Jobbik

Orbán wants to build secret tunnel for himself to access Puskás Aréna, says Jobbik MP

Puskás Arena, Budapest, Hungary, Europe

Press release – “As a classified project, they want to build a secret tunnel for Orbán to access the Puskás Arena, but I won’t let them cover it up. I will release the information to the public. I know the two-thirds majority will take its revenge on me, but I am ready to face any consequences for the truth,” János Stummer posted on his social media page.

The opposition MP said he was ready to take the responsibility for releasing the information classified by the government. As he explained, he had to take this step even though he is likely to face trial in court.

According to a document obtained by the MP, the tunnel would cost around HUF 2 billion (nearly EUR 5.6 million), which “they wanted to classify for many years”, Jobbik’s politician noted.

Mr Stummer said the project was supposed to be approved by the National Security Committee on its Monday meeting, but he refused to do so. However, the Fidesz-delegated committee members passed the resolution so, as he explained, he had no choice but to release the information to the public.

In his posted video, he also said

no explanation had been offered as to why the project was necessary here and now.

We contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment, but we were not given any relevant confirmation before the publication of this article. Of course, we will update it as soon as they respond.

Puskás Arena, football, Budapest, Hungary
Read alsoCongratulations! Budapest’s Puskás Aréna became the Stadium Of The Year 2019!

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Security or freedom? – Europe’s new dilemma

border koronavirus.gov.hu hungary

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Ever since the Age of Enlightenment, western civilization has always been haunted by the big question: which of the two core values is more important? 

Which one should be given a larger role in organizing our societies: security or freedom?

Can we sacrifice individual freedom on the altar of guaranteed security? Or is the right for individual decision so inalienable from a free human being that it cannot be overruled in any case, even if the individual may make bad decisions in certain cases?

In the spring of 2021, this is the very dilemma Europe faces.

Entailed by the coronavirus pandemic, the supposedly temporary restrictive measures have marginalized several human rights which, just a year ago, were considered as the essential conditions of a European existence. The post-WW2 European community established a highly delicate balance of freedom and security where the right to free movement and the prohibition of discrimination have become unquestionable values and, ultimately, the core principles of the European Union. Up until last February, if you asked anyone in the street about the EU’s most important and palpable achievement in their eyes, even most of the full-blooded Eurosceptics would likely have answered with no hesitation: free movement within the continent and the opportunities that every EU citizen enjoys as a person living in one of the world’s largest democratic communities.

That’s why I find it so deeply concerning to realize that Europe has already been living under such restrictions that completely disregard these rights and freedoms for nearly a year. Of course, I do not question that extraordinary situations, such as a world pandemic, require extraordinary solutions. On the other hand, true democracy means that even special solutions and extraordinary situations must be measured on the scales of democracy. In other words, restrictions must not be arbitrary or disproportionate, they must not lead to any discrimination and they must be adopted in a transparent manner for a period no longer than the emergency exists.

Last spring, when the European states responded to the thus far unknown virus by closing the borders and restricting free movement, there was hardly any voice, apart from a few extremists, to question the justification and proportionality of the adopted measures.

Nearly a year later however, European citizens still live with night curfews and sealed or hardly crossable state borders under a quasi war readiness, while several countries, as vaccines become increasingly available, are seriously considering to legally discriminate among citizens based on their vaccination status. To make matters worse, there’s hardly any overlap between the measures of the different countries: each state decides on its own as to who can travel where and under what terms. With a few exceptions, Belgium has forbidden any crossing of its borders, while Hungary sealed its border with police force and does not allow any foreigners to enter. Germany even limits transit across its territory (which causes a considerable setback when your country happens to be situated in the middle of the continent), while France introduced a night curfew as early as 6 p.m. Although generally considered temporary, the thousands of minor differences have already been splitting the European Union that holds free movement as its fundamental principle.

In the meantime, some southern member states tie the resumption of tourism to the introduction of vaccination passports, while the Hungarian government’s thinly-veiled agenda is to require a vaccination certificate for such basic activities as visiting an event. 

Of course, we know that vaccination is important and I completely agree that vaccination is the only long-term solution for the virus.

On the other hand, I am fully convinced that we need to use science and its results to convince people, rather than political pressure or perhaps even police force. However, certain governments openly threatening their citizens will hardly lead to a real consensus in terms of the vaccines. Instead, this attitude is likely to cause social tensions and lead to the looming danger of reverting to an age where people were discriminated against on a daily basis.

