household

The strangest and most nostalgic Hungarian dishes

aspic-kocsonya-food-holiday

There are Hungarian dishes that are objectively very strange. From the Scottish haggis through Chinese thousand-year-old eggs to deep-fried spiders in Cambodia, a wide range of odd culinary delights are available around the world, and Hungary is no exception. Some of these dishes we might not be proud to call our own today, but they are a part of our history and should be celebrated, in a comical context at least.

Most of the specialities were invented out of the need to save food and utilise as many parts of the animal as possible, most of which now appear in households only during the holidays. The classic examples are aspic, bonemarrow on toast, or similar dishes that are very cost-effective and are now considered strange but creative ways of utilising an animal.

Liver dumplings

It is a dish that also appears in German or Czech cuisine. It is typically served in chicken soup. This dish is an odd, large, greyish-brown ball with a slightly bitter, meaty taste. Liver in itself became an unpopular ingredient in modern times but is widely used in Hungarian and other ethnic cooking.

source: pixabay

The market burger or rat burger

Its name comes from its primary location, the suburban street markets. Sweet pickled cabbage and frozen meat are the two outstanding ingredients. Without them, there is no rat burger.

Minced meat, i.e. Hungarian spam

The miracle locked in a can. Former soldiers know it as “lizard meat,” for an unknown reason. It is available in poultry and pork versions and is most often lined up on store shelves under the name “special mince”. But why is it special? There are plenty of unanswered questions.

The fried Bologne

Or anything deep-fried, basically. If we cannot figure out anything for Sunday lunch, we check the fridge, and whatever is in it, we cut it up, add flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, and then into hot oil it goes. It is that easy. The deep-fried Bologne stands out because the thick-sliced ​​meat product curls discreetly at the edges in the hot oil ever so invitingly, creating the perfect crevice for condiments.

Fruit sauce with boiled potatoes

It is a typical example of pantry meals and a recurring dish in canteens. Potatoes cooked in salty water are tasteless, but when mixed with fruit sauce, they form an interesting pairing.

Winter ice cream

It is meant to resemble the lovely, sunny days of summer. Unfortunately, something does not become ice cream simply because it looks like it. On the inside, it is sugary sweet chocolate frosting with a chocolate coating, in a cardboard-like cone.

Source: Chocologia

Lecsó sausage

The lecsó sausage is another form of Hungarian mystery meat. It is functional as a cheap protein source, but its flavour and texture add nothing beneficial to a well-made lecsó (a Hungarian vegetable stew that resembles the french dish ratatouille).

Soup from cubes

Another lovely canteen staple. The beauty of these recipes comes from the fact that they start by boiling the water and pouring in the soup cubes and also ending with that step. If the cook wants to go above and beyond, they might add frozen cubed vegetables or some kind of noodle. The pool of fat on top is a must.

The zsömirudi

It is essentially a Hungarian sweet snack, Túrórudi (sweet cottage cheese coated in chocolate) smushed in a bread roll, as some sort of makeshift sandwich. As it turns out, it is called zsömirudi, and we can replace the dessert bar with any kind of chocolate. There is only one rule to this masterpiece: the bun must be straight or circular because it is harder to put the chocolate in a curved pastry like a croissant.

Stefánia meatloaf

A large chunk of meat with a hard-boiled egg inside. What’s not to love? This classic was a staple in old-timey Hungarian canteens and buffets. It is often a little dry with a blue edge to the egg yolk, but that is the way it has always been done, and it will for sure remain that way.

If anyone is in the mood for the delicacies listed above, do not hold back. They will for sure bring back the tastes of the good old Hungarian childhood. These dishes obviously do not have much culinary value, but what they lack in sophistication, they make up for in nostalgia.

Read alsoThe weirdest Hungarian dishes – vol. 2

Social housing agency to make renting in Budapest more affordable

Budapest houses flats

Budapest is facing an increasingly severe housing crisis, making it nearly impossible to get affordable housing in the capital.

According to Népszava, due to the rising real estate prices, considerably more people are moving out to the agglomeration than moving into the inner districts of Budapest. However, those moving to the outer districts continue to travel into the city centre for work and services, causing a considerable increase in car traffic in the city. Budapest’s housing market is unpredictable and expensive but often a hotbed of illegal practices: landlords rarely turn to the authorities with problematic cases. Instead, they often resort to unlawful methods (for example, by disconnecting the utility supply in the apartment if the tenant does not pay). Additionally, according to Bálint Misetics, the mayor’s chief housing and social policy adviser, there are no affordable housing options for large sections of the population, as discrimination against families with small children, Roma people, and other minorities is very strong in the private rental sector.

Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, has promised to tackle the unsustainable housing crisis in his program.

He proposed a housing agency to support the construction of non-profit housing, renovate and rent out the municipality’s own properties and provide a safe way for private owners and local authorities to utilize their vacant homes.

