The International Atomic Energy Agency elected Hungary one of its 35 members of the Governing Board, its decision-making body on 22 September, 2011 in Vienna. In the next two years this position of outstanding professional and diplomatic significance will be held by Pál Kovács, Deputy State Secretary for Energy of the Ministry of National Development.
On September 20th Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi participated at the UN summit in support of Libya hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and attended among others by US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, leader of the Libyan Transitional National Transitional Council (NTC).
It is us who make a decision about our present and future, not our past or our heritage. It all depends on whether we are willing to learn about and discover our national heritage for ourselves- Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende said during the opening ceremony of the National Gallop in Heroes’ Square on 17 September.
Hungary is represented by President Pál Schmitt and Foreign Minister János Martonyi at the High-Level Segment of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly started on September 20th.
Relying on the achievements of Hungary’s term of the presidency of the European Council, and in support of the efforts made by the Polish presidency, Hungary firmly stands up for the improvement of energy security in the European Union, Tamás Fellegi, Minister of National Development said at the two-day informal meeting of energy ministers in Wroclaw, Poland.
The most trying drilling exercise of the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF), the assault riflemen’s tenth training course, began on Monday, September 12. There exist only a few trainings in the world, similar to this, such as for instance the ranger-training of the American Army.
The Hungarian government is firmly committed to uphold the deficit target of 2.5% of GDP as set in the Széll Kálmán Plan and the Convergence Programme even in the volatile global economic environment and the turbulences caused by the European sovereign debt crisis. To this end, the Government announced new measures to improve the budget by 1000bn HUF in 2012, including a buffer for unforeseen negative developments.
The Directorate of Environmental Protection and Water Management for Central Transdanubia has imposed a fine for infringement of waste management regulations of around HUF 135.14 billion (470 million euros) on Hungarian Aluminium Production and Trade Company (MAL Zrt.). The level of the fine was arrived at in accordance with relevant legislation. Minister of State Zoltán Kovács told our editorial team that the Directorate imposed the highest penalty possible, with regard to the scale of the disaster and the amount of pollutant released.
The American-Hungarian Military Medical Conference staged for the 19th time is held in the Stefánia Palace between 11 and 15 September. Deputy Chief of the MoD Defence Staff Lt. Gen. Zoltán Orosz opened the event Monday morning, 12 September. The General greeted the 35 American and 20 Hungarian military physicians after the rendition of the American and the Hungarian National Anthems.
On Thursday, September 15, Defence Minister Csaba Hende received in his office on a ceremonial visit Col. Ulrich Pfeiffer, the Military Attaché of the Federal Republic of Germany accredited to our country, now resigning from his post, and the new Military Attaché Col. Manfred Knopp, introducing himself. At the event present was also the Deputy State Secretary for Defence Economy Gábor Márki.
In view of the global financial crisis and Hungary's special position, the Minister for National Development, Tamás Fellegi, argued for a redistribution of burdens and risks in his address made at the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary on the 13th of September, 2011.
Representing the Ministry of National Development, Dániel Mendelényi, head of the Secretariat of the Commissioner for the Co-ordination of Hungarian-Chinese Bilateral Relations delivered a lecture on the achievements and perspectives of Hungarian-Chinese co-operation at the China Hi-Tech Fair conference in Budapest on 13 September 2011.
The Hungarian government is determined to respond to the new challenges posed by a volatile economic environment as promptly as possible. It is of paramount importance to counter factors which could endanger the budget deficit target, and Hungary is committed to pursue the course it has established of a steadily and predictably declining deficit. Properly undertaken this plan will lead to the reduction of public debt.
As part of the government reorganisations aimed at the efficient management of the impacts of the economic crisis, as from 12 September 2011, the Minister for National Development, Tamás Fellegi has transformed the Ministry of National Development (MND). Having successfully completed the duties in six sections of the presidency of the European Council, and in view of the experiences of the first year, the Ministry’s internal operation is now simplified with unchanged powers and duties. The current six state secretariats and eleven deputy state secretariats in charge of specific policies will be replaced by four and twelve, respectively.
On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 Hungary, in line with the international community, is organizing a series of events to remember the victims of terrorism and to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation. The 9/11 commemorative concert and two international conferences will be the highlights of these events.
State Secretary for Environmental Affairs Zoltán Illés has been awarded the 2011 honorary membership of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), based in Great Britain.
At their informal meeting held in Sopot, Poland, on 6 September 2011, the transport ministers of the European Union discussed the possibilities of involving private capital in improving transport infrastructure. Presenting Hungary's position, Minister of State for Infrastructure, Pál Völner participated in the consultation of the ministers of the Visegrád countries.
On August 31 a combined “Welcome Home” and farewell ceremony was held in the banquet hall of the HDF Joint Force Command (HDF JFC). Lt.-Gen. József Kovács,the Commander of the HDF JFC handed over tokens of appreciation and medals to the troops returning home from missions and wished the departing ones soldiers’ luck.
In Hungary the new government, which has been in office for 15 months, implemented several key measures, and the early preliminary positive signs of the prudent and sound economic policy is visible in the macro trends.
On the occasion of the 485th anniversary of the Battle of Mohács – on Sunday, August 28 – the new reception building of the National Historical Memorial Site of Mohács was inaugurated with all due solemnities in Sátorhely, where Dr. Gábor Szarka, the Head of the MoD Cabinet Office was also present, and laid wreaths.
Hungary – with full support to the Statement by the spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the elections in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in Georgia of 27 August 2011 – does not recognise the constitutional and legal framework of the presidential elections held in Abkhazia (Georgia).
The new government order, according to which farmers who have suffered damages because of seeds contaminated with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are to receive 360 thousand forints per hectare in compensation from the state, comes into force today.
As requested by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Hungarian Ambassador in Libya received the fact finding mission in Tripoli led by a high-ranking representative of the European External Action Service.
Hungary sympathises with the Syrian people’s peaceful demonstrations demanding democratic changes.
We welcome the success of the National Transitional Council in gaining authority over Libya which will enable the advancement of its democratic objectives. The Government of Hungary regards the NTC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Following the meeting of Foreign Minister János Martonyi and the Leader of the Council in March 2011, over the recent months contact with the NTC has been continuous through our special envoy to Benghazi.