it is true that a minaret will be built in Szigetvár as press reports alleged, Mr Lázár said: there will be a historical memorial site in the town which will pay tribute to Miklós Zrínyi, „rather than a European memorial to pay tribute to the glory of the Turks”.
Government expecting proposal from Ministry of National Development regarding possible closure of Southern Railway Station
The Minister further informed the press that the Government requested the Minister of National Development to make a proposal regarding the closure of the Southern Railway Station in Budapest and the construction of a park in its place. Mr Lázár additionally said that, as part of the Liget Project, the Western Railway Station would be refurbished, the railway tracks inside the station would be lowered to an underground level, and a green area would be created on the ground level.
In answer to a question, he said that if the State takes over the operation of the suburban railway service HÉV, it will be operated in cooperation with the state railway company MÁV, the system is expected to undergo refurbishment and new HÉV lines may even be constructed.
In answer to another question concerning the talks between the Metropolitan Municipality and the Ministry of National Development, the Minister said that in the future urban agglomeration transport services will not be ordered by the Metropolitan Municipality from service providers such as Volán but by the State.
Mr Lázár further pointed out that there are some financial details left which the parties have yet to agree upon, including the debt of HUF 12 billion which the Metropolitan Municipality owes to MÁV. These are all technical issues, and the theoretical agreement has already been reached, he stressed.
The Minister informed the press that the Government will meet on 3 and 10 February.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