Decision makers undeniably bear an enormous responsibility since they need to find the balance between contrary values and interests. The dilemma between security and freedom is more intense than anything else. However, I do hope that neither will take precedence at the expense of the other in the long run. If that happens, it will be the end of democracy, the European Union and the European lifestyle as we know it. If the situation deteriorates to that point, it will render obsolete all our ancestors’ struggles and hard work to bring forth this community which considers human dignity, freedom and initiative as a supreme value.

orbán parliament
Read alsoNo chance for lifting restrictions? The epidemic is not loosening its grip in Hungary

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Vaccine politics – another missed chance or a step in the right direction?

vaccine coronavirus

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Throughout its history, the European Union has often been criticized for being too slow to act united despite all the nice talk, and for being even slower to take real action in situations where a united European stance would have indeed been justified and significant. We may go as far as to say that the European community was perhaps too forward-looking when the idea of the union was conceived. 

The concept needed time to “take hold”, while the European countries needed to understand that there was an increasing amount of problems they could only solve if they acted together.

However, the issue of the lockdown-related economic difficulties posed the question to European states more clearly than ever: are they able to realize that they cannot overcome this crisis unless they show solidarity and join their forces? Though somewhat haltingly and hesitantly, Europe eventually grabbed the opportunity and adopted the economic recovery plan, thus demonstrating that the union is capable of acting beyond the political slogans and able to show joint tangible results.

The same question emerged with regard to the healthcare management of the pandemic: will they show solidarity and make a coordinated effort in vaccine distribution? Obviously, European countries have strikingly different leverage in vaccine procurement according to their population and economic weight, should they decide to negotiate deals on their own. However, if we really want to leave this difficult period behind, Europe must not have any “black holes”; in other words, we cannot accept that the inhabitants of some countries can get vaccines easily, while others can’t at all. This would go against the idea of European solidarity as well as any rational consideration for economic and political stability.

That’s why the European Commission’s commitment to negotiate vaccine procurement and distribution to the twenty-seven member states could be considered as a historic step.

It would have allowed the EC to kill two birds with one stone: firstly, it could have demonstrated the unity of Europe, where it doesn’t matter if you are a citizen of a small or big member state and secondly, it could have protected the health of 450 million European people.

Opinions are divided as to whether the “grand plan” succeeded or not. Doubts typically stem from the EC’s far-from-perfect efforts in terms of implementation. Unfortunately, the EC failed to get rid of an enormous and recurring problem of the Europe project: the lack of transparency. The work of Ursula von der Leyen and her team was neither transparent nor controllable. This is clearly an aggravating factor when the outcome is far from convincing, too. Despite all the efforts, the EU is lagging behind: as of today, only three per cent of the population has been vaccinated, which is terrifyingly low, while European people are at the end of their tolerance for lockdowns (quite understandably so).

To make matters worse, the EU, instead of giving an example of unity and solidarity, played into the populists’ hands with its hesitance and lack of transparency: just take a look at Viktor Orbán who got yet another card to distance Hungary from Europe and drag our country closer to Russia and China. There was also the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol, where the EU’s imposed vaccine export controls quasi managed to restore a border, something we have been trying to avoid for three years. Not to mention that while China and Russia have included vaccine diplomacy in their political toolkit, Europe will hardly become a “Covax” champion if it even fails to vaccinate its own population. From this point of view, Europe’s vaccine procurement may seem like a total failure.

Then why isn’t it actually? Simply because if the European Commission had not taken on the task, the situation could be even worse and the contrast between the European countries could be even starker. 

So our cup is half full and half empty. As to how you evaluate all this, it’s a matter of personal opinion.

However, those who don’t just consider Europe as an opportunity in lack of a better option and want to see a dynamic community able to respond to the world’s challenges and multiply the power of its members rather than just as a ponderous political organization that creaks and cracks at times, they indeed need to draw the necessary conclusions and ask the inconvenient question: who is responsible for this ambivalent outcome? This is the only way to move forward.

pfizer vaccine
Read alsoHuman resources minister: Hungary vaccination rate above EU average

Jobbik files report over river pollution near eastern border

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The conservative opposition Jobbik party said on Wednesday that it has filed an environment pollution report with authorities over communal waste drifting on the Hungarian section of the Tisza river and its tributaries, the Kraszna and Szamos rivers, near Hungary’s eastern borders.

Speaking at a press conference in front of Ukraine’s consular office in Nyiregyhaza, in eastern Hungary, Béla Adorján, a councillor of the local county assembly, said Jobbik had clear evidence that the waste causing continued pollution on the rivers over the past several years originates in neighbouring Romania and Ukraine.

He said “courtesy moves in diplomacy” had led nowhere in the past twenty years, adding that government programmes of removing drift waste from the river had only been “ad-hoc emergency steps” and had not resulted in the eradication of the pollution.