The promise is now close to implementation, claims 444.hu. Funded by an EU fund supporting social innovation, the local government of Budapest, the Utcáról Lakásba (“from street to house”) Association and Városkutatás Kft. have announced that they are working on setting up such an organization. As social housing construction would require a considerable investment, the commissioned professional team is trying to involve the local authorities and private owners instead.

In the social housing agency model, the owner rents their apartment through an agency for less (usually by 20-25%) than the market price. The agency, in turn, is responsible for selecting tenants and ensuring that they pay the rent. This way, the agency undertakes the risks of renting out the properties while taking social considerations into account during the selection process.

The municipality is ready to make at least part of its own housing stock available to the housing agency.

However, the actual novelty is the private housing stock’s inclusion, as there are plenty of privately owned empty flats in the capital. The Utcáról Lakásba Association is already applying the social housing model in practice. In the case of private dwellings, the association offers to take over the renovation costs in exchange for participating in the program. This can be a great motivation for some homeowners, while others (e.g., owners living abroad) welcome the agency’s help in arranging the rental. The agency mediation would also be a valuable tool in making the rental market more regulated and fairer for both sides.

The ultimate goal is to provide affordable housing for as many people as possible.

According to the plans, the agency could be set up as early as this year. The team is not afraid that the proposal will be lost in the absence of a political will, as a solution to the housing crisis seems to be equally important to all parties.

marinus
Read alsoHungary’s first floating house park to be built soon! – PHOTOS

Eleven-year record: Hungary adds 28,208 housing units in 2020

home construction

Housing completions in Hungary rose by 33.5 percent to 28,208 in 2020, an eleven-year record, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Wednesday.

But the number of home-building permits issued dropped by 35.8 percent to 22,556, continuing a decline started after the phase-out of a preferential VAT rate in force between 2016 and 2019.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have approved a two-year reduction in the home construction VAT rate to 5 percent from 27 percent from the start of 2021 as part of government measures to aid the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

The number of homes completed in the capital rose by 8.6 percent to 6,341, while the number completed in county seats and cities with populations of over 50,000 jumped by 55.3 percent to 7,900. Housing completions in smaller cities increased by 31.1 percent to 7,779.

Minister of Finance Mihály Varga, in a video message posted social media, welcomed the 34 percent growth in housing units in a single year, noting that growth had been strong in all geographical areas.

Homes built by private individuals accounted for half of the total,

Varga noted, indicating the effectiveness of the government’s home-creation scheme.

The government expects the home-creation scheme expanded earlier this year together with a reduction in VAT on housing construction to 5 percent to give an added boost to construction and help restart the economy, he said.

construction_work_on_nyugati_railway_station_roof_structure_completed
Read alsoGreat! Construction work on Nyugati Railway Station roof structure completed – PHOTOS

Are number of Hungarians living in poverty plummets?

homeless income hungary

Eurostat data show that the ratio of Hungarians living in poverty has dropped over the past ten years, a human resources ministry’s official said, visiting a foster family in a village in north-eastern Hungary on Monday.

In recent years, it seems that the financial situation of Hungarians, in general, has been very poor compared to many other countries in the European Union. According to recent GKI statistics, Hungary’s minimum wage is the second-worst in the EU. Now, it seems that more than 2 million Hungarians, which is more than one-fifth of the country’s population, live under the poverty line, details HERE.

Whereas the ratio of those living beyond poverty line was 23.4 percent in 2010, this dropped to 8.7 percent last year, elevating Hungary to the top ten EU member states from bottom of the list, Attila Fülöp, the state secretary in charge of social affairs, said in Tarpa.

He said the favourable development was thanks to the government’s job-creation measures.

“Jobs are key to developing communities that help improve a secure way of life,” Fülöp told a press conference.

He said a recent report by “leftist” Hungarian economic research institute GKI aimed “to prove” that poverty in Hungary had increased in the past ten years.

“But, contradicting the Budapest institute’s report, the reality can be found here in Tarpa,” Fülöp said, adding that “authentic Eurostat data, a standard across Europe, prove that the number of those living in poverty has dropped.”

As we wrote last year, Eurostat’s most recent analysis said, the level of individual consumption per capita in Hungary was barely two-thirds of the EU average (69%) in 2019, which placed us in the bottom three again, details HERE.

Climate concerns still on public’s mind during pandemic

Somoskő Castle

Concerns over the impact of climate change have not waned in spite of the immediate threat of the coronavirus pandemic in Hungary, according to a survey by economic research institute Századvég and the Climate Policy Institute.

The survey found that the overwhelming majority of Hungarians is concerned by climate change, the institute said in a statement, adding that 90 percent of respondents found the issue worrying.

Altogether 72 percent of respondents said their interest in climate change had not waned despite the pandemic, with 17 percent saying their interest in it had risen.

