„Close cooperation with Albania leads to security of Hungarian citizens” – emphasized Interior Minister Sándor Pintér after the reconciliation with Bujar Nishani Minister of Interior Affairs of Albania.
The Bükk National Park Directorate is celebrating its 35th anniversary of its founding. Hungary has a unique abundance of natural resources, and national parks play a decisive role in their preservation. Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas recently announced that he would be visiting all of our national parks to promote the country's natural treasures and draw attention to their special role. The Minister will be visiting the Bükk National Park in February.
One million litres of illegally expropriated wine has been found by food chain safety authority wine supervisors in Bács-Kiskun county. Official proceedings continue with the inclusion of experts from the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV); details will be made public in the near future.
During the Danish EU presidency on the 26th of January 2012 informal Council meeting on Home Affairs was held in Copenhagen. Károly Kontrát, Parliamentary State Secretary was the head of the Hungarian delegation on Home Affairs.
The introduction of the National Public Service University was a great success at the Educatio 12th International Educational Exhibition, which opened in Budapest on January 20. Nearly 200 exhibitors representing virtually all Hungarian institutions of higher education were present in the "Papp László" Budapest Sport Arena, the venue of Hungary’s tertiary education display, to introduce their courses and the latest developments, tools and methods in the field of education.
On Wednesday, H.E. Aly El-Hefny, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, hosted a festive commemoration on the occasion of the first anniversary of the outbreak on 25 January 2011 of the Egyptian revolution, with the participation of the diplomatic corps as well as personalities of Hungarian political and public life and the Egyptian community in Hungary.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi participated in and held a lecture on the symposium on “Otto von Habsburg as a Christian politician”, which was organised in the Austrian Historical Institute in Rome on 24 January 2012. Among others, Rocco Buttiglione, Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Wolfgang Schüssel, former Chancellor of Austria gave speeches, and several members of the Habsburg family were present as well.
All pollutant material that was leaked into the environment as a result of the red sludge disaster is now safely in its designated deposit sites – announced Csaba Szabó. Speaking in Devecser, the Ministerial Commissioner of the Ministry of Rural Development also stated that contractors have completed the environmental remediation of the areas flooded by the red sludge.
Investment in machinery in the Agriculture sector increased significantly last year, totalling 51 billion HUF in the first 9 months, 68 percent more than in the previous year – announced Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas in Budapest at the opening ceremony of the 30th AGROmashEXPO International Agriculture and Agricultural Machinery Exhibition.
Food safety in Europe and Central Asia, and the minimizing of food price fluctuations will be the central topics of the 28th European Regional Conference of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to be held in April in Baku, Azerbaijan. Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas will represent Hungary at the event. The informal forum on January 26-27 2012, organised with the participation of government officials from several European and Central Asian countries, will be held in preparation for the Conference.
Hungarian State Secretary for Rural Development Zsolt V. Németh and, Slovakian State Secretary Dr. Gábor Csicsai discussed the support of cooperation between LEADER groups, the lodging of joint product descriptions to the European Union and the creation of cross-border market regions at the meeting of the Agricultural Workgroup of the Hungarian-Slovakian Joint Committee in Budapest.
The Ministry of Rural Development is supporting the planned project of Luxembourg majority owned SDK Hungarn Ltd, as a result of which a new electronic waste disassembly and recycling plant will be built in Karcag.
The Pentagon is steering more money toward Eastern European allies fighting in Afghanistan, Bloomberg news agency reported on January 19, referring to a press release issued by the US Department of Defense. Hungary will receive $13.3 million in the fiscal year ending September 30, an increase from $2.87 million last year.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published on its home page their regular annual report on Hungary. According to Article 4 of its charter, the IMF shall prepare a review of every member country at least once a year.
Following a negotiation Hungarian Minister of the Interior Sándor Pintér and Serbian Minister of the Interior Ivica Dačić signed an “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of Hungary on Road, Railway and Water Traffic Border Control” at Horgos border crossing in Serbia.
Ministry of Interior held a press conference to announce the current tasks of public employment in 2012.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi has sent a response letter to Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe on January 20, confirming that Hungary is willing to cooperate with the Council of Europe. Reacting to the Secretary General’s inquiry, the Head of the Foreign Ministry attached to his letter the texts of the laws on judiciary, religious freedom, and elections to the Parliament.
A pro-government civil society demonstration was held in Budapest on Saturday 21 January. According to many sources, the ’Peace March for Hungary’ attracted in excess of 400,000 people, making it more than four times the size of any public gathering in recent months.
Hungary will provide this year nearly EUR 14 million to improve the situation of refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants staying in Hungary and to protect Hungarian borders – said Krisztina Berta, Deputy State Secretary for EU and International Affairs on a press conference in Budapest on Monday.
On Thursday, January 19 a remembrance ceremony was held on the 6th anniversary of the plane crash at Hejce, to commemorate the victims of the most serious disaster in the history of the Armed Forces of Slovakia, which occurred near the village on the border and claimed 42 lives.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Hungary welcomes the President of Myanmar’s amnesty decree of 13 January releasing hundreds of political prisoners, and the ceasefire agreement signed by the Government of Myanmar and the Karen National Union on 12 January.
On their meeting on 17 January 2012, the Hungarian Foreign Minister emphasised that the extermination of the victims of the Holocaust meant a serious historical loss for the whole Hungarian nation; it is our duty to remember them. We regard it as a national issue to keep the memory of Raoul Wallenberg and other heroes rescuing our persecuted compatriots alive.
In his message to the participants of the commemoration held by the Jewish Congregation of Budapest in the Dohány Street Synagogue on 18 January 2012, the Hungarian Foreign Minister claimed the Shoah to still be an open wound in Hungarian history, and stated that during the time of terror the Hungarian state had failed to protect its citizens, who, therefore, had lost their country in which they had been born and their fate, having been deprived of their Hungarian identity and human dignity.
Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi and his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt inaugurated the Wallenberg Year. The guest of honour of the ceremony was Yossi Peled, Minister without Portfolio from Israel.
Only with a proactive approach can we regain those markets that the previous government lost, and so Hungarian agricultural diplomats will be visiting a whole series of countries that at one time regularly purchased Hungarian products – announced Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas on Saturday in Berlin, where he took part in the International summit of agricultural ministers.