Hungary’s reforms concern European issues, says Balog

(MTI) – The reforms Hungary has introduced were designed to address European issues rather than to resolve specifically Hungarian problems, Human Resources Minister Zoltan Balog said in a roundtable organised by the Hungarian EU representation in Brussels on Monday evening.

“Everything we have touched are about pressing issues in Europe,” the minister said.

Balog said that while Hungary was earlier criticised for some of its attempts, by now it has earned Europe’s appreciation for solutions “which may not always be conventional but which are worthy of discussion”.

For example, Balog mentioned Hungary’s handling unemployment, and said that the country was using funds to create jobs rather than to provide benefits.

On the subject of the government’s utilities cut programme, Balog said that it was aimed at “resolving a great injustice” and insisted that international companies had kept the price of utilities at an unreasonably high level.

Balog admitted that some of the government’s reforms could have been painful, but argued that they had helped the country reduce its debt and put the economy back on a growth path.

Photo: csepel.info

Source: http://hungarymatter.hu/