Fully 77 percent said they did not believe global warming and the pandemic were related, as against 16 percent who said they were.

A total of 82 percent of respondents said climate change was already having an impact on the everyday lives of Hungarians.

An even bigger majority, 94 percent, said that unless the situation changes, it would also make things more difficult for future generations.

The survey found that middle-aged economically active people are less concerned about climate change than young people and the elderly.

It also revealed that rural residents with lower incomes who are likely to have a more first-hand experience of the effects of climate change on agriculture were the most concerned about its impact.

As we wrote today, Hungary has breached EU air quality rules by failing to comply with the daily limit for particulates in the air and for overstepping the duration for exceeding these limits, the European Court of Justice said, details HERE.

Dió-walnut
Read alsoHungarian walnuts in danger? – mass decay everywhere

Most expensive cities for expats 2021: Budapest takes a great position!

chain bridge budapest hungary buildings

Mercer, the world’s largest human resources consulting firm, has released its annual Cost of Living Survey, now in its 26th year.

With over 400 cities included, Mercer’s annual report is one of the most influential and comprehensive of its kind. The study helps multinational companies and governments design expatriate compensation packages for their employees and manage international assignment costs.

Yet again, Hong Kong is the world’s most expensive city for expats, followed by Ashgabat in second place, Tokyo in third and Zurich in fourth. Singapore ranks fifth, down two places from the previous year and New York moves up from ninth place to sixth.

hong-kong

“The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that sending and keeping employees on international assignments is a huge responsibility and a difficult task to manage. Rather than bet on a dramatic resurgence of mobility, organizations should prepare for the redeployment of their mobile workforces, leading with empathy and understanding that not all expatriates will be ready or willing to go abroad.”

Ilya Bonic, Career President & Head of Mercer Strategy
 
The latest analysis reveals that the global pandemic has widely affected consumer buying habits throughout the world’s expatriate communities. Particular commodities such as “comfort food,” cleaning supplies and home entertainment have seen an increase in demand.

COMPARING THE COST OF LIVING

According to Atlas & Boots, it is important to remember that the ranking is not designed for locals. It is designed for multinational companies looking to place expat employees and is used as a tool to calculate how much overseas workers should be paid.

It also provides an indication to potential expats looking to determine how expensive their new country could be to live in.

the least and most expensive cities for expats
MERCERThe most and least expensive cities for expats

Mercer uses New York as its base city and the US dollar as the base currency. The results differ from other surveys such as the Economist’s Worldwide Cost of Living as Mercer focuses specifically on products bought by expats.

If you’re a hiring manager looking to send an analyst to Kuala Lumpur, you need to know how much it costs to live there so you are compensating that worker fairly. It’s easier to consult a ready-made list than to do your own research on the ground. Most companies who use these lists are placing highly-skilled professionals or managers who are likely to earn more than the average local salary. 

Bryan Lufkin, BBC Capital
 
The survey analyses the price of over 200 goods and services in over 400 cities with substantial expat communities across the globe. The methodology assumes spending patterns among expats from different nationalities remain the same.

The weighting of goods and services are the same for all locations. The approach compares prices of comparable brands and retail outlets in both the home and host cities.

A drawback with this methodology is that certain factors can skew a city’s rating. For example, the high cost of car ownership and fuel in Singapore could propel it further up the rankings.

REGION BY REGION

Six Asian cities, three European and one American city make up the 10 most expensive locations.

most expensive cities for expats in each region

WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES FOR EXPATS RANKING

Sort the table below by cost of living or country to view the world’s most expensive cities for expats.

Rank City Country/Region Rank 2019
1 Hong Kong Hong Kong (SAR) 1
2 Ashgabat Turkmenistan 7
3 Tokyo Japan 2
4 Zurich Switzerland 5
5 Singapore Singapore 3
6 New York City USA 9
7 Shanghai China 6
8 Bern Switzerland 12
9 Geneva Switzerland 13
10 Beijing China 8
19 London UK 23
21 Moscow Russia 27
50 Paris France 47
54 Vienna Austria 51
65 Rome Italy 55
72 Munich Germany 67
78 Brussels Belgium 77
82 Berlin Germany 81
87 Madrid Spain 82
97 Prague Czech Rep. 97
102 Barcelona Spain 91
106 Kiev Ukraine 150
139 Bratislava Slovakia 131
148 Ljubljana Slovenia 142
152 Zagreb Croatia 143
156 Istanbul Turkey 154
169 Warsaw Poland 173
170 Budapest Hungary 164
174 Bucharest Romania 176
180 Sofia Bulgaria 177
183 Belgrade Serbia 181
197 Sarajevo Bosnia & Herz. 194

Full list HERE.

Palvin Barbara
Read alsoDating Hungarian women – what you should know

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’

Be careful! Unprotected cameras allow insight into thousands of Hungarian homes

couple home sexy

Due to user inattention, there are thousands of cameras worldwide – including Hungary – whose images can be seen freely by anyone on the Internet after a little searching.

