An extraordinary government briefing was held this afternoon.
In the government briefing, it was mentioned that Ukraine is ready to amend the laws on minority rights, which was discussed by President Katalin Novák with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
– The use of the Hungarian national language must be remedied. On the level of words, this happened, but the question is, how does Ukraine restore the illegal law in practice? said the minister. Gergely Gulyás responded to the fact that Putin called it a mistake that Soviet tanks overran our country in 1956, but Russian textbooks say otherwise, saying that the Russian president's statement is above all to be welcomed, but that President Yeltsin had previously condemned the Soviet intervention.
- It would be nice if the words of the Russian president echoed in Russian textbooks. At the same time, the Hungarian left is a hypocrite on this issue. It is not possible to erect a statue of Gyula Horn, bring him to life, and at the same time criticize Russian textbooks, since Horn also took a similar position. The left has no moral basis to speak about this, he stated. Regarding the state purchase of Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport, he stated that the position of Hungary and the current government has always been that the airport should not be sold. – This was also discussed in the July 2005 Gyurcsány-Orbán debate, it is good if the airport is at least majority owned by Hungarians. We're doing well, he said, adding that while there's no handshake, he won't give details, but they're close to sharing good news. He also said that Hungary does not extradite Ukrainian refugees who are conscripted into military service, there was no request from the Ukrainian side in this regard, but the part of the Geneva Convention on refugees would not allow this.
Regarding the modern "silk road", the minister stated: it is in Europe's interest to maintain economic relations with all major economic powers.
– This gives rise to disputes among the member states, but Hungary has never announced secession, and accordingly we maintain relations with China as well. As a result, just like the German chancellor or the French president, the Hungarian prime minister will also visit China in October, the minister informed. In relation to illegal migration and the southern border fence, Gergely Gulyás said: compared to the opinions of 2015, the need to protect the external borders now appears in the Union, at least at the level of words, they have already made a little progress.
- From there, it is only a step to reimburse the costs of those countries that have provided the protection of the external borders in accordance with their international obligations, - he added. In response to a question, the minister stated that the traffic situation in the capital has deteriorated dramatically over the past four years.
- Due to the unreasonable restrictions of Gergely Karácsony, the travel time has increased significantly. The government disapproves of this, but at the same time, the voters in the capital have to evaluate whether it suits them. This is not a governmental, but a local government competence, he stated.
Reacting to the meeting between Klára Dobrev and the American ambassador David Pressman, the minister said that this also confirms that the Hungarian left is pro-war, and that if they were to decide, they would deliver weapons to Ukraine.
- Nearly 100,000 Hungarians live in Transcarpathia, and we also protect the interests of those living there, while the Ferenc Gyurcsánys already found out in 2005 that they are not interested in Hungarians living across the border. In connection with Ursula Von der Leyen's speech on Wednesday, she said that what was said did not surprise her.
- We want Brussels to deal with the real problems of Europe, and in a war, peace is needed as soon as possible, this is also in the interest of the economy. Peace is in the interest of all of Europe. It would be better if the Union tried to paint a positive picture in these, he stated. Regarding the increasing migration, Gergely Gulyás stated that a fence can be used to protect the Hungarian border against illegal migrants. He emphasized that they do not support any quotas or intermediate distributions, nor will they implement them. Regarding the withdrawal of the exit permit from György Szőllősi, he said it was an extremely unfriendly gesture, which was not preceded by any communication from the American side. "No official reason was given, it is incomprehensible why this happened," he said. The minister was also asked about gas consumption, the average consumption level will not change until December.
Regarding the withdrawal of the entry permit from the editor-in-chief of Nemzeti Sport, György Szöllősi, he said it was an extremely unfriendly gesture, which was not preceded by any communication from the American side.
"No official reason was given, it is incomprehensible why this happened," he noted.
When asked if he had already discussed with Gergely Karácsony regarding the developments in the capital, he said that the mayor was received together with the Ministry of the Interior, and that the capital would describe its ideas and programs related to the remaining developments, to which the government would respond. Gergely Gulyás touched on residential gas consumption and pensions. Regarding the former, he said that the current average consumer prices will remain until December, while he stated that the law precisely defines the obligations and the difference will be paid accordingly, regarding the pension for the elderly.
It was said in connection with EU funds: the government hopes that the European Commission will find its way back to legality, and then there will be no obstacles to our country's access to EU funds. Gergely Gulyás also highlighted that: the necessary, prescribed conditions for this have been met, the committee must make a decision by November. In response to his question, the minister also spoke about efforts to reduce inflation, and partly to mitigate the consequences of inflation. The minister reminded that this year they made the commitment that inflation would be in the single digits.
- If you look at it, the government and the central bank expect inflation of between 3.5-5.5 percent for next year. I am confident that the central bank will be right, and inflation will be manageable by next year, said Gergely Gulyás. According to the minister, if there is a "very positive" turn, then inflation can drop below ten percent in October, but even in a negative case, this will happen in December, since the government has "committed to this". It was also revealed that the amount of fines imposed for failure to carry out mandatory retail campaigns has now exceeded HUF 72 million.
The minister responded to the government's position on the Swedish educational video, which states that the situation of democracy in Hungary is constantly deteriorating, and which is allegedly shown to young students in public schools, as follows: Sweden is doing everything to ensure that our country does not ratify Sweden's NATO accession . If this is the case, he will ask Fidesz faction leader Máté Kocsis to reconsider whether the parliament will ratify Sweden's NATO accession.
"The minister of foreign affairs should be asked about whether the Swedish ambassador will be requested in this matter," the head of the ministry indicated.
The government also discussed the import of grain from Ukraine after the import ban expired on September 15. - If the EU committee does not extend the ban, Hungary will act under national authority - said the minister, who said that they are asking the European Commission to extend the ban, because the move does not serve the original goals, it will destroy the agricultural economy of the neighboring countries . In relation to inflation, Gergely Gulyás said that the goal is to make the monetary deterioration into single digits by the end of the year. He indicated that this could realistically be achieved by November, but it can certainly be accomplished by December. As he said, it is a worrying sign due to the significant increase in fuel prices and the increase in the transit fee in Ukraine. "This is not acceptable, it increased inflation by half a percent," said Gergely Gulyás. The government also discussed solar panels, and the minister said that the change in accounting is necessary because previously a whole year had to be taken into account in accounting, but now this changes according to EU rules.
- The government decided that those who submitted their claims after September 7 this year will be counted according to EU regulations, while others will remain in the previous calculation order for 10 years - he emphasized.
The Budapest Demographic Summit has been held in Budapest every second year since 2015, where they discuss an important issue that does not receive enough attention in Europe - began Wednesday's government information officer Gergely Gulyás, also indicating that the government information is also being held at an unusual time due to the demographic summit starting tomorrow. The minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office emphasized that they will be able to report on measures and results achieved since 2010 within the framework of the international event.
- The Bulgarian president and the Italian prime minister will be here, but the president of the republic, Katalin Novák, and the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will also give speeches - he listed. As for the results of the last decade: we have made significant progress, but we are not where we want to be. As he said, in 2010, when the civil government was empowered, the fertility rate was only 1.23, and by the end of 2021, it had increased to 1.59.
– This means that in the last decade, the total fertility rate in this country has increased to the greatest extent in the EU, which means an increase of 25.6 percent. What is even more important: if the previous trend had not changed, we would have 160,000 fewer people, he pointed out.
Featured image: MTI / Noémi Bruzák
