“According to the European Anti-Fraud Office, there were problems with 272 billion forints in contracts out of a total of 400 billion”, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár said at the Governmentinfo 77 press conference, which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács.
Mr. Lázár called the Metro 4 scandal the most serious case of corruption in recent decades. At his press conference in Budapest on Thursday, the Minister confirmed that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) had reviewed 400 billion forints in concluded contracts, of which problems were found concerning a total of 272 billion forints (EUR 880M). The Office indicated five possible crimes at a total value of 166 billion forints, and the EU is asking for the repayment of 59 billion forints.
The Minister told reporters that the Municipality of Budapest (MoB) has 60 days to react to the contents of the report, and if it does not dispute the findings then it will have to repay the 59 billion forints. “However, the 166 billion forints also includes 77 billion forints in state funding and 30 billion forints in MoB funding. According to one interpretation, the Government should demand the immediate repayment of the state funding”, he noted.
Mr. Lázár highlighted that the City’s current leadership has absolutely nothing to do with these affairs. “Mayor of Budapest István Tarlós has done everything possible in the interests of transparency, but it is probable that the contracts signed during the time of Gábor Demszky involve fraud, misappropriation, racketeering and collusion, and the Chief Prosecutor’s Office is already investigating some of these issues. Whoever ordered the project did so not in the interests of the City or Hungary, but that of his own pocket”, the Minister said, explaining the situation. “For the opposition, and OLAF report is the bible if Fidesz makes a mistake, but a patchwork when the SZDSZ-MSZP elite are involved”, he said in response to critics.
The Minister was also asked with regard to news reports according to which the former Director of DBR Metró Project Management, László Gulyás, is currently in hiding, to which he replied that the Government Information Office is not involved in investigating the crime and therefore is unable to comment.
In reply to another question, Mr. Lázár said the international strands of the report are also not to be underestimated, and that the Chief Prosecutor’s Office had received indications from both Paris and London that a major international crime had taken place.
He told reporters that OLAF officials are conducting several scheduled meetings in Budapest during the course of the week, and although Metro 4 was not originally on the agenda it will most probably also be discussed.
Four Acts are to be amended to enable the renewed detainment of migrants
The Government is proposing the amendment of four laws – the Act on Entry and Residence, the Act on Asylum, the Act on Misdemeanours and the Act on the State Border – to enable the reinstatement of previous legislation enabling the detainment of migrant, Mr. Lázár told the press.
“According to the Cabinet’s proposal, during a crisis situation caused by immigration, people who submit immigration-related requests to the Hungarian state will have a place of residence designated to them. This place of residence will be the state border, where containers capable of housing 200-300 people will be set up, and in which the migrants will have to wait for their requests to be duly processed and for an official decision to be issued, meaning their free movement will be restricted. These locations will also have telecommunications equipment available to enable the court proceedings”, the Minister told the press, noting that according to Wednesday’s figures there are currently 586 people living in Hungarian camps.
He also stated that illegal immigrants will need to be apprehended anywhere within the territory of Hungary, not just within the 8-kilometre border zone.
According to Mr. Lázár, the designation of a mandatory place of residence will significantly reduce the security risk. He also indicated that disputes with the European Commission are expected as a result of the measure.
The Minister repeated that if the migration situation worsens, the Government is prepared to construct a second border security fence. The Strategic Cabinet has also voted to increase funding for charity organisation working along the border.
Mr. Lázár announced that after having increased the numbers of police officers, the Government will now be reinforcing the Hungarian Defence Force, including more personnel, pay increases and better equipment in the upcoming period. I reply to a question, he also said that the Hungarian small arms manufacturing sector could be one of the winners of the Hungarian Defence Force Reconstruction Programme. “Some small arms manufactured in Hungary are already being tested by the Hungarian Defence Force”, he added.
Assessing last week’s informal meeting of EU heads of state and government in Malta, the Minister said the decisions made at the summit, according to which the borders of the European Union must be protected under all circumstances, people arriving on the continent must be transported back to the coast of Africa, and registration camps must be established in Libya, represented a real breakthrough. “This is a radical change, which is in line with what Hungary has already been proposing”, he pointed out.