Unprotected Hungarian cameras have been mapped by a Hungarian cybersecurity company called Alverad. Based on their observations, these are not just webcams in the classic sense, but Internet-connected security cameras, baby monitors, and all the other camera gadgets connected to the worldwide web.

Besides their usefulness, owners have to be careful as such cameras can easily become the main targets of cybercrime. Improperly protected, networked devices can be a considerable risk as – due to the lack of expertise – they can be accessed by anyone. Accordingly, as a result of user inattention, the devices’ vulnerability can also lead to strangers watching live that a mom just puts her sleeping baby in bed believing that no one else can see this in her home.

Furthermore, in addition to passive listening, they can even take control, for example, by moving the camera, stopping or starting recording, using the speakers.

As the Hungarian news portal Telex reports, it is not necessarily a problem in itself if a camera is available from the net due to remote controllability. It becomes problematic if the device is unsafe due to lack of protection or if the user is not careful enough. The most common mistakes are:

  • the access of IP addresses is not restricted;
  • default factory password is not modified;
  • or even no password is set up for protection.

It might occur that the owner does not want to connect the camera to the worldwide web but does not know how to set up the device and allows something they wouldn’t do if they knew what it was doing. According to Tamás Kocsis, member of Alverad, this is the most common reason for unauthorised access to home cameras.

The freely available cameras were mapped with a device finder called Shodan, that found at least 1,125 domestic streaming cameras, the image of which was accessible to anyone without any particular hindrance.

These included various security cameras, outdoor surveillance devices, indoor cameras in malls and stores, baby monitoring devices. The expert also revealed that camera access also has its own black market, where netizens trade the data needed for admission.

Read also: Hungarians find increasing danger in cyberspace

With access to the cameras, burglars can monitor more easily when residents are not at a particular location. Besides violating privacy, even more severe consequences might occur, such as intimate images appearing on porn sites later on, or harassment and blackmail.

According to the expert, in both corporate and home environments, we should avoid remarkably cheap cameras from unknown manufacturers, consider the choice of device carefully and check the available security features with the manufacturer.

cyber security
Read alsoCyber security course for one and all

Hungarian business and financial news from the previous week

See below main business and financial news from the previous week:

Government to buy EUR 2.3m worth building in Budapest for a Chinese university

That would be the Shanghai-based university’s first campus abroad. Based on a government decree, it will receive a building in Budapest to start its education program, details HERE.

MATOLCSY: INVESTMENT GROWTH, JOB CREATION AND CHEAP CREDIT KEY TO RECOVERY

National Bank of Hungary (NBH) governor György Matolcsy said investment growth, job creation and cheap credit will be necessary for Hungary’s economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis, in an interview in the daily Magyar Nemzet. “We have every chance for Hungary to achieve one of the fastest rates of post-crisis economic growth in the past century. But that will require achieving three things,” Matolcsy told the paper. “First, the investment rate must remain over 25 percent each year, and it has to be raised over 27 percent from 2022, because investments are the foundation for future economic growth,” he said. Matolcsy said the other two factors that must be achieved are creating as many jobs as have been lost because of the coronavirus crisis, and making cheap credit available to corporate and retail borrowers.

MOL: CROATIA EARTHQUAKE NO THREAT TO INA UPSTREAM, DOWNSTREAM BUSINESSES

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Croatia has put neither the upstream nor downstream businesses of local oil and gas company INA at risk, the communications department of Hungary’s MOL, which has management rights in INA, told MTI. The epicentre of the earthquake, near Petrinja, was 12km from INA’s industrial base in Sisak.

HUNGARIAN PORK FROM AREAS UNAFFECTED BY ASF CLEARED FOR EXPORT TO JAPAN

Japan has agreed to allow imports of Hungarian pork from areas of the country that have not been affected by African swine fever (ASF), the Ministry of Agriculture said. The agreement was reached on December 16, after two years of negotiations involving Hungary’s chief veterinarian, Dr Lajos Bognar, and supported by the Hungarian embassy in Tokyo. Hungary is the first country in the world affected by ASF to reach a regionalisation agreement on pork imports with Japan, the ministry noted.

Hungarian households are in the most difficult situation in the EU

As seen plentifully in poor countries, food accounts for a large share of Hungarian household spending, and the slice has become even more significant in recent years. The consumption of Hungarian households is the second-lowest in the EU. Read more HERE.

RENEWABLES ACCOUNT FOR 18 PC OF HUNGARY’S HEATING, COOLING

In 2019 the share of energy from renewable sources for heating and cooling in households, industrial processes, hospitals, schools and other buildings accounted for 18.1 percent in Hungary, Eurostat said. The average share of energy from renewable sources for heating and cooling in the EU27 was 22.1 percent. The rate was highest at 66.1 percent in Sweden and lowest at 6.3 percent in Ireland.

