At his Thursday online press conference, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office described Hungary’s effort to contain the coronavirus epidemic as among the most successful on a European level.
Compared with Italy and other Western European countries, Hungary implemented the same measures substantially earlier after detecting the first case of infection, and thanks to this, “the Hungarian figures are much better,” the Minister said, highlighting at the same time that good decisions adopted at the right time would have amounted to nothing if people had not observed the rules.
He took the view that the biggest achievement of the successfully concluded first phase of the containment effort is that at this time we have managed to prevent the mass spread of the virus. However, the threat of the epidemic has not passed, the balance remains fragile, he stressed.
Mr Gulyás said next Tuesday the government will submit to Parliament the bill in which it will request the termination of the special legal order and the adoption of a decision on the maintenance of a state of preparedness in health care. He indicated that the Operational Group will remain in place.
He added that laws will also have to provide for keeping in effect the government decrees which extend beyond the state of danger.
Mr Gulyás said with the economic measures implemented so far, they have managed to save 221,000 jobs.
He said they will increase the contingent of public works scheme participants by 100,000, another 3,000 new jobs will come into being at the defence forces, as part of the wage support programme requests have been submitted in relation to 106,000 workers, while in the investment incentive programme companies have pledged to retain 97,600 jobs. At present, 101,000 persons are receiving job-seekers’ allowances, 71,000 persons are receiving employment support, while 9,300 persons have applied for benefits provided for research and development workers, he outlined.
Regarding the fact that Germany and France are proposing a fund worth EUR 500 billion to counter the economic effects of the epidemic, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said the number one consideration is that Central European countries, the Visegrárd states (V4) and Hungary should be the beneficiaries of this agreement. In order for this to happen, it will be necessary to take into consideration the fundamental principles of cohesion grants, meaning that in awarding grants neediness and the given country’s state of development should be important factors. In restoring the economy, those countries should be in the focus of attention which start from a lower level, he explained.
He observed that today there is still an ongoing debate about some of the most fundamental issues as the EU wants to place this EUR 500 billion at the disposal of Member States in the form of a loan for a term of 30 years. As a result, at this point in time there is no agreement whether these funds will be provided as credit or as grants.
The next EU summit where these proposals will be discussed will be held on 18 June; before that, on 8 June as expected, the V4 heads of government will meet in Brno in order to reach a common position.
In answer to a question, he said according to plans, as long as there is a need for a state of preparedness due to the epidemic, the system of hospital commanders will remain in place.
In answer to the question as to whether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continues to have unshaken faith in Minister of Human Capacities Miklós Kásler, Mr Gulyás said after a successful epidemic containment effort the minister of health care usually deserves gratitude, not attacks.
Regarding the ban on events, he said he would be happy if from the beginning or middle of June it would be possible to hold smaller events against the maintenance of stringent measures. He mentioned as examples the visiting of outdoor sports events or the holding of theatrical performances and concerts in enclosed spaces with 3 to 4 chairs left unoccupied between members of the audience, but he indicated that no decision had been adopted yet with regard to this issue.
At this time, the Minister advises everyone to wait with the organisation of summer trips abroad. Hungary has a vested interest in opening its borders towards and from neighbouring countries within the shortest possible time if this is safe, he pointed out.
He also said in response to another enquiry that they will continue to consult with Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony with respect to important issues concerning the epidemic situation in Budapest.
Regarding the 20 August fireworks display in the capital, the Minister said if the epidemic situation allows, organising a major tourism-boosting three- to four-day-long St. Stephen’s Day programme series in Budapest could be a good and justified decision.
In response to press reports about the quality of the recently procured ventilators, he said based on the commission of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, on behalf of four Hungarian medical universities, Semmelweis University conducted a survey which concluded that the procurements conform to the needs of university hospitals as well as to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) which specifically favour so-called non-invasive methods in the treatment of coronavirus patients. Universities have received 56 non-invasive and 140 invasive ventilators for the treatment of patients in the most severe condition, he informed members of the public, refuting the claims made in one article about the topic.
