George Soros

Christian Democrats: Hungary has won time, but political battle ongoing

Hungary has won time at the end of the European Union summit in Brussels, where migration was a topic on the agenda, István Hollik, the spokesman for the ruling Fidesz alliance with the Christian Democrats said on Saturday. But the political battle is still ongoing, he added.

Prime Minister Orbán and the other Visegrad Group leaders managed to prevent the compulsory introduction of migrant quotas, the spokesman said at a press conference.

Hungary’s position on stopping migration remains the same, he said, adding that the borders of Europe need to be protected.

People living illegally in Europe should not be relocated within the bloc but sent home, he said.

Hollik said no one should lose sight of the fact that millions of economic migrants want to reach Europe.

“The Soros network and Brussels bureaucrats still want migration to be a fundamental right,” he said, referring to US billionaire George Soros.

Next year’s European parliamentary elections are all the more important since they will give European people a chance to say whether Brussels’ policy on migration is good or not.

Photo: MTI

July 1, 2018

Hungarian government to examine Venice Commission’s opinion on ‘Stop Soros’ laws

The Hungarian government will examine the Venice Commission’s recently released opinion on the “Stop Soros” package of laws on illegal migration passed last week, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Speaking to MTI by phone, Zsolt Németh said that in his address at Tuesday’s session of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly he asserted that Hungary’s new legislation was not aimed against humanitarian work.

The new laws serve solely to prevent the activities of certain “sham humanitarian organisations” and individuals that promote illegal migration, Németh said.

In its opinion released on Friday, the Venice Commission called for repealing certain provisions of the laws, saying that those seriously impair legitimate NGO work.

Németh said that if the commission’s opinion contains recommendations “that can be applied in policy making”, the Hungarian government would implement them.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/MagyarországKormánya

June 27, 2018

Italy right to block ‘Soros vessels’ from docking, says ruling Fidesz party

Italy is right to block “Soros vessels” from docking in its ports, Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party said on Saturday.

The party reacted in a statement to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s remark that rescue boats carrying migrants can “forget about” docking in Italy’s ports.

Fidesz said:

“Organisations assisting illegal migration are implementing the Soros plan when they bring masses of economic migrants to Europe.”

“These organisations want to turn Europe into a continent of immigrants, and, to this end, they commit a crime by aiding the circumvention of EU and national laws,” the party added.

“Millions more want to reach Europe from Africa with the help of the Soros vessels and the Soros network,”

Fidesz insisted. “This must be stopped, Europe’s borders must be protected.”

Photo: MTI/EPA/Mission Lifeline/Hermine Poschmann

June 24, 2018

UN commissioner and Venice Commission: Stop Soros laws is xenophobic

The “Stop Soros” laws passed on Wednesday criminalising people and organisations that assist asylum seekers are “shameful” and “xenophobic”, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has said.

As we wrote on Wednesday, Hungarian parliament passed the “Stop Soros” package of laws that penalise activities in support of illegal migration, read more HERE.

“The constant stoking of hatred by the current government for political gain has led to this latest shameful development, which is blatantly xenophobic and runs counter to European and international human rights standards and values,” Ra’ad al-Hussein said on Thursday.

The UN commissioner condemned the decision of Hungarian lawmakers, saying it was an attack on fundamental human rights and freedoms in Hungary.

Venice Commission calls on Hungary to repeal provisions of ‘Stop Soros’

Certain provisions of the “Stop Soros” package of laws on illegal migration should be repealed as it seriously impairs legitimate NGO work, the Venice Commission said in an opinion adopted on Friday.

The Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional issues acknowledged that many European countries criminalize assistance to entry, stay or transit of irregular migrants against financial gain.

“Such a criminal offence is not necessarily contrary to international human rights standards,” the opinion said.

However, Hungary’s “Stop Soros” law, which parliament passed on Wednesday, “unfairly criminalises organisational activities not directly related to the materialisation of illegal migration, including preparing or distributing informational materials or initiating asylum requests for migrants,” the commission said.

Fidesz

Ruling Fidesz said the Venice Commission’s call for repealing provisions of “Stop Soros” showed that US financier George “Soros’s anti-Hungarian lobbying activities” had been restarted. As part of this activity, the commission defends Soros’s pro-migration network, Fidesz said in a statement.

“Soros has his people everywhere”, the statement said.

“For us, the protection of Hungary and the security of Hungarians come first”, it added.

June 22, 2018

Orbán: Authorities have everything needed to protect Hungary – Interview

Hungary’s government and parliament have all the tools they need to protect the country from migration, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday.

In his regular interview to public Kossuth Radio, Orbán said that Hungary still needed a well-equipped military irrespective of the migration issue.

