Rogan: Hungary Protection Plan on table for early 2015
Budapest, December 29 (MTI) – Devising a national action plan on the protection of Hungary, a national development concept and a unified plan on support for families will be tabled at a meeting of the Fidesz-KDNP parliamentary group at the start of next year, the head of the Fidesz group of lawmakers said on Monday.
Antal Rogan told MTI in a year-end interview that the action plan for the protection of the country will be one of the major tasks ahead in 2015.
“Today, when Hungary is being attacked from outside, the government and parliament are somewhat unprotected in fending off these attacks,” he said.
One example of such an attack is when a racist conference was organised in Hungary by foreign citizens, which authorities were only able to prevent at the last minute. Further, many economic activities in Hungary do not add to the national wealth, as profits automatically leave the country, Rogan added. He suggested that in response to this problem legislation should be passed which taxes companies for a bigger part of revenue generated in Hungary.
Rogan said anti-government demonstrations over the past few months were an example of the influence of big powers or economic players as they tried to exert pressure on Hungary’s government through organisers of demonstrations using “non-electoral methods”. This outside pressure is about the free trade agreement talks between the EU and the US, a plan which should not be forced upon central Europe, Rogan insisted. He noted that at the initiative of the opposition LMP party, the Hungarian parliament will hold a full-day debate on the trade agreement in February. He said a bad trade agreement would have a similar impact on Hungary as a bad IMF loan contract would. The agreement on the other hand could be favourable if it improves Hungary’s access to US markets, he added.
Rogan said the action plan could contain a response to the entry ban issue with the US, but this will not constitute its major part.
The plan for family support will include all family-oriented policies for the next three years, such as doubling the tax rebate for two-child families and expanding the range of housing subsidies available, he said.
The country development concept will look at development spending in light of plans to spend 60 percent of EU funding in 2014-2020 on economic goals in order to strengthen domestic producers and suppliers, Rogan said.
Other issues likely to be on the meeting’s agenda are the conversion of foreign currency loans to forints, bank-client settlements, and an extension of the utility bill cut scheme to include setting up a public utilities provider, he said. With a majority Hungarian-owned banking system opportunities for a new type of wide-ranging forint based lending could open up from 2016, he added.
In response to recent polls showing a loss of voter support for the governing parties Rogan said it was no surprise after an election. He added however that there were measures which sparked debate within the parliamentary group such as the internet tax and the motorway toll, which could have been better prepared. Rogan expressed the wish that these differences should stay within party channels.
Photo: MTI
Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters
please make a donation here
Hot news
What happened today in Hungary? — 7 September, 2024
Spotted in Király Street: Woody Harrelson charms Budapest with his humour
INTERVIEW – Diplomatic insights: Pakistan’s Ambassador discusses trade, education, and bilateral relations between Pakistan and Hungary
Quietly closing: Dozens of Hungarian post offices shut down across the country
Hungary to boost cooperation with Kuwait
China considers building an aviation hub at Budapest Airport