On Friday Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács told Hungarian television channel M1 in its morning show that the Government and the majority of people do not want mandatory resettlement quotas in Hungary.
Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó and Chief of Defence Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő have paid a visit to Hungarian troops serving in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
“Our friendship with Israel is a stable point of Hungarian foreign policy and Hungary is doing everything possible to maintain and develop the friendship that links the people of Hungary and Israel”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday in Budapest.
In Q1 2016, the output of the Hungarian economy grew by 0.9 percent year-on-year, according to preliminary data compiled by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH). Modest growth at the beginning of the year has been the consequence of the cyclicality of EU fund inflows and lower output at motor vehicle manufacturers. In the entire year, GDP growth is expected to pick up substantially, thanks to economic fundamentals and Government measures. The soaring number of building permits also signals a positive trend.
On Thursday Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács told public television channel M1 that Hungarian diplomacy will have a lot to do in order to make Brussels understand that mandatory resettlement quotas are not a solution.
On Tuesday, Minister of State for Government Communication Bence Tuzson told public television channel M1 that refusing to admit the 1,290 migrants whom Brussels says Hungary must receive would cost the country about HUF 100 billion.
The parliaments of eleven EU member states, among them Hungary’s National Assembly, have showed the so-called “yellow card” to the European Commission for a proposed change in the directive on posted workers. The directive on posted workers has been in effect for 20 years, and it has been instrumental for the undisrupted operation of the EU’s internal market and for safeguarding one of the EU’s key priorities, the freedom to provide services.
“The European Commission (EC) cannot impose either the compulsory resettlement quota or the fine on those who reject it”, János Lázár said during his usual Thursday press conference.
“The agreement on establishing a new headquarters concluded with one of the United Nations’ most important specialized agencies, the World Health Organisation (WHO), is an honour for Hungary”, Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation Dr. István Mikola from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade stressed.
The Board of Governors of the EBRD – supported also by Hungary – re-elected Sir Suma Chakrabarti as President for a second 4-year term. At the annual general meeting of the European bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Board of Governors applauded Sir Chakrabarti’s track record in the past four years. The EBRD has significantly contributed – through, for example, the acceleration of lending – to the post-crisis rebound of the economies of beneficiaries.