Opposition Párbeszéd calls on government to disclose BMW investment details

Debrecen, 2018. július 31. Mezõgazdasági földterület Debrecen határában, a 33-as fõút mellett, középen egy BMW személyautó 2018. július 31-én. Ezen a területen és környékén épít gyárat a BMW Group, a beruházás értéke meghaladja majd az egymilliárd eurót. A debreceni gyáregység képes lesz ugyanazon a soron hagyományos robbanómotorral és elektromotorral ellátott jármûvek elõállítására, és az új üzemben akár évi 150 ezer jármût gyárthatnak majd. MTI Fotó: Czeglédi Zsolt

Opposition Párbeszéd on Wednesday called on the government to disclose the details of the investment agreement concluded with BMW.

The car manufacturing giant announced last week to build a plant in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, with an investment of around 300 billion forints (EUR 1bn) to create about 1,000 workplaces.

The government should disclose what funds from state coffers would be allocated to support the project, Párbeszéd group leader Tímea Szabó told a press conference.

It is likely, she insisted, that “wages at the plant will be paid by the Hungarian government, and so by Hungarian taxpayers, for the first five to six years”.

Szabó cited as an example Indian tyre maker Apollo Tyres’ investment in Gyöngyöshalász, in northern Hungary, which opened in April 2017. Apart from a substantial government grant, Apollo Tyres was also exempt from paying corporate tax, and so the government was stripped of all revenues from the project, she said.

Párbeszéd demands that the government should disclose whether BMW will pay corporate tax, employ Hungarians at the plant and guarantee work conditions and wages according to the German standard, Szabó said.