The autumn session of the parliament began with the Prime Minister's speech on Monday, in which the Prime Minister reported on the work of the government since the spring session.
- In accordance with parliamentary customs, I will report on the events that have passed since the end of the spring session and the government's plans - said Viktor Orbán in his speech at the opening of the autumn session of the Parliament. The prime minister reminded that the flood wave came suddenly, which led to the second biggest flood of the century in Hungary. He emphasized that the defense was organized and orderly, we managed to avoid trouble, and then thanked everyone who participated in the defense.
If there is a problem, the Hungarians unite as an example, something should be saved from this for peacetime - stressed the prime minister.
Compared to the flood defense in 2013, the Hungarian state is more efficient, prepared and organized. We made the right decision, he said, when the government allocated HUF 435 billion to flood protection investments after the 2013 flood, of which HUF 150 billion were spent on the protection of the Danube. As a result of the floods, the water level of the Danube rose by 6 and a half meters, so temporary defenses had to be built on a 40-kilometer section. At 4,600 meters, experts erected mobile walls. Two million sandbags and fifty-five thousand tons of sand were needed, he reminded.
The dams built in recent years have protected the cities of Győr, Komárom and Dunaújváros, and the construction of Esztergom's defenses will soon be completed.
The water authority will soon submit its post-flood report to the government, then they will decide on further developments of the flood protection system along the Danube, emphasized Viktor Orbán.
According to the Prime Minister, it is a tradition in Hungary that the state also plays a role in children's vacations. This summer, forty thousand people were able to vacation in the Erzsébet camps in Balaton. He added that we also took vacations for several children from across the border.
When school starts in September, the government regularly prepares a summary, which shows that in recent years we have built and renovated kindergartens and schools worth HUF 1,400 billion, emphasized Viktor Orbán.
A 20-classroom gymnasium, a 26-classroom technical school and a vocational training school were created on 32,000 square meters in the Dunakeszi Student District, each with a gymnasium. As well as a municipal swimming pool.
This new educational center of ours can accommodate 1,500 students, he emphasized.
One million two hundred thousand students get free textbooks. This saves families from spending fifteen billion forints. In addition, we also provided 80,000 free school supplies to families in need, the Prime Minister informed.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the Digital Hungary program. As he said, 80 health institutions can already be reached through the EgészségAblak application, and patients can book appointments digitally.
Our compatriots over the age of sixty-five, careful watch users, and their lives and health are safer today. As it was before. The program is constantly being expanded with new services throughout the year, he added.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the successful performance of the tourism industry is a condition for the success of the current economic year.
This summer was a record summer, the economic year will be a record year - declared the Prime Minister.
Never before have so many tourists visited our country. Never before have so many Hungarians vacationed at home and abroad as this year. After more than 20 years, we took back the airport, our country's global gateway, said Viktor Orbán.
He stated that the Budapest airport will reach the 17 million passenger number again, and compete with EU airports. He also reminded that MVM bought a stake in one of the world's largest natural gas fields.
This is of historical importance. Hungary ranks third in the world in terms of the proportion of solar energy in electricity production. It can be seen that we are moving rapidly towards energy independence, he stated.
Regarding the country's economic situation, the head of government said: in terms of economic growth, we are in 11th place among the 27 member states of the EU, and our growth rate is one and a half times the EU average.
The French, Germans, Italians and Austrians are also behind us, but we cannot be satisfied with this, we will need even greater growth in the future, he pointed out.
In terms of investments, in terms of GDP, we are in fourth place in the EU with a performance of 24.5 percent. We should aim for first place here - emphasized Viktor Orbán.
Employment remains full: 4.7 million people worked in the summer. The average salary in the summer was HUF 636,000 gross, and real wages in Hungary have been rising continuously for the 12th month.
"Although the Hungarian economy is regularly rumored to be dead, the Hungarian economy is thanking us, it is doing well," declared the Prime Minister.
According to him, the saying may be true that those whose death is spread live a long time.
Orbán described the country's financial situation as "reassuringly stable". They want to reduce the budget deficit to 4.5 percent, "proportionately we are doing well". The interest rate cap will only be implemented if interest rates drop appreciably, and then he also talked about extending the waiting period.
The prime minister reminded that this summer the government also extended the deadline for having children for Babysitting loans until July 1, 2026. They launched the new home renovation program, and it is estimated that at least 20,000 houses can be renovated as part of this.
Speaking about inflation and the level of interest rates, he emphasized: the government kept its promise to reduce inflation below 10 percent by the end of 2023, and below 4.5 percent by the end of this summer. During this time, the central bank base rate fell to 6.5 percent.
