The European Commission admitted that it made the payment of EU funds due to our country dependent on progress in LGBTQ and migration issues, but in matters in which the Hungarian people have already expressed their opinion, an agreement is not conceivable, and the government cannot give up its position.
Prime Minister Gergely Gulyás and government spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi held the first Government Information of the year on Thursday, after the first government meeting of the year took place on Wednesday.
According to the agreement reached at the end of last year, the EU funds will arrive in Hungary, Gulyás was the first to announce, adding: the Hungarian legislation guarantees the independence of the courts, which was acknowledged by the Commission and its president, although "it took half a year to see what already approved”.
Regarding the additional payments, he said that in Wednesday's debate in the European Parliament, everyone could get a clear idea of who takes which position on the issue. The Commission acknowledged the government's moves to ensure the independence of the judiciary, he continued, noting that payments were clearly made contingent on progress on LGBTQ and migration issues.
At the same time, Hungarian voters have already expressed their opinion on these issues. There was an overwhelming will of the people in the matter of migration, we do not want to be a country of immigrants - emphasized the minister.
Gergely Gulyás emphasized that all kinds of LGBTQ propaganda should be kept away from children, and this was also said by Hungarian voters.
Therefore, in matters in which the people have expressed a clear opinion, an agreement is not conceivable, the government cannot give up its position - concluded the minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office.
Gergely Gulyás also said that in recent months there have been discussions about whether the Hungarian left is obstructing the teacher salary increase, so that Hungary receives EU funds, the health sector develops, but
it became clear at Wednesday's EU debate that the left did everything it could to oppose the increase in Hungarian teachers' wages and the development of Hungarian healthcare.
However, the Hungarian left could not prevent the government from using part of the EU funds for this purpose. In this way, we can take a big step in raising teachers' wages, the minister emphasized.
He then also said that by 2030, we have undertaken to raise the average salary of graduates to 80 percent, to maintain the salary of teachers, it will cost about HUF 6,000 billion, of which the European Commission will provide 1.77 billion euros. All in all, this means that out of the 6,000 billion forints, they contribute 700 billion forints with the EU resources that belong to us.
By the end of January, everyone among the teachers will receive the decision on the increased salary, it is a 32.2 percent salary increase.
In this cycle, we will double teacher salaries, this year's annual teacher salary will thus be 672,416 forints, and next year a further 21 percent increase is expected: in 2025, the average teacher salary will be 812 forints according to current forecasts, said Gergely Gulyás.
He added: in 2026, the average salary of teachers will be HUF 880,000.
It also shows the strength of the Hungarian economy that even in such difficult years that are behind us, the tendency to raise wages has not stopped, stated Gergely Gulyás.
The minimum wage increased by 15 percent and the guaranteed minimum wage by 10 percent this year, which will be reflected in the national economy as a whole, he added.
The minister said that the average salary of doctors is HUF 2.2 million, and that of nurses is HUF 600,000, but a further 20 percent increase is expected from March, so their average salary will rise to HUF 715,000.
He also mentioned that pension increases above inflation took place last year, and this year's 6 percent increase is likely to be higher than inflation. There is also a serious chance of this, because inflation decreased to 5.5 percent in December.
The head of the ministry said that the value of the work of law enforcement officers is shown by the fact that Hungary is one of the safest countries in the world, and in order to maintain this, it is also necessary for the state to appreciate law enforcement officers.
It is important that the new rules of the family support system came into effect on January 1, and the government expects that it will have a positive effect on the real estate market, especially in smaller settlements, emphasized Gergely Gulyás.
After the minister leading the Prime Minister's Office, government spokesperson Alexandra Szentkirályi informed that 1.5 million people filled out the national consultation questionnaire, 84 percent of them sent it back by mail.
Cover photo: Gergely Gulyás, Minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office, at the Government Info press conference in the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office building on November 9, 2023.
Source: MTI/Zoltán Máthé