If Hungary faced an armed threat today, its military would only have a limited capability to counter it, the prime minister argued.

Orbán called the “Stop Soros” package of laws and related constitutional amendments approved by parliament this week “nice, sophisticated pieces of legal work”. He said it would be “very difficult” for anyone to find fault in a parliamentary decision that had been supported by 80-90 percent of lawmakers.

Orbán noted that both decisions had been among the campaign promises of the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat parties in the runup to this April’s general election.

The new constitutional amendment declares Hungary’s national sovereignty “unbreakable”, defines the country’s constitutional identity and the penal code makes illegal migration and support for it punishable criminal offences, the prime minister noted.

He said there was “nothing wrong” with civil groups wanting to exercise political influence in Hungary, adding, however, that they had a duty to declare any foreign funding they receive. But when it comes to migration, which he said Hungary considered a national security issue, the government does not accept NGOs wanting to influence policymakers, Orbán added.

As regards the European debate on migration, the prime minister said there were three main questions on the EU’s agenda: border protection, the future of migrants already in Europe and the question of who should be allowed to enter the bloc moving forward and where authorities should separate genuine refugees and economic migrants. The central European countries believe this last issue should be dealt with outside the EU’s borders, he added.

Orbáunion said there were three sides within the EU with varying views on migration. One is the Visegrad Group comprising Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, now “joined by” Austria and Italy. The second is Germany, which has its own internal disagreements on the issue and the third are northern member states which Orbán said were locked in their own heated debates.

The prime minister also touched on Thursday’s V4-Austria summit, saying that the V4 alliance had never been as strong as it is now. “In fact, we are the engine of Europe’s economy,” he said. And on migration, the V4 have always said that Europe should provide help to others “without destroying ourselves”, he added. “Time has shown that this approach was the right one.”

In connection with the Budapest visit of the European Council president on Friday, Orbán said Donald Tusk had “reached out to us” after the European Commission decided to convene an EU “mini-summit” on migration for Sunday in Brussels.

But since the council president is the only one with the authority to convene a high-level meeting of EU heads of state and government this whole affair shows that EU institutions operate improperly, Orbán said, adding that his talks with Tusk would most certainly address this issue.

As regards next week’s EU summit, Orbán said its main focus would be on migration, adding that he would welcome if issues on which there is consensus among member states featured high on the agenda.

Concerning debates surrounding his ruling Fidesz party’s membership in the European People’s Party (EPP), Orbán said having such debates “is just normal”, adding that Hungary’s interest lay in a strong, united EPP.

Asked whether Hungary’s 2019 budget should be redrafted in light of fresh inflation outlook data, Orbán said the answer is a “definite no”, adding that the outlook for higher inflation did not justify any correction.

He explained that

global oil prices are among the biggest factors affecting Hungary’s CPI at present, and the budget can’t be planned based on such a “volatile” factor.

A range for inflation has to be determined and the budget should be based on the median of that range; that provides stability, he added.

Orbán noted that pension increases are already linked to inflation, providing those Hungarians especially sensitive to price changes additional security.

He reiterated that the 2019 budget bill contains significantly higher reserves because of “signs of crisis looming on the horizon”, citing the risk of rising interest rates, trade wars and high rates of public debt among some EU member states.

Photo: MTI

June 22, 2018

Government welcomes, leftist opposition slams constitutional amendment, Stop Soros

The government welcomed and leftist opposition parties slammed on Wednesday the constitutional amendments and the Stop Soros package of laws, which parliament passed earlier in the day.

The Stop Soros laws contain amendments to the penal code that sanction entities or organisations that “facilitate illegal migration” or help with the asylum application procedures of migrants arriving from safe countries, read more details HERE.

The amendments to the constitution prohibit the resettlement of foreign nationals in Hungary, create an administrative high court and ban homeless people from living in public spaces.

In a statement after the vote, the Government Information Office said that the measures “put the will of the Hungarian people into practice”, further strengthening the country’s protection against illegal migration.

“They were necessary because mass migration continues to threaten Europe, and the Soros network and Brussels’s pro-migration approach would flood Hungary with migrants,” the statement said.

Jobbik

– Press release –

Jobbik’s parliamentary faction voted for the constitutional amendment wrongly called Stop Soros. The reason why we supported this “mixed salad”-like legislative package is because we agree with the basic intention and social need for giving priority to Hungary’s security and protection. We also agree with the protection of Christianity and private property while we reject the migrant allocation quotas. Jobbik’s main goal is to eliminate all legal loopholes that keep the gates open for any form of immigration, so we once again submitted our bill to terminate the residency bonds but the governing parties turned it down for the eighth time today.

