The Ministry of National Economy proposed to waive social contributions after every worker under the age of 25, Deputy State Secretary Sándor Czomba in charge of employment policy said on Wednesday.
The highly successful “Rebutton it! Hungarian is fashionable” programme has also reached Brussels where an exhibition of the clothes designed by Hungarian fashion designers will open today at the Hungarian Cultural Institute. The event is attached to Design September in Belgium.
The internationally recognised Magyary Zoltán Public Administration Development Programme has entered a new phase. The Government is reviewing the procedures of the authorities one after the other and is doing away with any unnecessary red tape.
Parliament will start debating the bill on the new Civil Code next week. The new Code is on the agenda of the parliamentary committees this week. Academician Lajos Vékás believes that the particular significance of the new Civil Code lies in the fact that this will be Hungary’s first civil code, created under democratic circumstances, to enter into force.
On Tuesday, 18 September the United States Department of Defense issued a news release regarding Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende’s visit to Washington DC. The news release praises Hungary’s role in Afghanistan and the bilateral defense cooperation, with special regard to the upcoming 20th anniversary of the State Partnership Program between the Hungarian Defense Forces and the Ohio National Guard.
Fidesz-KDNP’s proposal for new electoral procedures was submitted to Parliament on Tuesday, 18 September. If Parliament votes in favour of the proposal, the law will be sent to the Constitutional Court for preliminary norm control, to make sure it is in line with the country’s Fundamental Law, before the President of Hungary signs it.
On the occasion of the Jewish New Year, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addressed the Jewish community. The 5773rd Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew – began at the end of last week.
On the invitation of Minister of State for Climate Change and Energy Pál Kovács and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent UN Representative Balázs Csuday, President of the Indonesian Atomic Agency As Natio Lasman and his deputies visited the Paks Nuclear Power Plant on 15 September. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen professional relations between the two countries and map cooperation opportunities in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Minister of State of the Prime Minister's Office János Lázár, Deputy Head of ruling party Fidesz Lajos Kósa and Christian Democrat MP Imre Vejkey submitted the joint proposal of the Fidesz-KDNP coalition for new electoral procedures to the National Assembly on Tuesday, 18 September.
Criminal legal aid between Hungary and other Member States of the European Union will become swifter, the detection of crimes will become more effective and in consequence, local criminal proceedings requiring international cooperation will be closed faster. Additionally, judicial cooperation in criminal cases will become more efficient in the wake of the bill on criminal cooperation with the Member States of the EU which Parliament will begin to debate today.
A ceremony was held in the Parliament Building honouring the Hungarian medal winners of the London 2012 Summer Olympics and the 14th Summer Paralympic Games.
Hungary will host NATO’s top-level military forum, the Chiefs of Defence Meeting next year, the Ministry of Defence informed Hungarian News Agency MTI in a press release on Monday, 17 September.
On 17 September, Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog, State Secretary of Sports Attila Czene and Deputy State Secretary of Sports Pál Szekeres presented state awards and diplomas of merit to athletes who achieved 4th, 5th and 6th places at this year’s Olympics and Paralympics as well as to professionals and sports managers who took part in their training.
The State Secretary opened the two-day conference on cyber security in the Ministry of Interior. State Secretary Felkai stated that the viability of a society is proven by the way it faces and reacts to the challenges. Cyber threats are not only challenges for Hungary but for the whole world as well. The State Secretary emphasized: exceptions cannot be made concerning this question; any illegal cyber activity has to be persecuted.
Gross average wages in the private sector increased by 9.2 percent in July 2012, whereas net wages excluding family tax allowances were up by 6.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year – the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported earlier today in a statistical release.
Croatia support Hungary's ideas with relation to the reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). State Secretary for Rural Development Zsolt V. Németh met with Croatian Deputy Minister for Rural Development, EU and International Cooperation Luka Čuljak at the informal meeting of the Standing Working Group of European Ministers of Agriculture from South Eastern Europe. Croatia is scheduled to become a member of the European Union on July 1, 2013.
At a press briefing today held by Minister of State for the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár and Fidesz MEP Ádám Kósa, one of the agenda points was the plan to make polling stations in all Hungarian settlements accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, the Minister of State explained that voluntary voter registration prior to elections would be valid for a four-year period, but that there would also be flexibility.
Head of the Construction Department in the Ministry of Interior Mária Magyar announced, during a conference held on the details of the new e-administration system that from January 2013 it will be significantly easier to apply for the necessary construction-related licenses.
"On Tuesday or Wednesday, the Government will send the IMF and the EU an alternative proposal in connection with loan negotiations in line with the economic policies pursued over the past two years", chief negotiator Mihály Varga said on Monday. In order to have the opportunity to make changes to the budget if necessary, the Government has requested the postponement of the vote on the 2013 budget in Parliament, which was supported by ruling party Fidesz.
Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog, State Secretary for Sports Affairs and Deputy State Secretary for Sports Affairs Pál Szekeres handed over awards to Olympians and Paralympians winning 4th, 5th and 6th place and officials helping their success at this year’s Games. The ceremony honouring members of the Hungarian team was held at the Museum of Fine Arts on 17 September.