Bilateral relations between Hungary and Australia are in excellent shape, Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi agreed with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd following their bilateral meeting on 7 June. On the side-lines of the ASEM meeting the two foreign ministers signed a Social Security Agreement between Hungary and Australia.
On the side-lines of the ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, on June 6 2011, Peter Rider Ambassador of New Zealand to Berlin accredited to Hungary and János Hóvári deputy state-secretary signed the bilateral Working Holiday Scheme. This Agreement provides the opportunity to young New Zealanders and Hungarians travelling to each other’s countries to get a temporary working permit.
At his press conference held on Thursday, June 2 in Hotel Hadik, Budapest, Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende summarized and evaluated the last one year of the HDF leadership. The Defence Minister gave a detailed account of corrupt practices in the MoD prior to the change of government, which were revealed after the new leadership had taken office, and listed the most important achievements and future objectives.
Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Zoltán Illés held a joint press conference on Thursday with Government Spokeswoman Anna Nagy on the flood protection projects around Felsőzsolca.
Early June 2011 saw the launch of a portal familiarising visitors with the Green Investment Scheme (Zöld Beruházási Rendszer, ZBR) as a thematic sub-site of the government website. www.gis.kormany.hu gives guidance on the quota sales practice, news of the most recent developments, updates on topical issues and tender opportunities.
At a joint press conference with István Binder, spokesman of the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority (HFSA), government spokesperson Anna Nagy said that an e-mail circulating on the internet which claims that the Government is planning to nationalise bank accounts valued at over two million forints falls into the criminal category of scaremongering.
The Union is providing 210 million Euros for the immediate assistance of vegetable producers - announced Commissioner Dacian Cioloş. The degree of compensation will be equal to 50% of the average vegetable selling price for 2007-2010. Members of the TÉSZ (Producers and Marketers Organisations) could acquire levels of up to 70% taking into account their Operative Programme.
The European Union will compensate damages incurred by vegetable producers. At least 30 percent of lost income will be compensated from the joint budget in the case of those fruit and vegetable producers who have suffered damages because of the German E. coli epidemic. Speaking on Kossuth Radio, Minister of Rural Development Sándor Fazekas revealed that at the meeting the committee had recommended an EU budget of 150 million Euros, but that this sum may increase if necessary. The exact details will be made public within the next few days.
Enormous public interest was attracted by the award of the audience prize for the fashion show ‘Rethink/re-button! Magyar is the Mode’ on 8 May. The winner was Rita Gallatz, who received 2,181 votes from the more than 22,000 cast by the public. She received the prize from Borbála Papp-Váry, Deputy Minister of State for Government Communication and Gábor Kopek, Rector of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design.
Mr Zoltán Schváb, deputy state secretary for transport signed on behalf of Hungary the Memorandum of Understanding for Realisation of Interoperable In-Vehicle emergency call (eCall) system on 6 June 2011 in Lyon. Member states, vehicle manufacturers, telecommunication operators, insurance companies, and other stakeholders, which agreed on the common objectives, can join this cooperation since 2004. The ceremonial signing took place at the ITS in Europe conference held in Lyon.
Preliminary figures show that about one thousand litres of blood were donated to Hungary’s National Blood Service (OVSZ) at twenty-seven venues across the country – in seven ministries, in each county-town and in every Government office – on the blood donation day specially organised for government officials.
The general government deficit excluding local governments stood at HUF 724.2 billion at the end of May 2011 or making 105.4 per cent of the annual projection. In 2010, the deficit of the central government level made up HUF 736.2 billion by the end of May or 84.6 per cent of the annual target. In the relevant period, the deficit of the central government level had been HUF 99.2 billion. In this context, the 2011 balance improved by HUF 41.2 billion.
'The well-being of a nation and a community can only truly be measured by looking at the situation of its children,’ said Tibor Navracsics, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Administration and Justice at the conference ‘Rights of Sick Children’, which was held on Tuesday at the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner.
As rotating President of the Agricultural and Fisheries Council, The Minister of Rural Development has convened a meeting of his EU colleagues for Tuesday June 7 in Luxembourg to analyse and discuss the effects of the German E. coli epidemic on the vegetable and fruit sector.
Talks are due to continue on 6 June 2011 under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention with the struggle against climate change in focus. The European Union will be represented at the Bonn negotiations by the Hungarian Presidency and the European Commission. The purpose of the meeting, which is scheduled to finish on 17 June, is to bring about a new, comprehensive, global, and legally binding climate change agreement for the period to follow the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol.
The Hungarian Presidency considers the cooperation with NGOs essential, Minister of State of the Foreign Ministry, Enikő Győri said in her welcoming speech, on 3 June 2011 in Budapest, on Social Enterprise Day.
The Hungarian Government has decided to answer positively the request of the Government of the United States to assume the protection of American diplomatic and consular interests in Libya.
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Deputy State Secretary for European Union and International Affairs of the Ministry of National Development Kovács Tamás Iván addressed the participants on the first day of the 54th memorial session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, organised in Vienna on 1 June 2011 .
‘Hungary is home to all nationalities living here,’ said Tibor Navracsics, Minister of Public Administration and Justice on Monday, when he signed a strategic partnership agreement with the leaders of the thirteen self-governments of nationalities living in Hungary. Tibor Navracsics said at the signing ceremony that the purpose of the statutory strategic partnership agreements is the achievement of better legislation. This also means that better conditions can be created for nationalities.
Poland wishes to continue the Hungarian Presidency’s efforts to make the EU stronger and more dynamic, stressed the Secretaries of State for EU Integration of both countries, at a press conference in Budapest on 2 June 2011; after discussing the imminent takeover of the Presidency. The Polish Secretary of State called the Hungarian Presidency highly successful.
Enikő Győri, Minister of State for EU Affairs of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, invited the present and the forthcoming Presidency Trios’ Ministers of State for EU affairs, to a working dinner in Budapest, on 1 June 2011. The meeting focused on the preparations for the Presidency takeover.
From now on, auxiliary police organisations can only pursue their activities within the community of their registered headquarters, and any auxiliary police personnel breaking the law may receive a prison sentence or a fine of up to HUF 150,000. As a result of recent violent events related to auxiliary police organisations – including in Gyöngyöspata – on 16 May the National Assembly adopted legislative changes in order to maintain order in the public domain. These changes, which had been recommended by the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, have now entered into force.
The goal, that the prisons should be self-sufficient, remains – said Sándor Pintér, the Minister of Interior at the press-conference held for the official hand over of the Metropolitan Penal Institution’s Gyorskocsi street object.
The Agricultural Ministers of the EU labelled the E. coli bacteria infection a European problem at the informal meeting of the Agriculture Council held on 31 May 2011 in Debrecen. The Hungarian Presidency volunteered to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council to discuss the cucumber crisis if necessary.
The Government is determined to address the potential social and financial stability problems that arose from wide-scale foreign currency mortgage lending activity that took place in the years preceding the crisis.