GOVT REINTRODUCES SALARY SUPPORT FOR RESEARCHERS

Hungary’s government is offering salary support again to people working in research and development for up to three months, according to a decree published in the latest issue of the official gazette Magyar Közlöny.

Applications may be submitted for subsidies up to 318,920 forints (EUR 878) a month for researchers earning gross monthly 670,000 forints or more.

For researchers who earn less, the available subsidy is reduced proportionately to salary.

Civic governemnt guarantee to continued family support, says Minister Novák

minister katalin novák

Only the Fidesz civic government can guarantee the preservation of family support, the minister in charge of families said in an interview published in Wednesday’s daily Magyar Nemzet.

Katalin Novák said living standards for the majority of Hungarians had improved, with the income of families with children up 13 percent last year.

Novák said “the largest home-creation programme of all time” would be under way in January and thirteenth month pensions will be gradually reintroduced, while support for mothers raising children under six months old will increase from July, she said.

Personal tax exemption for mothers with at least four children was introduced in January, and once the epidemic is defeated and the economy has recovered, the exemption will be extended to mothers with three children, she said.

Novák said much would be at stake in the 2022 general election. She said the opposition had planned to abolish the CSOK family home-creation subsidy during the 2018 election campaign, so “there is nothing new about their anti-family approach”, she said.

“It would be naive to think that once the left wing gains a position from which they can have a significant influence on the running of the country, they would not make decisions that harm families,” she added.

Commenting on pensioners, she said the government had increased the purchasing power of pensions by over ten percent. Further, current regulations that raise pensions by the rate of projected annual inflation guarantee they “they will not be worse off than others”.

“We are reintroducing thirteenth month pensions and there is also a pension premium which has been paid for the past three years. No other government has managed to do this,”

she added.

Hungarian households are in the most difficult situation in the EU

As seen plentifully in poor countries, food accounts for a large share of Hungarian household spending, and the slice has become even more significant in recent years. The consumption of Hungarian households is the second-lowest in the EU. Read more HERE.

worker-Hungary
Read alsoHungarian employers want to freeze the minimum wage

Hungarian households are in the most difficult situation in the EU

food-hungary-fish

As seen plentifully in poor countries, food accounts for a large share of Hungarian household spending, and the slice has become even more significant in recent years. The consumption of Hungarian households is the second-lowest in the EU.

In seven EU Member States, the weight of food and non-alcoholic beverages in total household expenditure increased between 2009 and 2019, Eurostat reports. Hungary reached the podium, with a 0.5 percentage point increase in the slice of food expenditure in the household expenditure cake. In the Czech Republic, this slice gained 1.3 percentage points, and in Slovakia, it gained 1.1 percentage points, writes hvg.hu.

In EU comparison, Hungarian households spend a lot on food- I mean, most of their expenses, 17.3 per cent, are paid on food. The EU average is only 13 per cent, and in the leading Ireland, only 8.6 per cent of the population spending has gone to this end.

The weight of food spending is not primarily affected by how much food is consumed in a given country, nor even by how expensive food is there (although of course, these factors are also important).

Because you have to spend on food everywhere; the more impoverished a country is (and its households are), the more food is spent on food.

And conversely, the more prosperous a country (and its households), the smaller its share of basic necessities such as food and housing, and the greater the slice of things that are considered a luxury, such as entertainment and culture. Accordingly, the expenditure structure of Hungarian households is typical of the poorer Member States; it does not stand out among the regional competitors (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland). Romania and Bulgaria, as even more impoverished countries, are again on a different page.

The expenditure structure of Hungarian households has hardly changed in recent years. The weight of food has increased slightly, and the decrease in the importance of housing-related expenses can be highlighted. The latter is explained by the fact that this includes household energy price, which has hardly changed since the overhead cuts.

The ratios have not changed. That much does not mean that the forint-denominated expenditures of Hungarian households have not increased. Of course, not surprisingly, average wages have risen significantly in recent years. And prices have also risen.

For example, the average Hungarian foodstuff spent was HUF 421 thousand (€ 1100) in 2019, while in 2010, only HUF 244 thousand (€670).

This amount is per capita, including all Hungarians from infant to retiree. HUF 479 thousand (€1310) per person was spent on housing maintenance. For prostitution and other services not classified elsewhere, HUF 30 thousand (€82) per person (including 20 thousand forints for prostitution, based on households’ own declarations).

Returning to the differences among EU countries, although food represents a large part of the expenditure of Hungarian (and regional) households,

in total, however, only Bulgaria had lower food-related spending per capita than Hungary: € 1290.

At the end of the list are the following countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia. In Luxembourg, meanwhile, nearly € 3000 per person was spent on food. The comparison is, of course, somewhat false, with significant differences in price levels, wage levels and in the case of non-euro countries, exchange rates. However, the situation is not so good in terms of purchasing power parity, which eliminates all these differences.