Csaba Gyüre, a lawmaker for the party, said that under international treaties, Hungary could have sought reimbursement of waste removal costs by the two neighbouring countries, but had failed to make use of that option.

Geological Trianon Map Shrinking Hungary
Read alsoWhat is a geological Trianon? – Hungary is shrinking by the minute

How can Hungary benefit from the Portuguese EU presidency? – essay

brussels eu european commission flag EU funds

You can read the thoughts of Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi on the Portuguese presidency below. The article was published originally on gyongyosimarton.com.

Half a year ago I posted a multi-part essay to discuss the key areas where we expected the German presidency to provide solutions and guidance for the European Union. The huge challenges facing the European community were worthy of a big and strong country: the adoption of the economic recovery package and the seven-year budget (MFF) as well as most of the Brexit negotiations were still ahead of us at the time.

Although I do have reasons to hope that the upcoming period will be a bit less stressful for the EU, I still have expectations from the Portuguese Council Presidency. In fact, now that the most pressing issues have been successfully concluded,

I believe it’s time for some fine-tuning.

Just as I was optimistic about the challenges tackled by the presidency of a large country half a year ago, I am especially happy that the presidency is taken over by Portugal now. Why is that?

Looking at the map you might find it surprising, but I am convinced that my homeland, Hungary and Portugal are similar in many ways, despite the fact that these two nations live on the direct opposite sides of Europe. As far as their areas and populations are concerned,

Hungary and Portugal have approximately the same weight.

Although Portugal set out on the path of democracy earlier and it is also somewhat wealthier than Hungary, both countries belong to the poorer periphery of the European Union. Consequently, there are several issues that are just as sensitive for Portugal as for Hungary or Central Europe as a whole.

When Portugal’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mr Augusto Santos Silva visited the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), I voiced three of my expectations that I believe may have outstanding importance for Portugal, too.

1.

The first one was the issue of addressing the serious income inequalities within the European Union.

As the launcher of the European Citizens’ Initiative for the Wage Union, I am fully aware that the brain and hand drain, which is driven by the income gap, is affecting Portugal as well as Central Europe.

I trust that a country which suffers from the impact of this problem will show more empathy in terms of the social challenges experienced in the EU’s peripheral countries. The fact that the Portuguese presidency has moved toward strengthening the EU’s social pillar is certainly a positive sign in that regard.

2.

The second issue is the rule of law: the rule of law mechanism applies as of 1 January, but it’s time to truly implement it. I believe that a country with first-hand experience of the challenges related to the transition from a dictatorship to a democracy may offer a better insight into the problem and, as a smaller Member State,

Portugal can hardly be accused of having vested financial or economic interests in making friends with despots embezzling EU funds

(which suspicion may unfortunately be quite justified in the case of the German political and economic elite). I hope that Portugal will be able to take the necessary steps in this area because democracy is the foundation of the EU. If a politician undermines the rule of law in his own country, he also destabilizes the EU, which we cannot allow to happen.

3.

The third issue is something that causes a lot of distress for the EU’s smaller Member States: real decisions are often made by the leaders of the larger Member States behind closed doors instead of through open discussions. Beside going completely against the EU’s fundamental principles, this practice alienates citizens and fuels the fire of populism. Not to mention that it also excludes the smaller countries and their citizens from the decisions that affect all of us. I trust that the Portuguese Council Presidency will take more active steps in this regard than a larger Member State would.

Half a year is not too long a time (although it might seem a lot now, during the lockdown), but it is perhaps enough for the Portuguese presidency to start the fine-tuning process now that

we have found solutions for the EU’s most pressing problems dominating our political discourse.

It will be an equally difficult challenge.

Opposition urges parliament probe into Hungarian government measures ?

Parties of the parliamentary opposition have urged that ad-hoc committees should be set up to investigate the government’s coronavirus-related measures.

The proposed three committees should look into government decisions concerning the government’s response to the economic crisis, efforts against the pandemic and coronavirus vaccine purchases, the Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, the Socialist Party, and Párbeszéd said in a joint statement on Monday.

The allied opposition parties insisted that the government had reacted “badly and extremely late” to challenges posed by the pandemic and the consequent economic problems, and made “a number of ill-advised decisions” impacting health services and the economy.

The government has “let down” companies and employees, while it “keeps residents in the fog concerning a vaccination schedule”, the statement said.

A decision has also been made to buy vaccine from China “amid great public distrust” concerning that product, which is not being licenced with the European Medicine Agency, the document added.

Ruling Fidesz said in reaction that “the left wing constantly slams efforts taken against the pandemic,” and it called on the opposition to withdraw Lajos Korozs, head of parliament’s welfare committee, saying he was linked to a “fake video” misrepresenting government’s measures and had “falsified mortality statistics”.