As far as the “Stop Soros” package is concerned, we can state that the legislation has lost its Soros character since, contrary to the earlier bill, it prescribes neither a national security clearance and registration of NGOs funded by George Soros, nor a restriction of their activities that are against Hungary’s interests.

As a responsible opposition party however, we are obliged to call the attention of the public to the fact that today’s adopted bill, contrary to the statements of the pro-government propaganda, will not stop illegal migration, it is not suitable to protect Christianity and nor does it overrule the Geneva Convention, just as homeless people will stay in public areas until their housing problems are resolved.

The bill also sets a framework for public administration courts, the actual regulation of which has not even begun.

Let us reassure the communities protesting against this bill that the legislation adopted today is impractical in its current form, its implementation is infeasible, so it will cause no harm. The government’s goal is not to actually solve the problems identified. What they want is to use the bill as a communication tool in the upcoming European Parliamentary elections and the Hungarian municipal elections.

Lefitst opposition

Socialist Party leader Bertalan Tóth said the constitutional amendment “has many facets”, but was “primarily an attack on the independence of the judiciary”.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Párbeszéd co-leader Gergely Karácsony, Tóth said

ruling Fidesz “wants to create a tame court of justice” where government officials can make decisions which are otherwise the prerogatives of judges.

Fidesz “has tried setting up administrative courts before”, but failed to garner a majority, he noted. The Socialists “are not going to assist to this propaganda move,” he said, adding that the parliamentary group decided to stay away from the vote.

Karácsony noted Wednesday’s was the seventh amendment of the basic law since its adoption in 2011. The constitution, “which Fidesz likes to call rock-solid, is more like candy floss,” he said.

Photo: MTI/AP/Francois Mori

June 21, 2018

Hungarian parliament passes ‘Stop Soros’ bills

Parliament on Wednesday passed the “Stop Soros” package of laws that penalise activities in support of illegal migration.

The bills contain amendments to the penal code that sanction entities or organisations that “facilitate illegal migration” or help with the asylum application procedures of migrants arriving from safe countries.

The bills define the promotion of illegal migration as an organised activity which helping a person not in danger of persecution to submit an asylum request or to obtain a title of residence.

Financially supporting illegal migration, gaining from it financially or undertaking such activities within 8km of the border are punishable with one year’s prison sentence.

Under the new law, surveillance of the border, gathering or distributing information, and setting up or running a network will also qualify as organisation of migration.

Parliament has also changed the refugee law, under which asylum applications submitted by persons arriving from safe countries shall be rejected.

According to the proponent of the package, the new laws are in line with the Geneva Convention, which ensures protection to those only that arrive directly from lands where their life or freedom were in danger.

Under the proposal, parliament has changed the law on Hungary’s borders, stipulating that anyone being prosecuted under charges of crimes in connection with border protection shall be banned from within 8km of the border, except for people who have been residents in that zone for at least 5 years.

The new laws will take effect on the first day of the month following its publication.

The bills, submitted by the interior minister and requiring a two-thirds majority to pass, was approved with 160 votes in favour and 18 against.

Parts of the package requiring a two-thirds majority were supported by deputies of the ruling parties, Jobbik, independent Dóra Dúró, and Imre Ritter, representative of the German minority,

while the Socialist and Párbeszéd group, independent Anett Bősz, and Ákos Hadházy, who has just announced his quitting the LMP party, voted against. All other representatives stayed away from the vote.

On Tuesday, the government submitted a bill seeking to introduce a 25 percent special tax on organisations that support migration with a view to contributing to government spending on the handling of migration. Revenue from the tax will be spent exclusively on border protection measures, according to the bill. Read more HERE.

Photo: MTI

June 20, 2018

Hungarian foreign minister: EU can only be built on strong nation-states

The European Union can only be built on the foundation of strong nation-states, the Hungarian foreign minister said in Stockholm on Tuesday.

“The European Union’s report card hasn’t been the best in recent years,” Péter Szijjártó told a press conference following a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Visegrád Group (V4) and the Nordic Baltic Eight (NB8).

He noted that V4 and NB8 foreign ministers were meeting at a time when the EU was about to lose one of its member states for the first time. Transatlantic relations “are also languishing, although they are unbreakable”, Szijjártó said.

In addition to all this, he said, the EU is facing “serious challenges” while it is quickly losing competitiveness.

The V4 offer Europe “common sense policies” that promote low taxes coupled with a disciplined fiscal policy, Szijjártó said. But, he added, the most important task before the bloc was guaranteeing the safety of its citizens.

Szijjártó underscored the V4’s beliefs in free trade, adding that they also support the EU’s enlargement, especially towards the Western Balkans.

Referring to next year’s European Parliamentary elections, the minister said the “most important decision” on the future of Europe would have to be made by the European people.