40 billion forint programme for the job market transfer of public work employees, further pay rises
Mr. Lázár went on to tell reporters that at the Cabinet meeting it had been decided to spend an extra 33.3 billion forints on salary increases for church and non-state institution employees in the social sector, and to provide a further 7.4 billion forints to enable a wage increase for social sector workers with higher education qualifications.
The Cabinet also decided that people working within the social sector but in healthcare posts will be paid according to the pay scale for healthcare workers.
The Government is launching a 40 billion forint programme to enable job market employers to hire as many public work scheme employees as possible in exchange for extra benefits, Mr. Lázár also announced, indicating that there are currently some 216 thousand public works employees, and the Government’s target it to reduce this figure to 100 thousand within the next five years.
Care is needed, however, because “the public works programme has a significant effect on crime; it is no accident that the number of crimes committed in Hungary has fallen”, he added. According to the Minister, there are currently 37 thousand jobs available that do not require any formal training.
Furthermore, he continued, prospective employees will first have to fill any jobs that are available within their given district and will only be able to take part in the public works programme if no such jobs are available.
Government funding is to be given to a new gynaecology unit where there will be no abortions and where no gratuities will be accepted
Mr. Lázár also informed the press about the Government’s decision to provide 7.8 billion forints in development funding to the Bethesda Children’s Hospital and the Buda Sisters of Mercy Hospital for the two institutions to jointly establish a new obstetrics and gynaecological unit. In return, the hospitals have undertaken to ensure that no abortions will be performed and no gratuities will be accepted at the new unit.
Listing other decisions made at the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Lázár told reporters the Arany János Memorial Committee will be receiving 4 billion forints, the state will be taking over 2.9 billion forints in debt form the city of Szentendre, the result of a swimming pool construction project; the government is undertaking to 100% indemnify farmers who suffer losses as a result of avian flu; 1.5 billion forints are being earmarked for the Habsburg Otto Foundation’s new headquarters, and 880 million forints will be spent on assisting persecuted Christians. The latter includes the construction of homes in Iraq, medical supplies and funding for charity organisations.
Mr. Lázár also told reporters that parallel to Brexit, Hungary was applying to have the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency and the European Baking Authority, both of which are currently based in London, move to Budapest.
The Minister was also asked about news reports concerning the fact that someone was allegedly removed from the Antall Jozsef Knowledge Centre for defending a colleagues who liked a post on the anti-Olympic referendum. In reply, Mr. Lázár said it would be a mistake if young employees has to suffer discrimination because of their opinions. “Next time he comes to me for money (Péter Antall, the Centre’s Director), I will ask him what happened”, he added.
In reply to a question, he also told reporters that the Economic Cabinet had also discussed the possibility of the state undertaking to mitigate some of the damage caused by the collapse of the Alexandra bookshop network, but had rejected the idea.
With relation to the fact that according to a report by Ombudsman László Székely the Government prescribed that a medium-level state language exam is to be a prerequisite for entry into higher education without sufficient preparation, Mr. Lázár said that in his opinion László Székely is wrong, the six-year preparation time provided is sufficient, and the Government should not change its mind because this is an important condition for the improvement of both higher education and language learning.
The Minister was asked who he was rooting for at the German elections, to which he replied: Since the CDU/CSU is a sister party to Fidesz, he was naturally rooting for the current Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who is also Chairwoman of the CDU.
Mr. Lázár was also asked about the Paks loan, to which he replied that the Government does not require a greater level of funding, the existing contract will not be amended. He indicated that Hungary is in a much better financial position than it was in January 2014, when it signed the Russian loan contract, and is even prepared to consider early repayment and is capable of paying for the work completed thus fur without the need for a loan.
The Minister was asked about the trademark dispute between the Igazi Csiki Sör brewery and Heineken. He called the decision of the Romanian court an unfair, unjust and anti-Hungarian act, noting that in recent years Romania has been doing it utmost to make life impossible for Hungarian churches, mayors, non-governmental organisations and symbols. He said people were right to show solidarity and begin a boycott of Heineken products. Mr. Lázár said that in his opinion the Heineken Group’s Hungarian member, which is one of the Government’s strategic partners, should offer to mediate with its Romanian sister company, with which it is still possible to come to an amicable agreement.