“Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade strongly condemns the wave of terrorist attacks which have taken place in Afghanistan – both in the capital and in the provinces – since the beginning of August. These have overwhelmingly targeted civilians, and among the hundreds of casualties – which have included a large number of women and children – at least eighty people have died.
In June 2015, more than 1 million guests spent 2.5 million tourism nights at Hungarian accommodation establishments. The number of guest and tourism nights grew by 6.7 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, year-on-year. The volume of guest spending on accommodation was 13 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year, while accommodation revenues exceeded HUF 20.5bn. Concurrently, occupancy ratios and RevPAR also increased.
The European Commission has approved Hungary’s multi-annual National Programme of the Internal Security Fund, thus EU funds of EUR 61.4 million will be made available to Hungary.
The re-industrialization of Hungary made headway as in June 2015 industrial output grew by 6 percent year-on-year. Thus, the upward trend has been in place for two years in Hungary. The opening of new factories and R&D centres as well as the introduction of multi-shift work schemes at existing facilities has been creating more and more new private sector jobs. The strengthening industrial sector provides opportunities for Hungarian people; therefore the Government is committed to continuing the successful, active industrial policy.
The European Commission has approved Hungary’s Rural Development Programme for the period between 2014-2020. According to Miklós Zsolt Kis, State Secretary for Agricultural and Rural Development at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Government has had a series of difficult consultations and talks, but has succeeded in protecting the interests of Hungarian farmers and the Hungarian provinces against Brussels on the most important issues.
The five-year history of the three-strikes law which significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of multiple, violent crimes demonstrates that the Hungarian reforms also work in penal policy, the Minister of State of the Ministry of Justice said at his press conference held on 10 August 2015 in Budapest.
Declaring the vandalisation of the technical border fence which is currently being built on the Hungarian-Serbian border a criminal offence will be a sufficient deterrent, the Minister of State of the Ministry of Justice stated.
János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office described the meeting held with the leaders of the Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Faith Communes (Mazsihisz) on Tuesday in Budapest, in preparation for the Jewish Community Roundtable to be held on Wednesday, as constructive.
On 11 August, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Magyar summoned to his office Ambassador of Romania Victor Micula, to request an explanation of comments made by Prime Minister of Romania Victor Ponta on 10 August on Romania TV; these included unacceptable accusations against Hungary.
Thanks to low prices, the future has become more calculable for families and enterprises: according to the latest report by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), in July 2015 consumer prices remained unchanged month-on-month, while in the initial seven months of 2015 they were down by 0.3 percent year-on-year.