The Government will have to reckon with the problem of immigration in the next few years, and will therefore have to reinforce the fence built on the border and live force protection, János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at the press conference Governmentinfo 61 which he held jointly with Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács.
The Minister indicated that the purpose of the new fence planned to be erected on the Hungarian-Serbian border is to ensure full security. Additionally, they will hire new police personnel, and they also intend to reinforce the army, both in terms of live and defence force, he added.
In the context of the 2 October referendum, he said: if the Hungarian electors do not help the Government, it will not have enough strength to „ward off” the European Commission’s decision on the mandatory resettlement of migrants. The alteration of the Brussels body’s decision takes strength which may only come from the electorate, he said. In Mr Lázár’s view, those campaigning for boycotting the referendum are weak-hearted politicians because they do not have the courage to state their position.
He remarked that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, too, will play a part in the Government’s information campaign.
In answer to a question, he said that American businessman of Hungarian origin György Soros is making every effort to influence the opinion of European, including Hungarian, electors regarding immigration, for instance, by financing non-governmental organisations.
In response to reports that MSZP President Gyula Molnár indicated that they are ready to support the Government’s fight against the quotas, Mr Lázár said that MSZP’s support counts indeed „a great deal”, but the ultimate strength and power lies in the will of the electorate, and he therefore requested the socialists to review their position regarding the boycott.
Voting against the quotas is not the same as voting for Fidesz, he added.
The Minister additionally told the press that at the EU summit to be held on 16 September – which will be concerned with the future of the continent – Hungary will intend to represent the joint position of the Visegrád Member States (V4).
From among the Hungarian Government’s proposals, Mr Lázár highlighted a European economic policy that is based on stringent fiscal discipline, and the fact that the issue of security must be made the number one priority in the future of the EU. It is further important that the EU should preserve its successful policies, such as the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy, and should create new ones, for instance, in the field of digitisation. Hungary will also urge that certain issues should remain within national competence, he said.
Regarding Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s programme next week, he said: he will meet with his Serbian counterpart in Belgrade on Monday, will attend a V4 meeting in Poland on Tuesday and Wednesday, and will arrive in Balatonfüred for the session opening parliamentary group meeting of Fidesz-KDNP to begin on Wednesday evening where he will deliver an opening lecture. Among the expected topics of the meeting, he mentioned the referendum, the land auctions, the reform of public administration, and development policy issues.
The Minister also informed the press in detail about the fact that they reviewed the 21 infringement procedures – primarily of an economic nature – instituted by the European Commission against Hungary at the meeting of the strategic cabinet. There are some in which Hungary won, such as the issue of tobacco suppliers, but there are also difficult issues, he said. An example for the latter is the sale of land, he continued, which is already in a court stage as the European Commission wants to provide the opportunity for foreigners and legal entities to acquire land in Hungary without any restriction, as well as to abolish any restriction on the size of land that may be acquired. At the same time, he remarked that the Brussels body has not instituted an infringement procedure in connection with the closure of the border.
Upon disclosing the decisions adopted at the meeting of the economic cabinet, he said: they have approved funds for the National Széchenyi Library for a programme worth ten billion forints, HUF 4.4 billion will be allocated to the 12th district municipality for the rehabilitation of the Normafa area, and they have also consented to the relocation of the works by sculptor Imre Varga to a worthy place.
Mr Lázár was asked about the statement made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel „What I continue to think is wrong is that some say, ‘We generally do not want Muslims in our country,”. The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office takes the view that this statement indicates that taking migrants in is mandatory. However, Hungary believes that there is no need for immigration. „If there is one thing that does not work under any circumstances, it is that Europe, Hungary, should be told from Berlin, from Berlin of all places, whom we should take in”, he said.
He further informed the press that the Government supports the nomination of former Member of Parliament for SZDSZ Mátyás Eörsi for the position of Secretary General of the international organisation Community of Democracies. He said that Mátyás Eörsi was the least bad out of all the candidates.
Regarding the appointment of persons associated with the socialist party to diplomatic posts, Mr Lázár said that the Government seeks to appoint the best candidates for leading missions abroad.
Advisory body to help reinforcement of medical training
The Government will set up an advisory body, whose duty it will be to work out a development programme for reinforcing medical training in Hungary, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office told the press.
Mr Lázár said that medical training will be the strongest and most competitive part of Hungarian higher education. He made specific mention of the metropolitan Semmelweis University, but in his view all medical universities are doing well.