"I would like to make it clear," he said, "that although the government considers greater economic growth desirable, it respects the independence of the central bank 100 percent, and the government lives with the central bank's interest rate environment," he said.
Viktor Orbán reminded that Hungary ended the world wars on the losing side, and therefore lost territories that previously provided resources to the market economy. The Hungarian state can only survive if we are able to produce competitive products for the world market, he added.
The export performance of our country reaches 76 percent of the total national product, explained the prime minister.
The months behind us added to the trouble. Even though the European citizens voted for the change in vain, a committee was once again formed in Brussels, which continues its policy of dividing and dividing the world economy, said Viktor Orbán.
According to the prime minister, the European Union could enter into a sharper competition. As he said for Hungary, the path of blocking is impassable, it would lead to the narrowing of our economic selfishness, vulnerability, economic stagnation and impoverishment.
Viktor Orbán said that we should not look at the economy through the lens of politics, we should only follow the interests of the Hungarian economy.
Hungary needs the best of everything. From technology, capital investment and loan programs. State-of-the-art technology, long-term capital investment, the most advantageous loan programs, balanced relations to all regions. The new neutral economic policy requires new tools, said Viktor Orbán, who emphasized the need for financial action plans. The details of the first plan will also be included in the budget to be submitted soon.
A worker's loan similar to a student loan, capital allowance for small and medium-sized enterprises, the stabilization of the 13th monthly pension, the doubling of the tax allowance for children - these will be the first steps of the new economic policy, which will give impetus to economic growth.
The growth rate of the Hungarian economy must be raised to the range between 3-6 percent, Viktor Orbán stated.
Even if, he added, no one else succeeds in this in Europe. The Prime Minister is convinced that Hungary can do this.
The summer also brought fierce debates on the issue of migration in Europe - said Viktor Orbán - Germany closed its borders, in France the new prime minister is talking about restoring order.
The Netherlands has announced its toughest anti-migration legislation ever. The governments of Sweden and Finland are discussing anti-migration laws, he continued.
The era of free travel is coming to an end, even though they should have just followed Hungary's advice: if they had followed the Hungarian example and not allowed migrants in at the beginning, he indicated.
There are countless knife attacks in Germany, and some areas of England were dominated by open clashes for weeks. In most Western countries, unblessed conditions prevail. We are not happy that we were proved right, added the Prime Minister.
It would still not be too late to come to our senses, but unfortunately this is not what we see: today the fashion is that those who defend their own borders and defend the borders of Europe, those who speak the truth, are persecuted and punished, he emphasized.
Hungary must pay because it defended Europe; Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini wants to be jailed for defending his country.
If Brussels continues to insist on its decision to punish us, it will get what it wants and we will transport the migrants who are knocking on the gates of Hungary to the main square of Brussels - Viktor Orbán warned.
The Prime Minister highlighted: A country group named "Friends of Peace" was established at the initiative of Hungary. According to Viktor Orbán, the purpose of this is that the members of the association do not want to passively watch as the pro-war supporters of the III. the whole world is pushed to the brink of World War.
In his opinion, no matter where we look at it, be it floods, the economy, the EU, migration or war, we always end up with the issue of national sovereignty and independence. The government of Hungary is a national government, so it is necessarily sovereign.
"We know that we can only rely on ourselves. The trouble was always brought to Hungary's neck from the international arena, and the solution was always national resistance, national unity and national governance," he emphasized. Viktor Orbán.
In many countries in Europe, it happened just the other way around, such as in Germany. They are therefore distrustful of sovereign governments, and sometimes even hostile. Sometimes openly, sometimes covertly, they also try to limit the sovereignty of national governments. Open attacks, such as those on the European Parliament, are easier to detect.
We have a harder time with hidden attacks, he said.
The Prime Minister cited as an example the report published by the international news agency Reuters in the summer, which exposed the American disinformation war against Chinese vaccines during the coronavirus epidemic.
"I think we can expect this kind of thing more often in the future. That is why I want to assure the Honorable House that the government will use all the means of the Hungarian state without hesitation in the interests of Hungary's sovereignty and independence," emphasized the Prime Minister.
He added:
we will defend Hungary against any sanctions that threaten the interests, security, well-being and health of the Hungarian people.
According to his conviction and experience, no matter how hopeless the situation is, if we persevere, everything will turn out well in the end.
In this spirit, Viktor Orbán wished the members of parliament "meaningful and fruitful discussions" during the autumn session.
Cover image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán speaks before the agenda at the plenary session of the National Assembly
Source: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák
