Polish Deputy Minister of Family Affairs Barbara Socha considers Hungarian family protection measures to be exemplary, and immigration is not a permanent solution to demographic problems. Magyar Hírlap asked the politician in Warsaw, where the State of Poland Foundation held a conference entitled Generation of Freedom (GenFree) last weekend on the future of the Three Seas Initiative.
- At the panel discussion in Warsaw, he praised the Hungarian family support institutions.
What do you consider to be particularly important and useful for Poland? - I am impressed by the successful Hungarian family policy. We find the home building program particularly interesting, and it is no secret that it inspired the measures we are working on now. I also consider the initiatives to increase the number of marriages to be very effective. Although more and more is written in the media that the importance of marriage has decreased, a recent survey we commissioned shows otherwise. For eighty-five percent of the respondents, having children is connected with marriage.
In Hungary, some of the programs are only available to married people, this is a very good direction, we should also learn from this. Hungary can be proud of many things.
- Demographic problems are pressing all over Europe, but while Poland and Hungary rely on family support, the West relies more on immigration. What do you think of European approaches?
- On the one hand, Europe has learned from the migration crisis, which is positive. On the other hand, Europe has lost faith in the fact that its population can grow on its own, so it is looking for other solutions. They do not believe that this is possible in any other way, for example by creating the conditions for young people to have children.
Hungary and Poland did not choose the path of supporting immigration, nor would there be support for it in our countries. Other countries, on the other hand, see this as an option from an economic point of view, if only because the retirement age is constantly pushed back due to demographic decline.
– Can they also achieve results with immigration?
- Immigration can only be a solution in the very short term, it is not the right strategy for Europe. It creates a series of problems, imports conflicts and puts a lot of pressure on the social care system. If Europe does not find a way to increase its fertility rate, it is only a matter of time before European civilization is replaced by others.
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