Government update about the spread of deadly disease in Hungary

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary appears to be contained at the moment, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said at a weekly press briefing on Thursday.

Gulyás said the last of the infected animals would be destroyed by Thursday. Fielding questions, he said inspections were underway but no further infections had been discovered, suggesting a quick response had been effective. All of the infected animals are being destroyed and restrictions have been placed on animals in a 10km zone around the area of the outbreak, he added.

He said that the European Union had issued a certificate requiring other member states to accept imports from Hungary. Fifteen non-EU countries have temporarily banned imports of Hungarian meat products, he added.

Government approves referendum on Ukraine’s EU membership

Hungary’s government approved a referendum on Ukraine’s European Union membership at its meeting on Wednesday, Gulyás told a regular press conference. Gulyás welcomed that the US “has come over to the side of peace”, as well as the ceasefire proposal already accepted by the presidents of Ukraine and the European Commission.

At the same time, he said the decision of the European Parliament “urging further weapon deliveries and aiming to finance the continuation of the war”, was “nonsensical and unintelligible”. “It is especially sad that the European People’s Party, of which [opposition] Tisza is a member, is at the helm” of the initiative, he said.

Commenting on EC President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement before the EP that Ukraine should be a member by 2030, Gulyás said the aim was “outrageous and dangerous”. “We are convinced that the people should be able to decide on that in Hungary,” he said. The referendum on Ukraine’s membership will contain a single question, he added.

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