Meanwhile, asked whether the Hungarian parliament would vote on the government’s “Stop Soros” bill on Wednesday without waiting for the opinion of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission due out on Friday, Szijjártó said: “Yes, there will be a voting session tomorrow, and our parliamentary group will vote in favour of the proposal.”

The Venice Commission has asked Hungary not to pass the bill before it releases its opinion on it, or to at least consider the recommendations it has made in its draft opinion.

Featured image: MTI

June 19, 2018

Foreign minister: UN rights commissioner has declared war against Hungarian government

The UN human rights commissioner has declared war against the Hungarian government for seeking to ensure the security of the Hungarian people in the face of illegal migration, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Monday.

In a statement, Szijjártó responded to Zeid Raad al-Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who criticised the immigration policies of America, China, Myanmar and Hungary during Monday’s opening of the 38th session of the World Human Rights Council.

The high commissioner criticised Hungary for the “Stop Soros” bill which seeks to impose restrictions on organisations that aid refugees and penalise human rights monitoring at borders and their surrounding areas.

Szijjártó said he would “appraise the high commissioner of the facts”, namely that more than 330 people had died in the last three years and more than 1,300 people had been injured in Europe “due to the attacks of terrorists with a migrant background”.

The minister said illegal migration was considered a national security issue. The “Stop Soros” bill aims to stop and punish everyone who organises illegal migration with a view to “flooding Europe with migrants”.

Featured image: MTI

June 19, 2018

Liberals propose opposition shadow committee to shield NGOs

The Hungarian Liberal Party has proposed setting up an opposition shadow committee with a view to “protecting” civil groups from the government’s “Stop Soros” law.

Though the opposition is outmatched against the ruling two-thirds majority, “with clever joint action, it can steer Hungarian society back onto a path where people aren’t driven by hate and anger but by common sense,” Anett Bősz, the party’s caretaker leader, told a press conference.

Bősz, who sits in parliament as an independent, invited all opposition parliamentary groups to consult on Tuesday on setting up such a committee.

Asked about the Socialist Party’s leadership election this past weekend, Bősz expressed her hope that the Socialists can start to “truly reinvent themselves”.

Asked about the relationship potential between the Socialist and Liberal parties, she said: “The world of politics isn’t the world of hurt feelings”. Bősz voiced hope that the two parties would be capable of working together in the parliamentary cycle ahead and that they would “come together” in their opposition to the “Stop Soros” bill and the government’s constitutional amendment proposal.

Ruling Fidesz said in response that it was “unbelievable” that the opposition parties were looking out for the “Soros organisations” rather than the Hungarian people.

“The opposition proves time and again that they are mercenaries of Soros,” Fidesz said in a statement.

“The Liberals are still talking about ‘steering’ Hungarians back onto the right path, which obviously means that Hungary should take in migrants. Fidesz believes that it is not the Hungarian people, but rather the Soros network organising illegal migration that needs to be regulated,” the party added. “That is what the Stop Soros package is about.”

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the “Stop Soros” package of bills that would criminalise the organisation of illegal migration on Wednesday.

June 18, 2018

Orbán Cabinet: Brussels making decisions on asylum seekers would be ‘dangerous’

If decisions as to “which migrants entering Europe should be given refugee status” were made in Brussels “it would even pose a greater danger than migrant quotas“, Antal Rogán, head of the prime minister’s cabinet office, told public Kossuth Radio on Sunday morning.

Rogán said that countries accommodating hundreds of thousands or millions of migrants were facing serious, everyday problems, while migration “poses a danger for central Europe because of the open internal borders”. That is why Hungary would not receive migrants and cannot be obliged to do so, Rogán said, and argued that the country “had not agreed to do anything of the kind when it joined the EU”.

Rogán said that

it was not Hungary but “George Soros‘s organisations” that broke European laws “with support from the Brussels”.

European leaders promote “the ideology of a United States of Europe which nobody has approved” rather than the interests of member states.

Rogán called it “appalling” that “Soros’s ships routinely carry migrants from Africa to Europe”

and urged that EU members should follow the example of Italy and ban such ships from their harbours. “The right principle is to assist where there is a problem and send aid to countries of origin rather than import the problem to Europe and then distribute it among EU members,” he said.

The EU, Rogán said, should reimburse each member state 50 percent of its border protection spending. According to him, Hungary should receive some 150 billion forints (EUR 464m) after 2020 for that purpose.

Photo: MTI/EPA/A. Carrasco Ragel

June 18, 2018

EU budget draft ‘pro-migration’, says ruling Fidesz party

The European Union’s budget as drafted by the European Commission is a “pro-migration” proposal, Balázs Hidvéghi, communications director of ruling Fidesz, told a press conference on Friday.

