Free public access to Lake Balaton beaches around the corner?

The opposition Socialist Party “will continue its fight” to ensure free access to public beaches around Lake Balaton, a party official said on Monday.

Zsolt Molnár told a press conference from the lakeside resort of Berhida that he had asked mayors around Balaton why they charged bathers to use the lake, and they had referred to maintenance costs, wages, and other expenses.

Molnár, the party’s director, said Berhida was “a good example of a municipality offering a well-kept lakeside park for people to use free of charge”. He said he believed that the lake “could be returned to the Hungarian people” and that other mayors would take a leaf out of the Berhida administration’s book.

Molnár also proposed central budget compensation for municipalities which abolish beach fees.