In Hungary, per capita consumption in 2018, reached 67% of the EU average, compared to 66% in the previous year. The improvement was due to the combined effect of the 8.7 per cent increase in actual per capita consumption at current prices, the declining population and the (in international comparison) decline in the forint’s purchasing power, the Hungarian statistical office, KSH, reported in mid-December.

“In the ranking of the EU member states, the per capita consumption of Hungarian households was the 25th largest,” – says the KSH, which means that

only two countries had lower consumption.

The standard of living of households is obviously not unrelated to their consumption, meaning that only two EU countries live worse: Bulgaria and Slovakia. Otherwise, government sector consumption is far from the last in the union, so the Hungarian state lives better than the Hungarian households. 

Hungarian government: Local councils prohibited from increasing taxes next year

Hungarian forint

The government has ordered local councils not to increase local and municipal taxes next year. Further, councils must not introduce any new tax or eliminate or reduce existing tax breaks, the finance ministry has said in a statement.

The government’s aim is to make life easier for Hungarian businesses and households struggling to cope during the coronavirus pandemic, the statement released late on Tuesday said.

Párbeszéd: Government stymieing local councils by prohibiting them from increasing taxes

Opposition Párbeszéd on Wednesday accused the government of effectively hobbling the operations of local councils by ordering them not to increase local and municipal taxes next year or introduce any new taxes.

Párbeszéd’s deputy group leader, Bence Tordai, told an online press conference that

the order came from same government which “promotes itself” as being dedicated to tax cuts.

At the same time, “we know that they have carried out the most severe tax increases over the past ten years,” he added, citing the introduction of the flat tax rate which resulted in higher taxes for low earners and the 27 percent VAT.

As we wrote before, the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK) was also against a proposal by MKIK’s head to suspend the payment of local business tax (ipa) to municipalities, read more HERE.

new tram line in budapest
Read alsoWhat are the most anticipated developments in Budapest?

Hungarian employers want to freeze the minimum wage

worker-Hungary

Employers said an agreement on next year’s minimum wage rise should be delayed because of uncertainty caused by the pandemic at a meeting of the VKF, a forum of employers, unions and government representatives, on Tuesday.

Ferenc Rolek, the deputy head of business association MGYOSZ, told MTI after the meeting that it “isn’t practical” to raise the minimum wage from January 1 because of the current degree of uncertainty. Employers propose talks on the increase should be postponed until the outlook for 2021 becomes more clear, he added.

At this point in time, he said,

employers don’t see a realistic chance to raise the minimum wage from January 1.

Rolek said employers calculated that the 8 percent minimum wage rise agreed on for this year would be offset by inflation, increased productivity and a reduction in the payroll tax.

While the payroll tax was cut by two percentage points and inflation was around 3 percent, productivity declined five percentage points, he added.

Rolek said the ongoing wage talks are “important and difficult”, noting that Innovation and Technology Minister László Palkovics sat in on the talks on Tuesday and indicated he would join talks to follow, too.

Imre Palkovics, who heads unions association MOSZ, said unions are proposing a 10 percent minimum wage rise for next year.

The VKF will next meet in two weeks.

The statutory minimum wage was raised by 8 percent in 2019 and 8 percent in 2020. At present, the gross monthly minimum wage for skilled labourers is 210,600 forints (EUR 580) and the minimum wage for unskilled labourers is 161,000 forints (EUR 443).

Wage growth in Hungary reached 9.9 percent year-on-year in January-August, the latest data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH) show.

Red pepper paprika hungaricum
Read alsoWorrying! Hungarian paprika: growers harvested significantly fewer amount of red pepper

How much do electricity bills cost in each European country? – Hungary take a great position

budapest-hungary- budapest eye

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there’s one thing each country has in common: people love to moan about the cost of electricity.

Countries with the most expensive electricity bills

The most expensive electricity bill in Europe can be found in the Scandinavian country of Norway. Residents of this country can expect to pay a whopping €2,467 per year for their electricity – €2,161 more than Bulgaria who has the cheapest bill.

But despite being the most expensive electricity bill in the whole of Europe, when compared to the country’s average salary (€39,125), Norwegians can expect to spend 6.3% of their annual salary on electricity bills.

In second place is Norway’s immediate neighbour, Sweden. In this Scandinavian country, inhabitants can expect to pay €1,767 for their electricity bills each year – €700 less than Norwegians. Compared to the average annual salary (€24,474), residents of Norway can expect to spend 7.2% of their annual wage on electricity bills.

The third most expensive energy bill goes to Cyprus, with the average bill costing around €1,563, on average, per year. According to our research, the average Cypriot earns €16,215 per annum, which means they can expect to spend 9.6% of their salary on electricity bills – the third highest amount when taking average salary into account, just after Portugal (9.8%) and Croatia (9.7%).

