“We would like to achieve a much better state of public order and security in small settlements than that was earlier, and the subjective feeling of security should become stronger among inhabitants.” – emphasized Sándor Pintér, the Interior Minister at the Police Headquarter‘s annual meeting of assessment and task setting on Friday, 25 February 2011.
Currently in Hungary much more is being spent on support related to disability than in other countries which are at a similar stage of development or which have similar healthcare parameters. In Hungary the number of handicapped people with a job is very low, and the support system is only favorable for some privileged organizations which are invested with special rights.
In the past few years the Pension Protection Fund required a contribution of 600-700 billion forints from the central budget. What is more, the state pension system would have closed with a deficit of 800 billion forints in 2011 but for the measures of the Orbán government in 2010.
Since October 2008, neighbourhood police have been patrolling the streets of the Magdolna Quarter. They are to build and maintain close relationships with the locals, to learn what they think of public safety and to help resolve their problems.
On Thursday Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Justice, and István Havas, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary, signed a strategic partnership agreement promoting closer cooperation between the business sector and the Legislature.
The Hungarian Presidency wants member states to adopt the “Resolution on a European Work plan for Sport” by May. This was announced by State Minister for Sports of the Ministry of National Resources, Attila Czene, on 22 February, after the annual Sports Forum organised by the Commission in Budapest.
With continued economic policy efforts to put businesses at the forefront, the Government is planning moves to make the entrepreneurs’ life easier through administration cuts as a part of structural reforms on the agenda. For Hungary to regain its leading position in the region and to become one of Europe’s most business-friendly countries, it is inevitable to ease the administrative burden on businesses that could weaken competitiveness of those.
At Hungary’s initiative, Agricultural Ministers of countries with no seacoast, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxemburg and Hungary, issued a statement in Brussels, which was presented to Maria Damanaki, Commissioner of Fisheries. Public Announcement.
The key indicator to judge the competitiveness of an economy is the amount of general tax liabilities. If enterprises consider administrative costs too high, they may opt to scale back production and investments or would-be investors may decide not to come to Hungary. As a result of the tax measures implemented during the last couple of months, the tax burden fell to 37%, but it is still more than the average of the Visegrád group members.
The Hungarian presidency’s slogan is that a strong Europe needs a strong agriculture capable of providing for the whole continent and preserving its export markets while producing high quality, healthy products – said Sándor Fazekas, Minister of Rural Development at the Paris International Agriculture Show, an exhibition of food and agriculture products.
The next Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Defence will be held on 24 and 25 February in Budapest and Gödöllő. It will be hosted by Csaba Hende, the working dinner and sessions will be chaired by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The issue of improper dealing has been raised in one case in Heves county when state owned land was rented by a foreign company.
At present one million jobs and, consequently, places of work are missing on the Hungarian labour market. That is why the government committed itself to form a partnership with the enterprises to create them in ten years’ time. The creation of one million jobs is necessary so that our extremely low rate of employment, in comparison with the European Union, should belong to the premier league of the EU.
The size of the Hungarian national budget relative to the size of our economy is almost 6 percent bigger than that of the countries with economies at a similar stage of development or that of the average of the other Visegrád group members. Almost half of the difference is the result of the significantly higher Hungarian interest liabilities due to our bigger public debt, but our primary expenditures are also higher than those of our competitors in the region. The current structure of expenditures in the national budget is not pro-growth: the proportion of expenditures on investments is low, the proportion of running expenditures is high – especially, within this, the amount spent on social benefits.
The Minister of Public Administration and Justice spoke about the process of institutional restructuring in public administration and a change in perspective on the workforce at a staff forum in the Veszprém County Government Office. Dr. Tibor Navracsics also said that allegations of politically-inspired mass dismissals are not true.
Mr. József Ángyán is at the world’s largest Bio Agricultural Fair held in Nürnberg. The most important value of ecological farming is to produce healthy and safe food products, free of additives.
Retired lieutenant colonel István Papp has been presented with the honourable award „For the Homeland” by the Minister of Defence. At the event held at the MoD on 16 February Csaba Hende praised the courage of the UN employee.
In the presence of Ambassadors accredited from the region to Hungary, János Hóvári opened the exhibition „FOURTEEN CENTURIES OF COINS FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD” in the Helikon Castle Museum in Keszthely.
Zoltán Kovács, Minister of State for Communication at the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, said at a ministry press conference that specialists from the European Commission and the Hungarian government have reached an agreement today in connection with the amendments to the Hungarian media legislation proposed in response to questions raised last December by the Vice-president of the European Commission.
Hungary has been committed to a strict budget policy. In accordance with the convergence programme, the government will gradually reduce budget deficit from 3.8% as of GDP in 2010 to 2.9% in 2011. Parallel to this, they will contribute to jumpstarting an economic growth with measures aimed at job creation. As a result, the level of public debt will fall from 80% as of GDP in 2010 to 70% by 2014.