Meanwhile, Máté Kocsis, Fidesz’s parliamentary group leader, said the opposition should set up investigative committees in Brussels instead.

“It’s hard to imagine a more deceitful move even from them,” Kocsis said on Facebook in reaction to the opposition’s statement.

Members of “the Gyurcsány coalition” have been “attacking the government’s defence against the epidemic for nearly a year now”, Kocsis said.

He the reason why EU member states did not have enough vaccines was because “the Brussels bureaucracy has been incapable of organising their procurement”.

Kocsis also cited a leading left-wing advisor telling a western daily that the “Left’s strategy” was to “attack measures against the epidemic” in the hopes of making political gains in 2022 if the death toll and case numbers are high this year.

hungary vaccination
Read alsoCoronavirus – 80% of registered health-care workers inoculated

Hungarians’ low vaccine acceptance shows distrust in Orbán, says Jobbik

hungary vaccine

The low willingness of Hungarians to get vaccinated against coronavirus demonstrates their distrust in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the activities of his cabinet, conservative opposition Jobbik’s deputy leader said on Wednesday.

As long as Orbán is the prime minister, restrictions will remain in force because people don’t trust him and consequently they don’t trust the vaccines available, László György Lukács said citing a recent EU survey on vaccine acceptance.

The new EU survey showing that only 49 percent of Hungarians want to get vaccinated as against the European average of 70 percent shows “a rather unflattering image” of Hungary, he said. It is among the lowest figures in Europe, next to Bulgaria’s and Poland’s, he added.

Lukács said

the government had started “a dangerous business” when it got involved in talks about a Chinese vaccine “of which almost nothing is known” and which has not been approved by the European Medicines Agency.

This only further deteriorates people’s trust and vaccine acceptance.

Lukács added that it was a basic requirement that vaccination should be free, offered on a voluntary basis and all the vaccines on offer should have EU approval.

vaccine-hungary-hospital
Read alsoHow long it takes for Hungary’s population to reach COVID-19 immunity?

Hungarian opposition accuses govt of waging political campaign to ‘punish’ local councils

Daily News Hungary economy

Six opposition parties published a joint statement on Tuesday accusing the government of pursuing a political campaign aimed at “punishing local councils” run by the opposition, especially the administration of Budapest.

DK, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, the Socialists and Párbeszéd accused the Orban government of curbing the powers of local governments in an “unprincipled and senseless” way, thereby hurting several million Hungarians.

The statement said it was the “duty” of local governments to inform citizens that at least 100 billion forints (EUR 280m) was being taken away from them in an “arbitrary and politically motivated” way.

It added that the Orbán government was the only central administration in Europe that was “robbing local councils of their last remaining income” instead of supporting them at the time of the coronavirus epidemic and the current crisis.

The opposition parties insisted that the government was ploughing hundreds of billions of forints of public money into private foundations and “funding their own power and economic interests”.

The parties said “after a change of government in 2022, the democratic opposition alliance will restore local government, the autonomy of towns and villages, and will ensure financing goes to local governments free of political considerations”.

As we wrote yesterday, the municipal government of Budapest is launching an information campaign with a view to providing a picture of the situation in the capital, details HERE.

hungary worker
Read alsoOfficial: Tax cuts to continue in 2021

Jobbik: The end of the Merkel era – but is it the beginning of a new one?

Armin Laschet is CDU’s new president

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

My hunch was right – said Márton Gyöngyösi, Jobbik MEP- Armin Laschet is CDU’s new president – It seems that a long era has ended and Germany’s governing party CDU has elected a new president: Armin Laschet (who I thought had the best chance). I trust that the new leader will be able to give a new momentum to his party and steer the Christian Democrats to a more markedly centre right position after the perhaps left-leaning tendencies of recent years, while the German governing party will become a force committed to a deepening cooperation but cautious in terms of federalism.
I also hope that the CDU’s new strong leadership will be able to finally put an end to the Fidesz farce dragged on so long in the European People’s Party, and make it clear that corrupt dictators and their orgy-going band have no place in European politics.

Koloman Brenner, the Deputy Speaker of National Assembly of Hungary said, that: We are talking about such a Europe where the European Commission’s lead candidate system can be overridden by putting political delegates in positions after some deals made behind closed doors, and where the European Commission can sweep off the expressed will of nearly 1.3 million European citizens and the majority of the European Parliament who want to promote an EU-wide legislation process to protect native ethnic minorities, and where Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz are allowed to construct an anti-democratic single-party system by trampling on the rule of law as long as he keeps supplying cheap Hungarian labour – to the greatest joy of the German economy. This is a Europe where, as I already said in the Parliament, the parties haggled over the joint EU budget and the recovery plan instead of taking real steps toward the unification of our continent.