In fourth place is Finland, with residents paying €1,525 for their electricity each year. As neighbours of first place Norway and second place Sweden, it seems Scandinavian countries have some of the highest electricity bills in Europe! Bearing in mind a Finnish native typically earns around €24,879 per year, on average, they can expect to spend 6.1% of their salary on their energy bills.

Ireland is the fifth most expensive of all European countries considered, with the country’s electricity bills racking up to €1,470 per year on average. When taking into account how much the average Irishman or woman earns (€24,920), residents in this country can expect to spend 5.9% of their annual salary on paying their electricity bills.

Countries with the cheapest electricity bills

The cheapest electricity bill in Europe can be found in Bulgaria, with the average cost per household being just €306 per year – a difference of €2,161 when compared to Norway who has the most expensive energy bills! When comparing this figure to the average salary of a Bulgarian national (€4,224), Bulgarians spend around 7.2% of their annual salary on electricity bills – this figure puts them among the top 10 of all countries considered.

Hungary is home to the second most affordable electricity bill in Europe, as our research found that the country’s electricity bills cost around €370, on average, per dwelling each year. If the country’s average salary is taken into account (€5,852), Hungarians can expect to spend 6.3% of their annual salary on their electricity bills.

Following closely behind Hungary is Poland, with the average electricity bill costing €390 per household each year – the third cheapest. When bearing in mind the average salary per annum for Polish inhabitants sits at €7,124, we can reveal that Poles spend 5.5% of their annual salaries paying off their electricity bills.

Fourth spot goes to Lithuania who pay €499 for their electricity bills, on average, per year. According to our research, Lithuanians typically earn in the region of €7,586 per year. Based on this, they can expect to pay 6.6% of their salary each year on electricity bills.

Estonia ranks in fifth place, with the average electricity bill costing households €557 per year, making it one of the cheapest electricity bills in the whole of Europe. However, when comparing this figure to the average annual salary of Estonians (€11,461), 4.9% of their annual salary is spent on electricity bills.

A full breakdown of the research:

Hungary’s favourite cheese – túró – and how to make it at home

túró

All countries have their culinary specialities like complete dishes or ingredients that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Naturally, Hungary also has plenty, from which the most popular — among Hungarians at least — is maybe a type of cheese most often translated as cottage cheese in English or crème fraîche in French. Still, none of these translations actually completely describe túró.

Young and fresh types of cheeses are the most commonly consumed ones in Hungary. Túró is definitely one of them giving half of the total yearly cheese consumption of the country. It is very far from the traditional cottage cheese known all around the world. Túró is a fresh, soft curd cheese similar to farmers cheese. It is mostly made from cow milk but of course, can be prepared from sheep or goat milk as well.

It is an extremely widely used ingredient, the main component of several very popular Hungarian dishes. The good thing about túró is that it does not have a basic salty flavour as in the case of most cheeses, which allows it to be used for both savoury and sweet dishes.

But we have to be careful! If we want the real taste of these dishes, we need to use authentic Hungarian túró that can not be found in any supermarkets outside of the country.

No worries, we can prepare it at home the old-fashioned way. All we need is the freshest and highest-fat whole raw milk, a cheesecloth and quite a lot of patience. Start by pouring the milk into a pot, cover it and let it sit for two days. Then on the lowest heat of your stove start heating the milk for about 1-2 hours without stirring so the whey can separate from the curds. When the curds are set on the bottom of your pot in a huge clump, remove it from the heat. Next, put your cheesecloth in a bowl, scoop the curds from the pot into the cloth then tie it up over the bowl to drain the whey. It usually takes a couple of days, the longer you let it sit, the drier your cheese will be. And there you go, the perfect ingredient for a lot of Hungarian recipes.

Now that we have our delicious túró, we can start cooking and transforming it into even more delicious dishes or desserts.

Like Túrós Batyu which are big bundles made from a light yeast dough and filled with vanilla flavoured cottage cheese cream. Sprinkling the bundles with raisin is optional but highly recommended.  

Sounds delicious, right? Here is the recipe to make them.