Hidvéghi criticised the budget draft for cutting funds “in a number of important areas” while adding that “migration and Brussels bureaucracy” will benefit from “unchanged support”.

The proposed budget is “harmful and dangerous” and is in conflict with Hungary’s interests, he said. He added that the budget’s allocation of a total of 35 billion euros for migration and border management reflects the “Soros plan”. He also added that “they want to spend further billions of euros in cohesion and welfare funding on the integration of migrants already in the EU”.

As we wrote on Thursday, the European Union‘s draft budget for the 2021-2027 period is unacceptable because it is taking away resources from poorer states to transfer them to richer ones, the minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office.

Also we wrote before, opposition Jobbik says the Orbán government has failed to change Hungary’s economic dependence on EU funding and if the financing is cut off due to an Article 7 procedure or otherwise reduced, then the country would fall into recession. Read more HERE.

Photo: MTI/AP/Francois Mori

June 16, 2018

Parliament to vote on constitutional amendment, ‘Stop Soros’ laws next Wednesday

HUNGARY’S NEW PARLIAMENT RE-ELECTED VIKTOR ORBÁN AS PRIME MINISTER

Hungary’s parliament will vote on the government’s amendment proposal to the constitution and the “Stop Soros” package of laws next Wednesday, according to the national assembly’s website.

Prior to the final vote on Monday, deputies will discuss proposed changes to the draft laws, the website said.

Ruling Fidesz group leader Máté Kocsis said earlier that the constitutional amendments were a “reflection of the will of the electorate expressed in the April 8 general election and the 2016 referendum”. He said that the amendment proposal covers three areas: the issue of constitutional identity, issues related to the courts and issues concerning privacy protection.

The “Stop Soros” laws are designed to penalise anyone who “organises illegal migration” or encourages others to bypass the relevant laws.

June 15, 2018

Hungarian government: Common border protection must be supported

At Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office press conference in Budapest – rendering an account of the proceedings of the Wednesday cabinet meeting – Gergely Gulyás said that common border protection must be supported.

Mr Gulyás said that due to Brexit there will be reduced funds available. He added that, in Hungary’s view, a fair budget is needed, a budget which distributes the emerging losses among Member States in a fair and proportionate manner.

He further pointed out that migration falls within the competence of the Member States, and therefore a budget which takes funds away from European citizens and gives them to migrants is not acceptable. He added that the budget must support the continent’s common border protection efforts, and Hungary maintains that

the EU should reimburse a part of the expenditures it incurred in connection with the protection of its borders.

Money should be saved on Brussels bureaucracy above all, he stated, with reference to the fact that the European Commission itself shared this view earlier.

The Minister said it is also unacceptable that in actual fact the draft consists of two budgets as there are separate development funds allocated to members of the Eurozone. He said it is likewise unacceptable that Member States would only be allowed to retain 10 per cent of their customs revenues instead of 20 per cent.

Mr Gulyás took the view that the proposal clearly demonstrates the legitimacy of the Hungarian government’s criticism to the effect that the European Commission has a flawed view on its role. He added that the Commission must serve as a guardian of the Treaties, and its duties are laid down in the Treaties. The fact that the Commission looks upon itself as a political body has already caused a great deal of harm as it is, he stressed.

In his view, the proposed budget is a political proposal which does not serve the interests of the whole of the European community, and contains a concealed amendment to the Treaties. He believes that the fact that the drawdown of budgetary funds would be rendered dependent on criteria regarding the rule of law constitutes an amendment to the Treaties.

The politician said it is also unacceptable that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) should be used as a means of political blackmail. Fifty-two per cent of OLAF procedures affect the very Member States which do not wish to join the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, he said.

Mr Gulyás stressed that the Hungarian government is open to a swift agreement on the budget, and believes that a fair compromise hurts everyone equally. He said that from now on the government will hold a meeting focusing on EU issues every month.

Budget of safe growth

He spoke about the budget submitted to Parliament on Wednesday which he described as a budget of safe growth. Among the goals of next year’s budget – in addition to security – he mentioned growth, family support and full employment. He added that the country’s growth prospects are very good as economic expansion has not been this promising in Hungary for some 15 years.

In his view, full employment appears to be an achievable goal, against the background of the current 3.8 per cent unemployment rate. He observed that, according to the science of economics, a 3 per cent unemployment rate practically means full employment, but the government believes that the attainment of a 2.5 per cent unemployment rate is also realistic.

Among the priority plans of the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Gulyás mentioned the Modern Villages and Modern Cities Programmes – an allocation of HUF 150 billion will be available for the latter –, the development of Budapest and its environs, and the coordination of suburban transport.