For that to happen however, German politicians need to realize that it’s pointless to build Europe without its citizens. The economy is important and so is stability, but people are the most important. When it comes to a truly democratic Europe characterized by real solidarity, it is the will of the people that must rule over any hushed deals made behind closed doors.

Armin Laschet is CDU’s new president
Read alsoJobbik: The end of the Merkel era – but is it the beginning of a new one?

There is no Europe without citizens, says Jobbik MEP

székely szekler flag parliament Budapest

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Ever since their establishment, EU institutions have often been subjects of many disputes about how overcomplicated and non-transparent the community and the operation of its organizations are for the people of Europe. These cumbersome processes, which are often formed by agreements between member states, simply alienate the EU from its own citizens. As a simple voter interested in politics, then as an MP of the Hungarian Parliament and now as a MEP, I have often had to come to the conclusion that many European citizens, despite all the colourful advertisements, campaigns and events, do not understand the European Union and, as a result, they can’t fully identify with it, which may have a long-term devastating effect on the EU – as we should already have understood from the rise of anti-Europe and populist politicians by now.

That’s why I was so disappointed by the European Commission’s rejection of the Minority SafePack citizens’ initiative. In an earlier post, I have already explained how important and worthy goals the initiators set with regard to the rights of European native ethnic minorities, in my opinion. It’s an utter shame these goals cannot be accomplished now. However, there is an even bigger shame: the damage to European democracy and European civil organizations.

Here’s the bottom-line message of the EC’s decision: you can organize yourselves all you want, you can write petitions all you want, you can even convince the EP, it won’t matter. What matters is what we decide behind closed doors.

Why do I use such grave words? I believe the Minority SafePack had a stronger legitimacy than any other initiative before. As you may remember, the European Commission refused to allow the collection of signatures at first, claiming a lack of competency in the matter. However, the organizers turned to the European Court, which decided that the matter did fall within the EC’s competency, so it cannot reject the collection of signatures. After that, the organizers collected 1.3 million statements of support from the citizens of seven EU member states. Since I have already launched a European Citizens’ Initiative before, I am fully aware what an enormous logistical effort and perseverance you need to succeed in such an undertaking. After a convincing support by citizens, the issue was referred to the European body with the highest legitimacy, i.e., the European Parliament, which voted for it with a vast majority.

What happened next was that the European Commission simply swept off the opinion of 1.3 million European citizens and the arguments of MEPs directly elected by the people of Europe.

The EC returned to its original position, namely, that it has no competency in the matter and that it has already done so much for Europe’s native minority recently, anyway.

The European Commission, a body consisting of political delegates instead of directly elected representatives, simply sent the message to the European Court that it has no jurisdiction over the Commission, while the 1.3 million signers and the MEPs are told that they are wrong and the problem they perceive does not exist. As a European citizen and a MEP who took an oath to represent the European people, I find this act deeply insulting.

Of course, this is not the first time for the European Commission to be in a difficult position with regard to its legitimacy. We can all remember how the lead candidate system was promised and then suddenly dropped when potentially having a too strong person as the head of the EC became inconvenient for the nation-state political elites. The disappointment is now equally painful for all European citizens, and not just those who worked so hard for years to promote the citizens’ initiative and now it seems to be all for next to nothing.

They were promised a more democratic Europe with a more effective citizen participation, and now they are left at the finish line with nothing but the cynical smiles of politicians never elected by anyone.

I know that this event will not stop European institutions from advertising themselves in colourful brochures while constantly complaining about how populist politicians endanger European integration because the people fail to understand or identify with the European Union. These voices will sound extremely hypocritical, especially if the European Union cuts down citizens’ initiatives without any second thought while lecturing them about what they actually need.

That’s not the kind of Europe I work for as a MEP. Of course, economic cooperation and member state agreements are very important too, but I think it will be difficult to build a Europe without a more direct citizen participation…

minority safepack
Read alsoJobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Minority SafePack – one step closer to a more democratic and fair Europe

Jobbik MEP: Decision on Minority SafePack initiative “disappointing”

minority safepack

Remarks by Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

“The Europe of backdoor deals triumphs over the Europe of the people again – I find it bitterly disappointing that the European Commission cut down the Minority SafePack citizens’ initiative today. This is an initiative that was endorsed by 1.3 million European citizens and supported by an overwhelming majority of the European Parliament, the EU body with the highest legitimacy.

 This is not the first time the European Commission has played this game. You may remember how the lead candidate system was dropped to satisfy some deals made by the local political elites. And now, the will of 1.3 million people and the directly elected European Parliament was overridden by the Committee that consists of political delegates. This is an outrageously bad message to the people.