For the dough:

  • 500g flour
  • 150ml warm milk
  • 25g fresh or powder yeast
  • 85g melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • A pinch of salt

For the filling :

  • 500g túró
  • 4 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon of bourbon vanilla
  • 3-4 tablespoons of raisins
  • A splash of lemon juice

Dissolve yeast with a half tablespoon of sugar in lukewarm milk.
Soak raisins in tepid water.
Sift the flour in a bowl. Add the two tablespoons of sugar, a pinch of salt, egg and the activated yeast and start to knead.
When the ingredients are well combined, and the dough begins to hold together, pour in melted butter and knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and let it rise until doubled.
In the meantime, make the filling. Combine túró, vanilla, lemon juice, sugar, egg and raisins. Set aside.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough and cut into 10×10 cm (4×4 inch) squares. Spoon the túró mixture on top of each square. Pinch two opposite corners together first, then pinch the remaining two corners to seal the bundles. Place the bundles in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with egg yolk and set aside to rise for about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C and bake the bundles for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

facebook.com/gabriellakonyhaja
pálinka
Read alsoThis is Hungary’s best pálinka!

mulled wine
Read alsoMulled wine recipes to warm you up on cold nights

Hungarians see brighter future than do citizens of other EU countries after first wave

hortobágy-hungary

Hungarians see a brighter future compared with the citizens of many other EU countries after the first wave of coronavirus, according to a survey by Eurofound conducted in July.

Around 10 percent of Europeans have lost their jobs since the coronavirus appeared, with the most affected in Spain and Greece, according to the survey carried by Tuesday’s Magyar Nemzet. After the spring lockdown was lifted, only 3 percent managed to find a job again.

In Hungary, Austria and Denmark, only 5 percent of employees saw their jobs at risk compared with 15-20 percent in Bulgaria and Greece and 10 percent on average in the EU as a whole.

In Hungary, a large number of respondents looked ahead to improved financial prospects following the corona restrictions, while in the EU as a whole the outlook did not change significantly.

Fully 44 percent of EU households said their reserves were insufficient for three months, while citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Hungary, were the most upbeat in this regard,

and 16 percent of respondents were confident their household finances would improve, as against an EU average of 12 percent.

Eurostat statistics suicide
Read alsoHungary registers the 5th highest suicide rate among EU states

Hungarian wage growth slowed for the fifth month in a row

forint 20 thousands

Wage growth for full-time workers in Hungary slowed to 7.8 percent year-on-year in April, data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Tuesday show.

KSH said the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis contributed to the slowdown in wage growth.

Wage growth slowed for the fifth month in a row.

In absolute terms, the average gross monthly wage stood at 400,200 forints (EUR 1,100).

The average net wage was 266,100 forints (EUR 731).

The state secretary for employment policy at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, commenting the figures, said the government’s wage support scheme launched in response to the epidemic served to protect wages and jobs. Sándor Bodó said real wages had increased for the 88th month in a row, since early 2013. Compared with the same period ten years ago, gross wages were 88.6 percent higher and net wages 92.1 percent up in January-April this year, he added.

A recent European Commission forecast for employment showed that Hungary had the most promising prospects among European Union members, he said.

Unemployment has not been this high since 2017 June-September
Read alsoUnemployment rate in Hungary has not been this high in three years

Orbán cabinet suspends debt service for businesses, individuals – UPDATE

meal-lunch-hungary

The government has decided to suspend until the end of the year the capital and interest rate payment obligations of both private individuals and businesses under effective loan agreements, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

The government has also decided to extend short term business loans until June 30,

and maximised the “total cost of borrowing” indicator, known by the acronym “THM”, for new retail loans at the national bank’s base rate plus 5 percent, Orbán said.

The government will also waive the employers’ social security tax in full until June 30 in the ailing tourism, catering, entertainment, sports and cultural services, and for taxi drivers,

the prime minister said, adding that employee contributions would be significantly reduced, and pension contributions would be suspended.

Taxi drivers paying their tax in the “kata” scheme are exempted until June 30, Orbán said.

In the sectors most affected by the new coronavirus epidemic property lease contracts cannot be terminated, nor can owner raise the rent, Orbán said, adding that the government was working to make employment rules more flexible.

audi_factory_győr_automotive_sector_hungary
Read alsoAudi’s Hungarian plant to suspend production because of coronavirus

UPDATE

Opposition Socialist leader Bertalan Tóth in response welcomed that the new government measures had put his party’s past proposals in practice but urged the implementation of further measures. He criticised the fact that only certain areas would be eligible for allowances and said the measures announced so far would not resolve the problems of all SMEs. He said it was unacceptable that the government would still leave it up to employers and employees to secure employees’ living. He urged for a comprehensive agreement between trade unions and employers’ organisations that would cover all areas. He also called for a ban on lay-offs by multinationals.

Two lawmakers of conservative Jobbik urged Hungarians not to leave their homes unless they need to complete an urgent task, purchase protective gear or care for those in need.

János Stummer and György László Lukács called on the government to implement further measures that they said should include setting up a general job protection fund for all sectors and introducing a moratorium on the payment of household bills.

A lawmaker of green LMP said they urge stricter workplace rules such as ordering the use of face masks in public institutions, shops and public transport.

LMP also urges closing outdoor markets, László Lóránt Keresztes told an online press conference.

The party’s economy support proposals include launching a state subsidy scheme for elderly care services, setting up a rental support scheme for those losing their jobs, introducing a moratorium on dismissals and terminating some investment projects, he said.