In an address to the Hungarian parliament before the start of daily business on Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that in Sunday’s election to the European Parliament (EP) the Hungarian people had clearly stated that they want to see changes in Brussels.

Assessing the outcome of the EP election in Hungary, the Prime Minister said the following: The Hungarian people have stated that they do not want to see European leaders who seek to organise immigration, but those who seek to stop it; they want to see people leading European institutions who respect European nations and want to protect Christian culture; and the Hungarian people want leaders for whom the interests of the European people always come first.

He said that when he is negotiating on behalf of Hungary he will only support such leaders.

Commenting on the election result of Fidesz-KDNP, Mr. Orbán reiterated that in the EP election the Government parties had won a record victory on a record turnout.

He noted that the turnout was higher than in any EP election since 2004, and added that the Hungarian people have proved that Hungary is a European nation, a European country, and “Europe is our home as well”.

He also said that he sees the result of Sunday’s election as another strong mandate for the Government from the people.

“The Hungarian people have entrusted us with the task of representing change in Brussels. We have been given a task to work on,” he stated, and promised that he will do everything he can to represent the will of the Hungarian electorate in European politics.

In his opinion in the EP elections the Hungarian people have again placed their trust in Fidesz-KDNP and the Government, who have received even more support than one year ago. He stressed that Hungarian voters have asked MEPs to represent the interests of the Hungarian people in Brussels, not the interests of Brussels in Hungary.

The Prime Minister said that the election has also made it clear that the Hungarian people’s stance is that it is worth continuing the work that the Government has started.

He reiterated that since the Hungarian parliamentary elections one year ago, Hungary’s economic figures have further improved and the Hungarian economy is performing ever better, with gross domestic product increasing by 5.2 per cent in the first quarter: the highest rate for fifteen years.

Mr. Orbán pointed out that Hungary’s performance in the first quarter shows the highest rate of economic growth in the whole of the European Union, meaning that “at present, our country is among the top three most dynamically developing economies in Europe”.

The Prime Minister observed, however, that the EU’s overall performance is “less rosy,” with growth in the “old Member States” slowing down. He added that therefore the achievements of the Hungarian economy must be protected, and every year Hungary’s growth rate must exceed that of the European average, with a growth rate of 2 per cent higher than the EU average being a realistic goal.

He said that in order to attain this goal he will present the House with an economic protection action plan in the near future.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister said that the result of the EP election has also demonstrated that the Hungarian people support the Government’s family policy initiative. “For the Hungarian people, children come first,” he said, stressing that this is why the Government has launched the family protection action plan. He reiterated that over a period of three years the Government will create 21,000 new places in crèches – 10,000 before the end of the year. Outlining further elements of the action plan, he said that from 1 July support of HUF 10 million will be made available to every young married couple agreeing to have children, there will be grants for large families to purchase cars and support for large families, family housing allowances will be extended, and there will be further mortgage relief. Furthermore, he stated, on 1 January 2020 there will be the introduction of child care allowance for grandparents, and income tax exemption for mothers with at least four children.

(MTI)