Regarding the development of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, he said it is easy to see that this is a project that will create jobs, and so it is in connection with the fight against the coronavirus crisis.
As to whether the government has received any apologies due to cries of ‘dictatorship’ and ‘Nazism’, he said they are not naïve, but they keep hoping that apologies will be forthcoming. Many conducted a shameful campaign against Hungary which had no foundations whatsoever, he said. The European Commission’s opinion, too, supports this, and it is the Hungarian government’s intention to return the special mandate granted for the duration of the state of danger, he said.
Mr Gulyás said in answer to a question about the experiences and future of working from home that they have always left this decision to employers, and they are not about to make decisions for them now. He observed that in the past few years Hungary had suffered from the fact that the percentage of those employed in remote work was extremely low within the labour market. Based on the experiences of the past two months, it is to be hoped that companies will increase the percentage of remote workers.
Regarding the visiting of relatives by foreign nationals, he said they are making every effort to make this possible within the shortest possible time. Wherever they can, they will make arrangements based on the principle of reciprocity, he indicated, adding that in the case of neighbouring countries where the status of the epidemic and the number of fatalities are not widely different from those of Hungary, they are ready to open the borders with caution. The Operational Group will provide further information on this matter, he said.
The Minister confirmed in response to another enquiry that parking will remain free as long as the state of danger is in effect. The goal remains that the development of overcrowding on public transport should be avoided, he pointed out.
In response to the suggestion of Minister of Human Capacities Miklós Kásler that the structure of health care should be reconsidered, he said after a health care crisis on a scale we have just experienced this is most definitely justified. He said the fact that in Hungary there is a strong state health care system is a positive feature and a value to be preserved. The health care containment effort has been substantially less effective in countries where there is only private health care, he observed.
He said we all have much to thank health care workers for; everyone in health care has displayed a high degree of selflessness. At the same time, we saw the flaws and deficiencies of the system, from funding through warehousing regulations to inventory management. We have an opportunity now, once the epidemic has abated, to draw the necessary conclusions, and if there is anything they can do to make Hungarian health care better, this is the time to do so, he underlined.
Regarding the investigation conducted in the case of the Pesti út elderly care home, he highlighted that the Ministry of Human Capacities will decide on Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony’s suggestion, asking for the involvement of another agency in place of the metropolitan government office. So far, a fine of one million forints has been imposed on the care home due to the violation of rules of hygiene, while there is an ongoing investigation regarding the lack of onsite medical care and the existence of other conditions related to hygiene.
Concerning the fact that in a number of settlements run by opposition leaders the salaries of public servants have been cut, he took the view that salaries can be cut if the working hours have been reduced. He finds this interesting because when the government made this flexible option possible in the case of less protected jobs, the very same opposition parties criticised the decision whose mayors have now taken these steps.
Government Spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi said the threat of the epidemic has decreased significantly, and so nursery schools and creches will be allowed to return to normal operations from 25 May in the provinces and from 2 June in the capital. In these institutions, children must be received even in the absence of specific certificates, she stressed. She observed that in many cases parents had not opted for supervision, but had taken leave, of which they had now run out.
In the context of schools, she indicated that digital education outside the classroom is working well, and so it will remain in effect until the end of the school year, 15 June. The school year will not be extended, she said. From 2 June teachers and students will be allowed to meet for education purposes, including consultations in small groups and one-to-one preparations. Pedagogical services, too, will be allowed to resume their duties.
From 2 June, child supervision will have to be organised in every school; institutions will be required to provide this service until 26 June.
Between 2 and 15 June, schools can primarily organise support activities with a view to helping students who have fallen behind, while between 16 and 26 June teachers can start preparing for the next school year as well as organise activities for children in need of educational support. Until 26 June, meals will have to be provided for children taken to schools for supervision according to the normal rules relating to the school year, and schools will change over to the summer break protocol from 29 June.