The bottom line is: no matter what you do, we will make the real decisions behind closed doors.

The latest victims of this attitude are the 50 million people who live as an ethnic minority in their homeland. The Minority SafePack would have guaranteed their rights.
As a Member of the European Parliament, I strive for such a Europe where the will of the people cannot be ignored.

This community, the EU must be about us, the people of Europe!”

brussels eu european commission flag EU funds
Read alsoEuropean Commission rejects Minority SafePack initiative

Jobbik demands govt help to ‘victims of debt collection’

Daily News Hungary

Conservative opposition Jobbik’s deputy leader called on the government to help “several hundreds of thousands of victims of forced debt collection”.

Dániel Z Kárpát told an online press conference on Wednesday that salaries and pensions not exceeding the minimum wage should be protected from the forced collection of debt, at least during the state of emergency and economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus epidemic.

Unlike banks, multinationals and property investors, this demographic did not get help from the government in the epidemic and they can lose 33 percent or up to 50 percent of their income as a result of forced debt collection, he said.

Jobbik MP accused the cabinet of being in cahoots with financial institutions, citing a “pact” signed with the EBRD in February 2015.

It is currently up to factoring companies and debt managers to decide whether the affected people should be allowed to survive the economic crisis, he said.

He called for “mending the social net” so that nobody would be evicted without access to shelter and small incomes or pensions should exempt from forced debt collection.

Daily News Hungary
Read alsoJobbik demands govt help to ‘victims of debt collection’

Coronavirus – Jobbik wants 80 pc wage subsidies for workers

hungary road workers

The opposition Jobbik party has proposed providing an 80 percent wage subsidy to workers affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Dániel Z. Kárpát, a deputy leader of the nationalist party, told a press conference on Thursday that Jobbik’s scheme would give people who have lost their jobs because of the epidemic a guaranteed income “under all circumstances”.

“All of the opposition parties are able and willing to support this solution,” he said.

Z. Kárpát said some 850,000 people in 29 sectors were at risk of losing their jobs due to the economic impact of the spring lockdown, adding that the government had “barely helped five percent of them”.

Despite having set up an economic protection fund worth trillions of forints, the government gave these sectors “peanuts” in aid, he said, arguing that most of the funds had gone to projects like a hunting exhibition, space research and the upgrade of the Budapest-Belgrade railway line.

Z. Kárpát said a reallocation of 65 billion forints (EUR 181.1m) within the central budget would be enough to finance 80 percent wage subsidies for those who need it.

Budapest, Hungary, scenery
Read alsoBudapest listed among the world’s best cities for remote working in 2021!

Hungarian opposition parties lay down joint government principles

opposition hungary 2021

Parties of the parliamentary opposition on Tuesday signed an agreement concerning principles of a joint government should they win the next general election in 2022.

Signatories of the document pledged efforts to build a “democratic, socially equitable, environment- and climate conscious, cooperative Hungary”.

The document was signed by leaders of conservative Jobbik, Momentum, green LMP, Párbeszéd, the Socialist Party, and leftist Democratic Coalition.

Speaking at a joint press conference held online, Jobbik chairman Péter Jakab said that

his party would “build a better Hungary than it was in the past 30 years”, seeking “peace in society, an end to hatred, elimination of divides, and reunification of the nation”.

Momentum leader András Fekete-Győr said his party’s ideal was a “new republic in which voters control the government rather than vice versa”. Momentum supports the rule of law, and the freedoms of the press, education, and art, he said, adding that they would want to live in a country in which “it is not a single person shaping the future but residents together”.

Momentum would “put an end to the rule of oligarchs and eliminate corruption… no crime should be left unpunished,” he insisted.

LMP co-leader Erzsébet Schmuck said that her party was preparing to participate in a government which “considers the future of the planet” in addition to “considerations for the present”. The goals should include building an environment-conscious society and handling a demographic crisis. She made mention of migration, and said that its causes, climate change and violent conflicts, should be managed. To that end she called for European cooperation but added that migration-related decisions should continue to be made by national governments.

Tímea Szabó, Párbeszéd’s co-leader, said one of the main goals of the six parties was to create a “caring society” focusing on the elderly, the sick, and the poor, a society in which “everybody is significant and each child is an asset”. She called for fair distribution and equal acces to public services, a society with “no privileged”.

Socialist co-chair Ágnes Kunhalmi said that the country’s development should rest on the skills and creativity of its residents, and called for a “free and fair education system ensuring promotion in society”. She also said it was fundamental to ensure “fair wages for decent work, and a decent pension for a lifetime of hard work”.