In answer to a question regarding the Modern Villages Programme, he said that the concept is expected to be completed by the autumn, and they will then assign the required funds to the programme through the amendment of the Budget Act.

Regarding the amendment of the Fundamental Law, he said that the protection of Hungarian culture – as a Christian culture – is a constitutional duty of the state also today. In answer to another question he added that no one should feel excluded from Christian culture just because they are not a member of a Christian denomination.

In answer to another question asserting that HUF 150 billion would be withdrawn from Hungary due to irregular EU calls for proposals, Mr Gulyás said that today the conditions of an unbiased audit on OLAF’s part do not exist in the case of Hungary. He indicated at the same time that he would investigate each case in dispute.

He said they will have talks with the owner regarding the purchase of the painting Calvary by Mihály Munkácsy. In his view, the Hungarian state’s offer of HUF 3 billion appears to be a reasonable starting point.

He also said that since 1998 Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had attended every World Cup final, and if that is the case on the present occasion as well it is hardly conceivable that he should not meet with the Russian head of state.

He said it is to be hoped that the pay of civil servants will increase by more than 10 to 15 per cent next year.

Regarding the grants provided for the Red Bull air race in Budapest, Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said that a tax revenue of HUF 5 billion – well in excess of the grants provided for the event – is expected to be raised, and if the entire tourism sector is also included in these calculations, the budget may raise a total revenue of some HUF 20 billion.

European Commission’s official proposal continues to feature a mandatory mechanism without an upper limit

According to the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, Hungary has good chances in the struggle against the mandatory quotas.

Mr Gulyás said at his Thursday press conference held in Budapest that migration will be one of the priority topics of the meeting of the European Council scheduled for 28-29 June, and in this respect there was an important development last week when the proposal of the Bulgarian Presidency was discussed in the Council of home ministers. At this point in time, 16 Member States do not support this draft, while 5 Member States indicated their unconditional support for the proposal, the Minister said.

It is to be hoped that the Bulgarian Presidency’s proposal regarding the mandatory quotas will not be pushed through at the upcoming summit of EU heads of state and government, he said. As far as they can see, the balance has shifted in the direction of the position of the Hungarian government – due to political changes and changes of government, among others – and today we have incomparably more allies on the issue than we had a few years or even a few months ago.

Mr Gulyás said the European Commission’s official proposal continues to feature a mandatory mechanism without an upper limit, but they believe that the chances are good in this struggle, the decision on the quotas can be deferred, or can even be changed.

He indicated that the Venice Commission will decide on the Stop Soros legislative package next week, and according to the usual practice the draft of the Commission’s recommendations will be disclosed a few days earlier.

Parliament will be able to decide in light of those recommendations.

Regarding the amendment of the Fundamental Law on homelessness, he said that also today the situation is that – while there are no precise statistical figures concerning the number of homeless people – according to the majority of experts there are enough beds and other facilities for everyone. This means that the required capacity is available, and the government is also ready to allocate significant extra funds for extending the capacity of these facilities if necessary, he stressed. In the government’s view, no one has the right to use public premises in the way that homelessness involves. Those who do so must be taken to night or daytime shelters.

He told the press that the government is determined to take action, and they support Fidesz’s proposal.

Regarding a recent Fidesz proposal that administrative courts should not come under the supervision of the National Judicial Council, he said that this is a perfectly legitimate proposal. Judicial administration has a number of different forms, and each and every one of these operating in Europe is constitutional and operational.

In answer to a question he said that there is no proposal before the Government that would change the VAT on new housing properties, meaning “the intention that was made clear earlier” to uphold the preferential VAT rate until the end of 2019.

In the context of the instruction regarding a review of motorway projects published in Magyar Közlöny [Hungarian Gazette], he said that the Minister will table a report, and the government will decide in light of the findings of that report. They are examining several motorway sections, including the Miskolc-Kassa (Kosice) section, he indicated.

In response to a journalist’s suggestion that there is a contradiction between the communique of the Ministry of Human Capacities and a statement made by the minister regarding the school year, he said that the World Cup is just beginning, and the school year will not be extended. He said as a child he only ever sympathised with governments in his “childhood political experiences” which did not want to shorten the summer holiday, and in this respect he still has not grown up. In answer to another question, he said that he is rooting for the England team at the World Cup as the Italians did not qualify.

Mr Gulyás said he believes that the ten-week summer holiday is a good thing. According to the government, the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to go to summer camps for two weeks should be fully supported, but there is no need to make this compulsory. Everyone should decide for themselves, and it is good if the state is able to provide favourable conditions for that decision, the Minister highlighted.

Regarding reports that “Lőrinc Mészáros should have a giga-bank as a rival to OTP”, he said he is not aware of such plans, and the government has no intentions of this nature.