Regarding school year closing ceremonies and graduation ceremonies, she said they are asking institutions not to organise them in the traditional way, and to seek to avoid mass events involving a high number of people. However, this does not mean that classes on their own cannot hold ceremonies.
In the context of summer camps, she indicated that from 16 June it will be possible to organise both day camps and overnight camps for students.
We will close down transit zones
The government will close down transit zones; migrants will only be able to submit asylum requests at foreign representations, outside the country’s borders, Mr Gulyás pointed out.
The Minister said the implementation of this measure is under way. The four persons who were in aliens policing custody will remain in custody, while 280 persons will be taken to reception centres. The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice will take the necessary steps, he added.
He said the transit zone was a solution which protected Hungary’s borders, and the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union adopted on this matter is regrettable. As Hungary is obliged to comply with the judgement, it has no choice but to close down the transit zones, he said.
In response to a statement by German Foreign minister Heiko Maas, Mr Gulyás said it is an important conclusion on the politician’s part that he does not believe a distribution mechanism could come into being in which all EU Member States will participate. This is a major victory for Hungarian diplomacy, they have worked very hard to make it clear that Hungary cannot be obliged to allow others to tell us whom we should live together with here, he said, adding that at the same time, Hungary is taking part in the fight against migration, and the Hungary Helps Programme, too, is part of this.
The Minister pointed out that opposition Members of the European Parliament are pursuing political goals that are contrary to the country’s best interests. This is what they have done also in recent months, during the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. In the context of the EU budget, too, we can observe such aspirations on their part, but the genuinely important parts of the budget are adopted not by the European Parliament, but by the heads of state and government of EU Member States, he explained.
Regarding the European Commission’s country report about Hungary, the Minister said the evaluation of the document should be confined to economic policy, and so we regard any findings pointing beyond that as irrelevant.
The report features a number of favourable findings, including that even during the crisis Hungary’s unemployment rate has remained below the European average, he said.
He observed at the same time that the report fails to sufficiently emphasise how much money has been left with businesses and families through the suspension of credit debt repayments, despite the fact that some 60 per cent of private individuals have availed themselves of this option, and so this measure alone will leave HUF 1,800 billion with families.
Regarding the issue of single-use plastics, Mr Gulyás highlighted that in observance of the relevant EU undertaking, Hungary will ban single-use plastics; however, in the present epidemic situation, we need guarantees that we are able to protect the jobs involved. The EU has promised to provide information on the timetable at a later date. We should wait for that information, and the government will consult with the businesses concerned in light of its content, he explained.
In answer to a question about special economic zones, the Minister said the proposal clearly lays down that the county general assembly can only make decisions in areas falling within its competence, and so the motion does not relate to county-ranked cities to which the competence of county municipalities does not extend. Likewise in the case of the capital, there is no need for such legislation because districts are sufficiently large units for independent decision-making, he added. Justifying the bill, he stressed that the bill will allow the distribution of higher local trade tax revenues among multiple settlements in the case of small settlements.
Regarding the delay in the submission of next year’s budget, he said there is a delay of a week in order to also have the April data at their disposal. The 2021 budget will be presented to Parliament next Tuesday; the government will give it the final go-ahead on Monday. It is to be hoped that Parliament will be able to adopt it at the end of June or beginning of July, he said. The Ministry of Finance continues to forecast a 3 per cent recession for this year, while the proposal to be submitted will feature the rate of inflation, Mr Gulyás indicated.
In answer to a question about Roma segregation, the Minister said this is an important topic, it is well worth fighting against it, but one can see that schools are refurbished and the standard of education is improved in vain; there are settlements where the non-Roma take their children away from schools. We need order and discipline, and therefore the government is in the process of reinforcing school policing, he said. He added that Hungary cannot be successful if we are unable to guarantee the chances of inclusion for the Roma. At the same time, since the change of regime, the incumbent government has done a great deal to provide jobs for the Roma.
Mr Gulyás said in response to a question about a possible stadium in Pécs that there is no government decision on the matter yet, but they seek to adopt a positive approach to the requests of all Members of Parliament if they serve the interests of local communities.