Democratic Coalition leader Ferenc Gyurcsány said

the opposition alliance was seeking to form a “patriotic and European” government, and voiced support for Hungary’s European Union membership.

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Read alsoSix opposition parties join together to fight against PM Orbán in 2022

Opposition declares objection to government’s treatment of local councils, epidemic response

karácsony mayor

Hungarian opposition parties have jointly declared their objection to the Orbán government “bleeding dry local councils” and its “irresponsible epidemic handling and crisis management”.

“Robbing our cities is not governance,” according to the statement issued by the opposition alliance on Thursday, signed by party leaders Andras Fekete-Győr (Momentum), Ferenc Gyurcsány (Democratic Coalition), Péter Jakab (Jobbik), Ágnes Kunhalmi and Bertalan Tóth (Socialists), Tímea Szabó and Gergely Karácsony (Párbeszed), Erzsébet Schmuck and Máté Kanász-Nagy (LMP).

The statement accuses the government of “abandoning government responsibility in the hardest of times as well as millions of Hungarians”.

It also charges the government with using public funds to support its own clientele rather than handling the epidemic and “the economic crisis”, spending “hundreds of billions” on stadiums, motorsports and the prime minister’s residence.

The opposition alliance said halving local business taxes would not provide meaningful help to troubled businesses but it would jeopardise public services provided by local councils across the country by depriving them of vital revenue, forcing many into bankruptcy.

The statement says local councils run by the opposition would have to contend with austerity imposed by the central government seven times as severe as that affecting Fidesz-led councils. Further, a “vast majority” of county seats run by opposition mayors were excluded from central compensation funding, it added.

Fully, 2.5 million Hungarians living in opposition-run areas would suffer as a result, they said.

Ruling Fidesz in a statement said the opposition’s actions had been “shameful all year”.

This year, the opposition obstructed all decisions necessary to fight the coronavirus pandemic and withheld their vote for the law allocating the funds for it, the statement said. They also “lied throughout the year, produced fake videos and fake news”, it said.

Meanwhile, the government is providing all necessary support for the protection efforts and to protect Hungarian families and jobs, it said.

Halving the business tax aims at protecting SMEs and thereby local jobs, the statement said. The government is also allocating significant funds to local governments, and had freed them from a total of 1,300 billion forints (EUR 35.6bn) of debt accumulated under leftist governments, the statement added.

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Read alsoBudapest Mayor Karácsony: Vaccine the only solution

Six opposition parties join together to fight against PM Orbán in 2022

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Hungary’s six opposition parties will run on a joint list in the 2022 general elections, the parties said in a joint statement on Sunday. The decision was taken by party leaders at their last meeting of the year.

The Democratic Coalition (DK), Jobbik, LMP, the Socialists, Momentum and Parbeszed said they wish to express national unity with the joint list, unity “that will at once bring about a change in government and a new era” for Hungary.

The party leaders decided on the framework of their collaboration on Sunday. In all 106 districts, they will run with joint candidates, a joint candidate for prime minister, a joint programme and a joint list with the aim, they said, of dismantling the Orban regime and “giving the nation all that which was promised them at the time of the change of system:

freedom and welfare”.

The party leaders approved a document entitled Guarantees of a Change of Era, containing conditions for establishing the joint list. In the document, they declare that the goal of their alliance is to “create an independent, livable and proud Hungary”.

The parties committed to allowing only people who have not participated in crimes of corruption or “fraternised” with Fidesz to run as their candidates. The party leaders want to

end the practice of “the authorities in power turning Hungarian against Hungarian”.

They also pledged to create welfare and social peace, clean up public life, reestablish the rule of law and face the past, including the disclosure of agent files.

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: Minority SafePack – one step closer to a more democratic and fair Europe

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Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

In its last week’s session, the European Parliament adopted the European Minority SafePack Initiative, which can be considered as a milestone for the EU in several aspects. Why exactly? This post presents an answer to this question.

The post-WW2 cooperation, which created the groundwork for the European Union, gave a central role to the practice of laying state-citizen relationships on different foundations than before the cataclysm.

The concepts of social market economy and welfare state were born. The new approach involved most Western European countries starting to settle their relations with their native ethnic minorities. These relations were typically burdened with historical grievances and the memories of many past struggles. Of course, it would have been an impossible undertaking to fully iron out all the problems but if you look at the map of Western Europe today, you see highly functional national minority autonomies in many countries. In fact, some states are actually federations of such autonomous areas.

In contrast, Communist Eastern Europe only had some short-lived national minority autonomous areas which much rather served as a Communist political window-dressing than as a real effort to satisfy people’s needs.