He added: it is the goal of the Government to reinforce medical universities, and to this end, a development plan will be drafted which will cover issues such as what is taught at the universities, and under what financial and infrastructural conditions they operate.
They will request Hungarian medical professors to join the advisory body in order to assist the Government. The goal is to approve the development plan with the consensus of the entire profession, he indicated.
He also said that six thousand more students sought admission to higher education this year than earlier. Out of the 111,000 applicants, 74,000 gained admission, and 54,000 of them received state scholarships. The Minister takes the view that the fact that more students sought admission to teacher training courses this year is related to the launch of the teacher career model. According to his information, while in 2014 38,000 students sought to gain admission to teacher training courses and 8,900 were admitted, this year 44,000 applied for enrolment, and 10,000 gained admission.
He further reported that the Government heard the report of State Secretary for Sports Tünde Szabó regarding the Rio Olympics. As he said, the Hungarian Olympic Committee, the various federations, the University of Physical Education and the interest representations will have to first evaluate the results.
He added: the Government will start consultations with 16 federations to review what further assistance they can give them. The Government will have to increase the funds provided for the priority sports federations, he said. He added that the Government’s strategic cabinet will review the sports infrastructure of the 197 districts, and the related tasks for the future.
Mr Lázár said that they will also have to review the facilities that serve the purposes of leisure time sports, while it is further an important task of the Government to provide all possible assistance that is necessary for succession training.
The strategic cabinet discussed the proposal which will also be presented to the Fidesz parliamentary group next week. The essence of the proposal is that Parliament should approve a report on the programme Land for Farmers, should propose the continuation of the sale and lease of landed areas below three hectares, and should stop the land auctions, the Minister said. He added: the HUF 270 billion derived from the land sales would be used for the reduction of the sovereign debt.
Mr Lázár also told the press that they will locate the graves of the 650,000 Hungarian soldiers, primarily in the vicinities of the Galician, Serbian and Italian fronts, who were killed during World War I. According to the Government’s decision, all World War I graves located in the territory of Hungary as well as all World War I monuments and memorial plaques will have to be refurbished by the autumn of 2018. The Government further confirmed, he continued, that they wold like to create a central monument for the victims in Budapest as well as a centre somewhere in the country which helps people commemorate.
The Government also approved the amendment of the law on social administration. The proposal to be presented to Parliament regulates the institution of the maintenance of parents, he remarked.
Regarding the refurbishment of metro line 3, he confirmed that the Government would like national coach manufacturing to be given a chance. The Government keeps its word, and steps in as necessary, should this criterion lead to extra costs, he said. He added: it may cost the metropolitan municipality more to buy Hungarian buses, but this would result in a profit for the national economy eventually.
He also pointed out that the commencement of the works does not depend on the Government as there is no obstacle to the financing of the project. At the same time, he took the view that the construction works will not begin this year. He also indicated that the Prime Minister will consult with Mayor István Tarlós again on Friday.
In answer to a question related to the congestion charge, Mr Lázár said: if the Government and the metropolitan municipality negotiated with the European Commission together, the issue could be settled in a satisfactory manner for both the cabinet and Budapest.
Regarding a question relating to the possible introduction of a system of hospital chancellors, he said in reply: there is a professional debate in progress, the purpose of which is to create a standard management system. He remarked that the Government must learn from the organisational conclusions of Klik. In other words, „if we over-centralise something, it may be detrimental to quality”.
He also said: by virtue of the fact that the European Commission let the Hungarian tobacco supply system „pass”, the question is whether the development of a central supply system could be a viable option in the case of other highly regulated products as well, such as the wholesale of medicines and alcohol.
Mr Lázár further said: he believes that it is necessary to conduct consultations with the participation of stakeholders regarding the Muslim centre planned to be erected in Gutenberg tér in Budapest.
Concerning the case of Member of Parliament for Fidesz Roland Mengyi – in which the prosecution service initiated the removal of the politician’s immunity – the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said: the Member of Parliament has to take responsibility for his own actions. The Government is not planning to take responsibility for his actions.
He said: they will contact the Justice Ministry in the case of Gyömrő’s re-elected mayor, as in their view it was the intention of the legislature to ensure that a person who was convicted on a final and absolute basis, and above all, for tax fraud, should not be allowed to be a mayor in Hungary.