The Minister of State for Governmental Communication takes the view that Brussels has attacked the national consultation which is currently in progress, while they conceal or distort fundamental facts.
At his press conference held on Friday in Budapest, Bence Tuzson cited immigration policy as an example, in the context of which, he said, Brussels “conceals” the important fact in its letter that the European Commission has already adopted a decision on a scheme for the distribution of migrants within Europe without an upper limit. The countries which are not prepared to implement this decision would be required to pay a fine, he added, stating: Hungary firmly disagrees with this because it would undermine the protection of the borders.
In answer to a question, he stressed, they will resort to every available legal option in the interest of the maintenance of the transit zones.
He further mentioned the issue of energy policy because while Brussels claims that the energy union, the liberalisation of the pricing of electricity, would reduce charges, it is quite evident: electricity prices increased by 20 per cent on average in the EU between 2010 and 2015. Therefore, he continued, „on a liberalised energy market where multinational companies and large service providers are to fix the prices of energy, we could most certainly expect a rise in prices”. He highlighted: during the period mentioned, energy prices decreased to the largest extent in Hungary in the entire EU. Hungary therefore wishes to maintain the reduction of household utility charges. However, the adoption of the planned energy union regulation would do away with it, he said.
The Minister of State also spoke about organisations funded from abroad. He drew attention to the fact that the Commission’s proposal for the European Union would introduce much more stringent regulations regarding the publicity of the funding of non-governmental organisations than those of the Hungarian legislation. They would be required to render detailed reports on their funding, the leaders of NGOs would be required to issue asset disclosure statements in excess of a certain limit, and they would additionally also be required to render an account of their consultations with Members of the European Parliament and members of the European Commission, he reiterated. By contrast, the Hungarian legislation would only relate to their financial transparency, he indicated.
Mr Tuzson said: the Hungarian Cabinet will respond in detail to the Brussels letter attacking the national consultation which was addressed to the Government, and its reply will be published on the website kormany.hu within a few days.
In his evaluation, Brussels wants to claim more and more power in the fixing of household utility charges, as well as in the fields of immigration and fiscal policy as well. These attempts at the withdrawal of power from the nation states, however, jeopardise our national interests and the country’s sovereignty, he said, asking therefore citizens to complete the national consultation questionnaire. According to his information, approximately 900 thousand people have done so to date.
In the context of the revocation of the amendment of the law on animal welfare, the Minister of State for Governmental Communication said: the Government has decided on the revocation of the proposed amendment on account of the claims that emerged in the press with respect to the proposal and the debate which has evolved in their wake. The Government seeks to reach a national consensus on the issue.
Regarding the case of the Göd Topház Special Home which provides care for people with disabilities – where according to an international non-governmental organisation circumstances are extremely poor – Mr Tuzson as Member of Parliament for the constituency said: if the findings of the report prove to be true, these shocking circumstances must be brought to an end, and the necessary conclusions will have to be drawn.