"Everyone should work towards ensuring that people will never be excluded, abused or killed based on their origin or religion", said Minister of Interior Sándor Pintér at the award ceremony during which Ambassador of Israel to Hungary Ilan Mor presented the Jerusalem-based Yad Vashem Institute’s "Righteous among the Nations" awards, and Minister Pintér the Hungarian "For Courage" Honours.
Speech by Viktor Orbán at the 21st EPP Congress (17-18 October 2012 / Bucharest, Romania).
Connected to the new EU Anti-Trafficking Day (18 October) the Ministry of Interior launches a new Facebook site entitled Anti-Human Trafficking Hungary.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi in Washington DC. The aim of the meeting was to widen and deepen cooperation between the two countries as well as discuss global issues.
Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Katalin Tóth represented Hungary and planted a tree at the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, where participants from over 170 countries met at the summit of the organisation's decision-making body.
Péter Szijjártó, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations, declared in Bucharest that Hungary is committed to the support of Hungarian communities in Transylvania, and it is its interest to have a strong nationality representation in Bucharest.
At the invitation of Finance Minister of Austria Maria Fekter, on 18 October 2012 Minister for National Economy György Matolcsy met with Finance Minister of Bavaria Markus Söder in Vienna.
In August 2012 gross average wages in the private sector were up by 6.6 percent, while net wages excluding family tax allowances increased by 3.6 percent in comparison to the same period of the previous year – the statistical release of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) reported earlier today.
With respect to the banking union, Hungary supports the position according to which speed should not be to the detriment of quality – emphasized Enikő Győri, Minister of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for European Affairs after the meeting of the General Affairs Council on 16th October 2012 in Luxembourg.
Ministers from Central Europe are holding a two-day summit in Veszprém, Hungary. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration and Justice Tibor Navracsics said that Budapest would be well-placed to compete for the role of a regional centre for the European Patent Court, if partner countries also agree.
On Thursday, an exhibition opened showcasing the photographs taken by the French photojournalist Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The photographs are being exhibited at the Balassi Institute in Budapest, which is a background institution of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice. The show, entitled ‘Photographer of Freedom’, comprises more than twenty works by the photographer, who was fatally wounded during the Revolution.
When analyzing key macro-economic indicators it can be observed that the crisis has still been ongoing from several aspects in the European Union and in the region as well. Unfortunately, Hungary is no exception in this regard. The following short analysis aims to present the sectors which have been putting on an above average performance in Hungary and have therefore bottomed out or which at least are in a better position than they were in 2008.
Report on the measures taken in response to Council recommendation of 13 march 2012 under the excessive deficit procedure.
Although the Hungarian Government, along with leading financial analysts, forecasted that the fiscal adjustment measures announced earlier in October would be sufficient to meet the 2013 budget targets, the Government has decided to complement those measures with a further adjustment package worth 367 billion forints (EUR 1.3bn) in 2013, thus avoiding any new steps in the Excessive Deficit Procedure against the country, Economy Minister György Matolcsy told a press conference on 17 October.
Various programs have been launched during the last two years of government measures aimed at building an economy based on work and reducing poverty.
Szabolcs Takács, Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented Hungary at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Development on October 15, and participated at high-level meetings as part of the European Development Days. He also had discussion with the ministers in charge of development cooperation from the Visegrad countries.
On 23 October Hungary marks the 56th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution, one of the most important events in the history of the Hungarian people. The Revolution broke out in opposition to Soviet communist oppression and occupation; it began with a peaceful demonstration by university students, and ended in bloody street fighting.
After the withdrawal from Afghanistan, NATO may continue to be the effective means of successfully tackling the currently transforming security challenges, Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR) said in his presentation delivered at the National University of Public Service.
According to Minister of State János Lázár, the Government’s objective is to ensure energy security within the Hungarian natural gas market. At a press briefing, the Minister of State heading the Prime Minister’s Office stated that to his knowledge negotiations have reached an advanced stage with the German energy company E.ON regarding the repurchase of its subsidiary in Hungary, a measure that also serves the strengthening of energy security. Only in this way can gas prices paid by citizens be kept under control and at realistic levels, otherwise gas prices will become disproportionately high in Hungary, he added.
A Government Career Fair under the title ReGeneration will be held once again on Saturday, 27 October, in Budapest. The event, which is now a tradition, was initiated by Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics two years ago, and is organised by the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice for the third time this year.
The European Court of Justice has brought to an end the legal action brought by Hungary against Slovakia as a result of President of the Hungarian Republic László Sólyom being prohibited from entering the Slovak Republic on 21 August 2009. The Hungarian Government is now confident that such a case will not occur in the future, either between Hungary and Slovakia, or between other Member States.
12 October 2012
Hungarian Institute of International Affairs
The intention of the Hungarian government is unchanged: this is the message that Mihály Varga, Minister without portfolio responsible for liaising with certain international financial organisations, stressed at an economic forum in Budapest organised by the portfolio.hu web portal. As previously stated in November 2011, the Government would like to reach an agreement with both the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
According to the Minister of State heading the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár, parallel to introducing voter registration, the relevant information possessed by the state’s should be radically reduced, and he therefore supports Fidesz Fraction Leader Antal Rogán’s proposal that would make the registration of permanent addresses unnecessary in Hungary.
“Europe was slumbering in the past decade and so was Hungary”, as no real reforms had been implemented either domestically or abroad – Minister of State for Economic Strategy pointed out in his speech held at the Budapest Economic Forum. The Minister of State at the Ministry for National Economy has described those key reasons which had caused a dual, political-economic crisis in the euro-zone and which has created large-scale uncertainty for each participant. According to his argument, this is the reason why Hungary needs the EU/IMF agreement which will be concluded “some time later on”, but “as soon as possible”.