This should hardly come as a surprise since it would be quite difficult to define subsidiarity or human rights within the framework of an authoritarian regime. No wonder these initiatives failed to settle the conflicts between the affected peoples, and they often ended in a less than peaceful dissolution. That’s how post-Communist Central Europe arrived at the gate of European integration: carrying unspoken historical grievances, reignited 21st-century nationalism and a whole lot of intolerance for each other.

The peaceful settlement of these conflicts has not taken place to this day, which causes considerable bitterness and strife for Central European citizens on both sides of the borders. 

The Minority SafePack Initiative was launched to solve this issue by developing certain norms to ensure that all of the EU’s ethnic minorities can enjoy the same rights that have been granted to their Western European counterparts for decades.

Before going into a more detailed explanation of the above, let me note the second reason why I believe the adoption of the Minority SafePack is a historic step. As the originator of the European Citizens’ Initiative for a Wage Union, I have long been interested in the institution of the European citizens’ initiative which is perhaps the most democratic instrument with the highest legitimacy in the European community. Collecting statements of support from one million citizens in seven EU member states is no easy feat, but it provides an enormous power for the cause since it is the most direct expression of the voters’ will. On the other hand, relatively few initiatives have managed to go through the entire process that consists of registration by the Commission, collection of signatures and, finally, adoption by the European Parliament. I believe it is a major step for such an important initiative to get so far ahead, and I do hope it will achieve its final goal, too.

As a Hungarian, I am particularly proud that all Hungarian parties represented in the European Parliament were able to rise above their partisan differences and supported the initiative that bears an outstanding significance for us, Hungarians.

And what are the potential gains for Europe if the provisions of the Minority SafePack are put into practice? As far as the affected national minorities are concerned, extended minority rights are the token of their survival and the preservation of their traditions. This is a universally recognized fact in such territories as South Tyrol, Basque Country, the German-speaking areas of Belgium or the Aland Islands. On the other hand, the reduced ethnic tensions, the achieved compromises and the guaranteed rights for the ethnic groups also mean a more democratic and stronger Europe. At a time when so much attention is paid to individual human rights, we must not forget that some rights can only be exercised as a group, and they are meaningless without the existence of such groups. These rights include the right for free use of the language, education in the native language as well as the right for cultural self-expression.

The management of ethnic tensions and the appreciation of native ethnic minorities are both key means of standing up against extremist views and their promoters.

The importance of such a common stance can hardly be overestimated today, when some populist politicians keep making thinly-disguised attempts to disunite the European Union.

That’s why it’s so important for us to complete the great task that the EU’s founding fathers began in their day and to finally lay down the foundations for the rule of law and the welfare state in the eastern member states, too. It has remained a debt of the nation-state elites and European politics until now.

By voting for the Minority SafePack, the European Parliament has just paid back some of this debt. Keep up the good work!

Read alsoMinority SafePack to open new chapter in European integration

Hungary MEPs urge stronger EC support for protection of national minorities

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The European Commission should take specific steps to support the continent’s ethnic minority groups, Hungary’s MEPs said in a European Parliamentary debate on Minority SafePack, an initiative urging EU protection for indigenous national minorities in the bloc, on Monday.

Kinga Gál, an MEP for Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, said in a statement that it was time to guarantee the protection of minority rights at European level.

The initiative gives the bloc’s national minority groups the chance to express their need for protection in unison, she said.

Gál said she had turned to the European Commission on numerous occasions when the continent’s indigenous minorities faced some form of discrimination either in education, the use of their mother tongue or when they were the targets of hate speech.

But while the commission has declared 15 times in writing in recent years that cases of discrimination against minorities fall under national competences on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity, “it does not bother with observing this principle in other matters,”

she said.

Gál said it was time for the EC to “put aside the use of double standards” and stand up for the protection of Europe’s indigenous national minorities. “After numerous empty replies, I want to see the commission put specific proposals on the table,” the MEP said.

Márton Gyöngyösi of conservative opposition Jobbik welcomed that the EP was preparing to create a legal foundation for the protection of Europe’s 60 million indigenous minority citizens.

“The territories of member states today are protected by international law, and it is time for every single minority to have equal rights regardless of the member state they live in,” he said.

Anna Donáth of the opposition Momentum Movement said Europe had been holding off from taking steps towards the social inclusion of the Roma community for years, adding that certain member states were even blocking it. She said it was time for Europe to protect its minorities, not just in words but also in actions.

The Minority SafePack signature drive initiated by Romania’s ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party and coordinated by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) was launched in April 2017. A total of 1,128,385 signatures were certified across the 28 EU member states over the year-long campaign.

The EC registered the signatures in January this year.

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