After talks with Hungary, Austria abandons plans to reduce family subsidies for foreign workers

Budapest, April 5 (MTI) – After talks between Austria and Hungary, the former abandoned plans to reduce child benefits of foreign employees to the level of those in the country of origin if the child lives outside of Austria, the human resources minister told public radio on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Zoltán Balog both “made clear” that they find Austria’s unilateral decision unacceptable, Balog said. As a result, Austria has abandoned its plan which would have disadvantaged Hungarian families, he said.

The Hungarian leaders agreed with their Austrian partners that anyone abuses family beneifts should be punished, but this should not affect honest workers, Balog said.

Meanwhile, on the topic of the Central European University and the amendment to the higher education bill tightening regulations on foreign universities in Hungary, Balog said the previous state of affairs “lacked transparency and fostered privileges”. “Közép-európai Egyetem”, the Hungarian-accredited university, is valuable for the country, he said. CEU’s contributions, however, are unclear, he added, referring to the fact that the university is registered in Hungary but its degrees are accredited in both Hungary and New York, even though it does not have a campus in the US.

Source: MTI