“Parliament could amend several pieces of legislation at its extraordinary session next week, at which the General Assembly will review the steps taken so far to protect the country’s southern border and discuss further action”, Minister of Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár announced at a press conference entitled “Government Info 20 – What is the Government doing and why?”, held jointly with Minister of State for Government Communication András Giró-Szász.
New legislation under preparation to protect Hungary’s southern border
The Minister of Prime Minister’s Office indicated that he had asked Speaker of the House László Kövér to convene emergency meetings of the Parliamentary Committees on Defence and Law Enforcement, and National Security, during which MPs will be briefed by the relevant Ministries and representatives of the secret services.
Then later, during its extraordinary session on Thursday and Friday, Members of Parliament will decide on the tightening of the Penal Code, including the introduction of new case bearings, stricter punishments for human trafficking, supplementing current extradition regulations and the amendment of regulations on the confiscation of assets in the case of human traffickers.
The Government is also calling for the amendment of the Act on Penal Procedure to enable the swiftest possible procedures against people who perform crimes related to immigration, Mr. Lázár said, who also suggested amendments to legislation concerning the right to asylum and the code of civil procedure. The Government also plans to introduce new regulations on transit zones, he added.
The heavy goods vehicle found on Thursday on the Austrian A4 motorway had a Hungarian number plate and the vehicle itself was apparently purchased from a Slovakian company, the Minister of Prime Minister’s Office told the press, and promised a detailed statement from the police later in the afternoon.
According to Mr. Lázár, Austrian police have already discussed the situation with their Hungarian counterparts and the two police forces will act jointly to investigate what happened and detain those responsible. It appears the victims are believed to be illegal immigrants who attempted to travel West via Hungary or with the help of Hungarians, he added.
This extraordinary case also highlights the extent to which the immigration situation has deteriorated in recent weeks, the Minister stressed.
Army involvement required to protect border
On the subject of illegal immigration, during his regular Thursday press conference the Minister also said that in view of the events of the past 48 hours, the Cabinet believes that the Hungarian Defence Force will also have to be involved in protecting the country’s southern border. Codification work on the required legal conditions is underway, but he believes no constitutional amendment will be necessary, Mr. Lázár continued. As many police officers as possible must also be on duty along the Hungarian-Serbian border.
This week, the Government will also be hiring an international agency to inform citizens in transit countries, and probably also countries of origin, about the fact that Hungary is constructing a security fence along its southern border, he also told the press. The estimated cost of the campaign is several million euros, he added.
The head of the Prime Minister’s Office also noted that the possibility of deploying a double barrier, meaning some other security device between the so-called ‘NATO wire’ fence and the security fence, had also been raised.
“If the Government does not take action to protect the country’s southern border – in conjunction with the National Assembly – then the number of people who enter Hungary with a view to reaching Western Europe could reach 300 thousand by the end of the year”, Mr. Lázár pointed out, adding that according to a report by the Serbian authorities, 6-8 thousand illegal immigrants are expected to arrive at the Hungarian border within the next few days alone.
According to the Minister, the Government is not in an easy situation because “pressure from immigrants trying to enter the country along the southern border is strong and increasingly aggressive”.
Mr. Lázár also informed the press that the Government had consulted with the German Government concerning Syrian immigrants, with relation to which Berlin said it would also rule on asylum requests from Syrian nationals and is only postponing the procedure.
Hungary upset that EU is not providing assistance
“Hungary is particularly annoyed about the fact that to all intents and purposes the European Union is providing no assistance to enable Hungary to protect its Schengen border”, the Minister said, adding that it is a disgrace that the European Commission is providing relevant funding to other countries but not to Hungary.
The Prime Minister has ordered Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó to contact Brussels and Berlin and provide them with a special report on the situation that has emerged along the Hungarian-Serbian border during the past 48 hours. About 10 percent of immigrants go through the registration procedure, but 90 percent leave immediately. Many of the latter are becoming increasingly aggressive and are not prepared to cooperate with the authorities, he pointed out.
According to Mr. Lázár, the events of the past few days are clear proof of the fact that the EU is incapable of protecting Europe’s borders and it too weak to act as necessary.
Some state-owned land may be sold
The Cabinet has instructed Minister of Agriculture Sándor Fazekas to begin work on a plan to sell a portion of state-owned land, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office announced.