They would like minimum 50 per cent of the Hungarian banking system to be in Hungarian ownership. This is an issue of national sovereignty, but the rest of the story is nothing but journalistic indulgence, he said.

He said regarding opposition reactions to next year’s budget that it is nonsense to claim that less money will be spent on education and culture than on the construction of stadiums. There are no excess funds for the latter in general: the construction of the Puskás Stadium must be finished, and there are additional funds allocated specifically for the purpose, he laid down.

Concerning the raising of the security reserves in the budget, he indicated that there are signs which call for caution. He agrees with the Finance Minister that there will probably not be a crisis, and certainly not on the scale of the 2008 crisis, but a number of EU Member States struggle with very high sovereign debt rates, and interest levels are rising throughout the world. At the same time, a trade war is unfolding between the United States of America and Europe, and there is no way of knowing to what extent this will escalate. The government supports the approach that the EU should adopt clear and proportionate counter-measures.

The Minister agreed that

Budapest should have a stadium with a capacity of almost 70,000 which will also host concerts, in addition to sports events,

and will be the region’s largest facility of this type. This will clearly enhance Budapest’s attractiveness, and will generate revenues for the city which will offset the expenditures, he argued.

In answer to another question, he said they support the development of bathing complexes, but the municipalities concerned will make the relevant decisions.

Mr Gulyás said regarding recent talks in Germany that there is a good dialogue between CDU and Fidesz as between two allies, while as far as the dialogue between CSU and Fidesz is concerned, there was never any faltering. They agreed with the Secretary General of CDU that there must be permanent cooperation between the two parties, and in the future they would like regular, annual meetings on the most important content issues Europe faces as at any time in order to lay down what they agree and what they disagree on.

Photo: MTIernm

June 14, 2018

LMP: ‘Hounding CEU out of Hungary like book-burning’

The government is trying to hound the Central European University (CEU) out of Hungary, green opposition lawmaker Szabolcs Szabó said, likening the government’s alleged efforts to “book-burning”.

Szabó, who is sitting in the LMP parliamentary group, criticised the cabinet for not making its position clear about whether the operation of the CEU now fulfils all legal requirements or not.

Referring to Hungarian law that requires foreign universities to maintain a campus in their home country, he said a government delegation had assessed a campus which is home to the CEU’s educational activities in the US two months ago.

Plans in higher education need to be made for the long term, yet it is still unknown whether the CEU will be able to enroll students for the 2019-2020 academic year, Szabó said.

The government is setting these conditions because it wants CEU to leave Hungary, he insisted.

CEU said in May that it believes it is in “full compliance” with a new rule requiring foreign universities in Hungary to operate a campus in the country in which they are based.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/CentralEuropeanUniversity

June 13, 2018

Parliamentary parties consult on constitutional amendment, ‘Stop Soros’ bill

The ruling alliance of Fidesz and the Christian Democrats and the opposition LMP and Párbeszéd parties on Monday met to discuss the government’s constitutional amendment proposal and the “Stop Soros” bill currently before parliament.

Speaking to public news channel M1 after the talks, Fidesz lawmaker György Balla called the meeting “a sad experience”, saying that the opposition parties “haven’t learned anything, and it is perfectly clear that they still support illegal migration”. Balla said the opposition’s only proposed changes to the bills would prevent the organisation of illegal migration from being written into the criminal code or make it impossible from a procedural standpoint.

He said the opposition was “looking for excuses, but their true intention is still to support [US financier] George Soros’s NGOs”, instead of taking action against illegal migration.

Asked about the timetable for the vote on the bills, Balla said it was certain that parliament will vote on them before the summer recess.

Párbeszéd MP Olivio Kocsis-Cake said his party had proposed at the talks that parliament should not vote on the bills until the meaning behind terms such as “aiding” and “organising” is clarified in the context of illegal migration. He said Párbeszéd prioritises the safety of migrants and their humane treatment, and agrees with the premise that mass illegal migration and human smuggling should be stopped. But the bills before parliament would not adequately combat human smuggling in Hungary, Kocsis-Cake insisted. Párbeszéd still believes that the aim of the bills is to intimidate civil organisations that help refugees, he added.

LMP’s László Lóránt Keresztes said the aim of the bills was not what they purported to be, namely the creation of a clearer legal situation in Hungary with a view to strengthening the country’s security.

He underlined LMP’s belief in the importance of stopping illegal migration and that immigration policy should be a national competency.

People’s patriotic Jobbik, the Socialist Party and the Democratic Coalition were absent from the talks.

Featured image: MTI

June 11, 2018

Opposition calls on government to sign CEU agreement

The leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has called on the government to sign the agreement enabling the Central European University (CEU) to continue its operations in Budapest.

