Pursuant to the new government resolution, the role of the workgroup, which has been convened for the first time today, is to co-ordinate the various tasks related to keeping Hungarian agriculture free from genetically modified organisms.
We have done an awful lot, but we still have a lot of work to do for the revival of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and of the whole country – said Minister of Defence Dr. Hende Csaba at the swearing-in ceremony held in the morning of August 20.
The peace demonstration held near the town of Sopron on the Austrian-Hungarian border accelerated the collapse of the socialist regime and became a significant antecedent of the eastern expansion of the European Union, pointed out Minister for National Development Tamás Fellegi at the 22nd Anniversary of the Pan-European Picnic in Sopron on the 20 August 2011. The event, also attended by Minister of State for the Coordination of Development Policy, Ágnes Molnár, the Minister inaugurated the reconstructed Commemorative Pan-European Picnic Park.
On 25th July 2011 the Hungarian Government submitted its 8th report to the European Commission and the Council outlining the progress of measures taken to correct the excessive deficit, including structural reforms.
Hungary completely rejects gold mining with cyanide – this is the decision of the government with regard to the planned mine opening in Verespatak. State Secretary for Environmental Affairs Dr. Zoltán Illés drew Romanian Minister of the Environment László Borbély's attention in writing to the fact that cyanide technology is unacceptable to Hungary, as is the potential danger posed by waste sludge ponds and the models with which the Romanian government has attempted to analyse the levels of pollution that could reach Hungary.
Welcome home ceremony for peacekeepers coming back from Bosnia Herzegovina and Somalia in Tata
On Wednesday, August 3, the troops of the 8th rotation of the HDF European Union Force Contingent (EUFOR-8 HUNCON) coming home from Bosnia Herzegovina, and the soldiers, who completed their service in the European Union Training Mission – Somalia (EUTM-Somalia) were greeted in the presence of their family members and relatives in Tata.
On Tuesday, August 2, a farewell ceremony was held at the HDF Lt. Ittebei Kiss József Helicopter Base in Szolnok for the troops of the fifth rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent (KFOR-5 HUNCON) that deploy to Pristina. MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Economy Dr. Gábor Márki and Deputy Chief of MoD Defence Staff Lt. Gen. Zoltán Orosz graced the event with their presence.
“The harvest is complete in the majority of the country. The quality of wheat is excellent, with average yields in excess of four tons per hectare” – announced State Secretary for Agricultural Economy György Czerván at a press conference held at the Sziget Festival. State Secretary for Rural Development Zsolt V. Németh spoke to journalists about various newly available support programmes.
A millet cake with apricot sauce made by the Zila Coffee House and Confectionary in Kecskemét won this year’s National Cake Competition. The professional jury chose László Zila’s dessert, which had already made an appearance at the 13th Mutton-cooking Festival in Karcag, and which the public will also be able to try during the August 20 festivities in Budapest, out of three cakes that had reached the finals.
The Visegrad countries - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - express their concern with the recent situation in Ukraine triggered by the decision of the Pechersk District Court and the following arrest of Yulia Tymoshenko.
Hungary strongly condemns the brutal use of force against the Syrian civilian population and calls upon the Government of Syria to immediately halt the violence.
The latest issue of Hungarian Agricultural Research introduces Hungarian research institutes concerned with agricultural research and environmental studies.
A healthy diet, local products, youth for the countryside, Hungary’s native livestock species, wineries, the New Hungary Rural Development Program, gene conservation, allergenic ragweed – just a few of the interesting topics that visitors may become more aware of at the Ministry of Rural Development’s stand at the Civil Village of the Sziget Festival. The staff of the ministry will be awaiting all visitors every day on August 10-15 between 11am and 6 pm with amongst others lectures, discussions, fun quizzes and film screenings.
Maj-Gen. Alojz Šteiner, Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, and his Hungarian counterpart, Chief of the MoD Defence Staff Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő had a meeting in Hungary on Thursday, July 28. At the event held in Lenti, the two parties discussed, among others, the future of the Hungarian-Italian-Slovenian Multinational Land Forces (MLF), the issue of pooling and sharing forces and defence capabilities, and the ways how to further strengthen military-to-military relations between the two countries.
The Cheers 2011 competition, set up through civil initiative with the hope of creating a tradition, has been launched, in which instead of a single wine or wine producer, the wine-producing settlements are at the centre of interest.
At the initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development, the government has brought a decision to pay Hungarian farmers who have suffered damages as a result of seeds contaminated with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) compensation equal to 360 thousand forints per hectare.
The Geographical Names Committee has decided to change the name of Lágymányosi Bridge to Rákóczi Bridge. The new name was proposed by Minister of National Development Tamás Fellegi in governmental support of the initiative put forward by the Budapest City Council.
Tokaj-Hegyalja has a special esteem for Hungarians everywhere. The unique soil and environment, the grape varieties and wines produced here and the centuries-old tradition of wine-making are the jewels in the crown of Hungarian grape and wine culture – said Deputy Sate Secretary for Agricultural Economy Zsolt Feldmann at the opening ceremony of the Tokaj Wine Region Viticulture and Wine-Making Research Institute in Tarcal.
The traditional medal parade for Hungarian and Portuguese peacekeepers serving in Camp Slim Lines, Pristina, Kosovo was held on Monday, July 25. Maj.-Gen. József Kovács, Commander, HDF Joint Force Command (HDF JFC) also attended the ceremony, which was organized for the troops who are going to complete their tour of duty abroad in these days.
The HR strategy and the new military career model were the topics on the agenda of the Commanders’ conference, held on Friday, 22nd of July at the HDF Joint Force Command (JFC) in Székesfehérvár. During the event Dr. Gábor Szarka, Head of the MoD Cabinet Office and Lt.-Gen. Zoltán Orosz, Deputy Chief of the MoD Defence Staff gave a briefing on the changes concerning the introduction of the new career model, adopted by the Minister of Defence.
On Monday, July 18, the HDF 34th ‘Bercsényi László’ Special Operations Force (SOF) Battalion received 14 HMMWVs (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles). Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, the Ambassador of the United States of America to Budapest handed over the vehicles ceremoniously to Minister of Defence Dr. Csaba Hende at the ‘Lt. Ittebei Kiss József’ Helicopter Base, Szolnok.
The Ministry of Rural Development statute amendment enabling support for new farmers rearing indigenous and endangered animal breeds will come into effect on August 1.
The triumphant battle of Nándorfehérvár, which was fought 555 years ago, was also commemorated on Friday, July 22 at the series of events entitled Danube Day Celebration. The keynote speaker of the event was Dr. István Simicskó, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence
I am convinced that the leadership and the team of experts of the Ministry of Rural Development have achieved outstanding success during the period of the Hungarian Presidency in the first half of 2011, within the fields of agriculture, fisheries and the environment – writes Sándor Fazekas in his summary of the Presidency.
The HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT) continues to provide assistance for the poor in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. Last time the children living in the orphanage of Pol-e Khomri and the occupants of the widows’ house in Deh Sallah District received care packages from the Hungarians.