“Farmland should belong to those who work it”, Mr. Lázár said, repeating the Government’s basic principle on the issue. The Cabinet has set down several directives with relation to the selling of state-owned land, such as the fact that conservation areas and forests may not be sold; only arable land, pastures and orchards may be taken into consideration, although many of these should also be kept under state ownership in the long term.
According to the Minister, a maximum of 300-380 thousand hectares of state-owned land could be sold according to the plan. The areas of land will be sold together with a leasehold agreement, although Mr. Lázár believes that on the basis of recent regulations some two-thirds to four-fifths of current leaseholders will not be able to purchase land.
The Minister also stated that regulations would include the fact that state-owned land may only be sold to Hungarian citizens and only to those who live in situ and make a permanent living from agriculture. This ensures that farmland cannot be sold to foreigners or speculators, he stressed.
Land will only be sold via public sale: through public advertisements in the case of plots under 3 hectares and only through public auctions held in cities with county rights in the case of larger plots. At these auctions, the minimal starting price will be the local market price plus 10 percent, the Minister continued; the Government sees no opportunity for auctioning off land at discounted prices. Land will not be sold for less than the local market price plus 10 percent. The first of these auctions could take place before the end of this year.
Buyers will be unable to sell the land or use it as collateral for a period of 20 years, in addition to which the State will retain the (unilateral) right to re-purchase the land for a similar period. The Hungarian Development Bank will provide low-interest loans to buyers, the Minister added.
In addition, Mr. Lázár indicated that the income generated from the selling of state-owned farmland cannot be used to finance day-to-day operations; the country cannot squander this money, it must be used to further increase state assets.
Gábor Zombor has done an excellent job
With relation to the fact that Minister of State for Health Gábor Zombor has requested that he be released from his position from 31 August, Mr. Lázár said at the press conference that both Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Minister for Human Resources Zoltán Balog continue to have complete confidence in Gábor Zombor, who has done an excellent job. He asked to be allowed to retire for family reasons, Minister Lázár said, confirming the Ministry’s early morning announcement.
In a reply to a question on tax procedure, Mr. Lázár said that Minister for National economy Mihály Varga would be putting forward his recommendations on the subject on 20 September. In reply to a question regarding the possibility of separate ministries for taxation and health, the Minister said that the Government is not planning any change in ministerial structure.
Tenders must be announced at the earliest opportunity
Announcing another Government decision, the Minister also told the press that all tenders for the EU financing period until 2020 must be announced by 30 June 2017 at the latest. With reference to the experience gained during the 2007-2013 financing period, Mr. Lázár said we should never again have to “fuss about” with this kind of thing during the final weeks of the financing period. It is an important common interest that EU funding should become available as soon as possible, he stated.
The Minister also informed the press that in early October Hungary would be holding a conference on fraud and corruption with relation to EU funding during the previous financing period, which will also be attended by high-level European Union officials.
Action to ensure Klebelsberg Institution Maintenance Centre financing
With relation to the upcoming school year, Mr. Lázár said that school would be starting for some 1 million 200 thousand primary and secondary school children, and this is the first year in which some 800 thousand students will be receiving free textbooks. During the upcoming weeks, the Government will be taking action to ensure the KIMC’s financing and tens of billions of forints will be put at the Centre’s disposal to assure its well-oiled operation.
The Minister also told the press that the Cabinet would be giving Minister of Justice László Trócsányi a mandate to prepare a recommendation to be put before Parliament on regulations concerning the exchange of foreign currency based vehicle and personal loans into Hungarian forints. It has been a “massive operation” on the part of the Government to convince the Banking Association to cooperate, as a result of which people with foreign currency loans of this nature are expected to see their loan payments reduced by some 10 percent, in addition to enjoying significantly lower risk exposure.
People should be charged less for low quality water
In reply to an earlier question, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office has recommended that in places where mains water is below regulations standards, service providers should charge consumers less. He cited the example of the town of Barcs, where the National Public Health Service has not banned the consumption of water, but water quality is lower than required.
Mr. Lázár also spoke about the stability of the Hungarian currency which, citing several studies, he called a refuge currency; a currency that is suitable for purchasing and holding in reserve. According to the Minister, the Forint is now one of the world’s less vulnerable currencies, which shows that the Government’s economic achievements of the past five years have been effective.
A video of the complete press conference (held in Hungarian) is available in full HD quality in the Press Room.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