Hungary tightened rules governing the operations of foreign universities in the country last year, requiring foreign colleges and universities in Hungary to operate on the basis of an interstate agreement and to run a campus in the country in which they are based.

Gergely Arató, DK’s education spokesman, told a news conference on Monday that the agreement to be signed between the State of New York and the Hungarian government that would create the “otherwise completely unnecessary” legal conditions for CEU’s continued operations has been on the government’s table since September.

Arató said it was already clear last April when the higher education law was changed that the amendment had only been introduced to “make things harder on” CEU.

And the Venice Commission’s report on the law made it clear that the legislation was unfair and violated international law, he added.

CEU, founded by US billionaire George Soros, has said that the amended legislation would make its continued operations in Budapest impossible. The university has complained that it was targeted by the amendment because it has no campus in the United States.

Last autumn, CEU said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Bard College to provide educational activities in New York.

Last month, CEU signalled its intent to remain in Budapest after the Open Society Foundations (OSF), also financed by Soros, announced plans to move its headquarters to Berlin.

Arató said if CEU moved its operations to Vienna, those who would lose out on the university’s departure would not be CEU or Soros, but rather Hungarian students and professors and the Hungarian higher education system.

Featured image: www.ceu.edu

June 11, 2018

Orbán: Population transfer in Europe serves speculators

Population transfer is underway in Europe, partly to help speculators like US financier George Soros make money by “destroying” the continent, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday.

It is necessary to openly fight Soros and his “army” and to establish that they want immigration and their ideological motivation is a multicultural Europe, Orban told public Kossuth Radio.

“They do not like the traditions of Christian Europe and they believe that if they mix us with other peoples, then Europe will be more liveable,” he added.

“They want to destroy Europe because they expect large profits; that’s just the nature of financial speculators,” he said.

However, “we do not want to be mixed with others,” Orbán said.

“We are fine the way we are now”, as regards to Christianity, the language, culture and way of life, as well as the freedom of religion and the approach to family and relations between men and women, Orbán said.

Next year’s European Parliamentary elections will concern these issues and the conflict of values, he added.

Commenting on a planned constitutional amendment submitted to parliament, he said that considering the required two-thirds majority support is granted, there is no room for hesitation “at times like this”. All forces must be mobilised to protect the country which is why the amendment prohibits the forced settlement of foreign nationals to Hungary. Additionally, in line with a planned amendment proposal to the criminal code, organising illegal migration will be a criminal act, Orbán said.

He welcomed recent developments in European politics, saying that “some tough boys have appeared in European politics.”

“We are gentle and mild mannered compared to the new leaders who have now opened their mouths,” he said, citing Austria and Italy as examples.

The Italians have said they want to put a stop to migration and instead of distributing illegal migrants, such migrants must be removed from Europe, Orbán said. The Visegrad Group had previously offered billions of forints to the government in Rome to promote this plan, he added.

In response to a question concerning the possibility of renewed migration pressure on the Balkans, he said that Hungary as the gate to the Balkans has a vested interest in making sure that “things progress well”. As a result, Serbia will continue to be considered a strategic country and Macedonia will be equally important, he added.

“We can indeed see signs … of the flow approaching” which will be a challenge and even though Hungary has “managed to prevent migrants coming this way, our neighbours are not protected and they need to be helped,” he said.

On another subject, the prime minister described next year’s draft budget as a “robust and earthquake proof” one that will ensure secure growth. As regards the deficit target of 1.8 percent of GDP, Orbán said the budget will be a balanced one in the sense that operating expenditures and revenue will balance out, with “investments in the future” creating the deficit.

Orbán warned that although it was possible that an economic crisis may be coming over the next few years,

he did not want the government to have to implement austerity measures. This requires a disciplined handling of the economy, he said.

He said a global economic crisis could be triggered by rising interest rates, high levels of indebtedness, especially among eurozone members, and the impact of possible trade wars.

“It’s not raining yet…but clouds are in the sky,” Orbán said. The increased budget reserves are an “umbrella”, he added.

But all of this will not deter the cabinet from pursuing its goals of safeguarding Hungary’s security, promoting growth, reducing unemployment and supporting families with children, he said.

The prime minister also said the government was planning a larger-scale constitutional amendment.

The government expects to begin a 12 to 18-month-long assessment of the constitution in September “to determine what has worked or could have worked and highlight the areas that could have been regulated by the fundamental law but the subsidiary laws were not in line with,” Orbán said.

Further, the review will aim to pinpoint regulatory gaps which will need to be bridged by new constitutional text, the prime minister said.

Photo: MTI/EPA/A. Carrasco Ragel

June 8, 2018