In Debrecen on Monday Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasised that the Government regards Debrecen as a success story, or “flagship” of a successful Hungary.
At a press conference related to the cooperation agreement signed by the Prime Minister and Mayor of Debrecen László Papp (Fidesz- KDNP) as part of the Modern Cities programme, Mr. Orbán said that maintaining this position is not only the responsibility and task of local people and the City Council, but of the Hungarian government as well.
Talking about the details of the cooperation agreement, Mr. Orbán said that an innovation centre will be established, and there will be development of the city’s main railway station, its airport and the tourism infrastructure of Nagyerdő; in addition, an English language elementary and high school will be opened and a new industrial part will be built. Furthermore, the railway line between Debrecen and Püspökladány will be renovated.
At the press conference Mr. Orbán said that “our political community had difficulties getting on its feet” in the city, and both in the 1990 and 1994 elections the current governing party had difficulties there, but since 1998 the trust placed in them by the people of Debrecen has been unbroken.
Mr. Orbán said that it is hard to find another city in Hungary where national feeling, civic development and Christian values have stronger support than in Debrecen. He also noted that pride, the political reality and strong support also give rise to certain responsibilities, and throughout the negotiations preceding the agreement the Government has assumed special responsibility for maintaining Debrecen’s success story.
He also said that the period after Hungary’s accession to the EU in 2004 was not a success story in terms of the country’s economy, as people had to work hard to pull the country out of the predicament it had fallen into after accession. But this is now behind the country, he said: even though there are still problems, the talks with the City Council were characterised by orientation towards the future, by trust and by the possibility to continue the success story.
The Prime Minister declared that provincial cities are especially important for Hungary’s future. The majority of the country’s economic performance goes to these cities, half of Hungary’s population lives and works in them, and the largest industrial companies are active in them.
Mr. Orbán stated that it is important that science, the university and health care also develop in Debrecen, and that sports investments continue. Concerning planned developments, he said that the city wishes to aim for investments that sooner or later will allow everyone in Debrecen who wishes to work to find a job.
In order to improve economic competitiveness, innovation investments worth HUF 5 billion will be launched, HUF 21 billion will be allocated to the intermodal transport hub (the development of Debrecen central railway station), and the Government will spend HUF 16 billion on the renovation of the rail line between Debrecen and Püspökladány, the Prime Minister announced. He added that according to the plans, a new industrial park of six or seven hundred hectares will be established close to Debrecen, to which on the one hand the Hungarian state will provide land, and on the other hand will use separately allocated amounts to support related land acquisitions.
A decision has been made on the HUF 1.2 billion development of Debrecen International Airport and on the establishment of an English language elementary and high school, the Prime Minister said, adding that HUF 4 billion will be allocated from the central budget for the tourist developments of Nagyerdő and the city lido.
At the press conference the issue of immigration was also raised, on the subject of which he said that we must differentiate between refugees and immigrants, as the latter leave their home countries in the hope of a better life. Concerning the so-called refugee camp in Debrecen, he went on to say that it is in fact not a refugee camp, but an immigrant camp.
One must not arrive in a country by starting life there with the violation of one of its laws, by crossing its border illegally, the Prime minister said, adding that this is in fact a crime.
He said that the European Union forces rules on its Member States which say that this is not a crime; such an attitude is unacceptable. Hungary must defend its rule of law and it must defend its borders, the Prime Minister said.
“Brussels wants those who come here to stay here; it even wants to have more people come. We do not want any more people to come, and we want those who are here already to leave”, Mr. Orbán said.
The Prime Minister added that he will travel to Strasbourg on Tuesday, where “Hungary will again be on the agenda” of the European Parliament’s plenary session; one of the reasons for this is the Hungarian stance on immigration policy.
Answering a question on the deadline for closing the camp, he said that this “battle” must be won in Brussels: according to EU rules currently in force, it cannot be closed now; first the rules need to be changed.
Also in response to a question, he said that the construction of the M35 motorway is going according to plan, and that negotiations concerning the state’s role in the operation of the airport and public transport are ongoing. On the idea that a national health care centre may be established in Debrecen, he said that the form of the relationship between the clinic and the university had been initiated by the city, and developments initiated by local people were implemented. The Government has paid the bill, and it cannot do more, he added.
At the press conference Mayor of Debrecen László Papp said that Debrecen is a city where even good performance is not necessarily enough: there “you have to be the best”.
He said that Debrecen had always been able to count on the governments of Viktor Orbán, just as governments which prioritise the country’s development and prosperity could count on the people of Debrecen.
Decisions are being made in a public procedure system
In answer to a question on the Government’s decision--making mechanism, the Prime Minister said that the Government’s decisions are made in a public procedure system: above a certain funding threshold, all project decisions must go through the Development Cabinet.
He emphasised that there is a government decree which lays out the rules for these issues: “there is nothing hidden which needs to be discovered or unveiled”.
The Government’s development cabinet – which includes the Prime Minister, the Minister for the Prime Minister’s Office, the Minister for National Economy and the Minister for National Development – has the responsibility to look at all decisions made on sums above a certain limit. “We do not select anything”, he declared, adding that this is an accepted procedure, approved and prescribed by the EU; there is nothing extraordinary about it. Mr. Orbán said that he would be very surprised if this was different in other countries, emphasising that the responsibility for decisions of national economic relevance must be borne by the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister was also asked about the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. He said that the values on which Hungary is based are fundamentally traditional, and it is a tolerant country; tolerance, however, does not mean that “we apply identical rules on lifestyles which are different from ours”. Tolerance means patience and the capacity for coexistence: the Hungarian constitution is based on this, and it clearly differentiates marital relationships between men and women from other forms of partnership. This will be retained, Mr. Orbán said.
He also said that he is grateful to the Hungarian homosexual community, the members of which do not pursue the kind of provocative behaviour which many European countries are faced with, and which produces exactly the opposite effect from that which is aimed for. He said that those concerned are safe in Hungary, they are granted due respect, and foreigners do not see Budapest as a dangerous city in these terms either.
He said that good coexistence is important, and added that if this balanced system moved in either direction, the current calm and peaceful state of equilibrium would be upset. This would not be in anybody’s interest.
(Prime Minister's Office/MTI)
