The 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-16) was concluded with an agreement on 10 December 2010. With the adoption and signing of the agreements drafted by the working groups, the participating member states ratified the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol and declared the necessity of drafting a new climate treaty. The adopted documents also set out the commitments of the United States and developing countries relating to climate policy and the reduction of greenhouse gases. The Hungarian delegation was led by Péter Olajos, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of National Development responsible for the development of the green economy and climate policy. The Hungarian delegation included several climate policy experts of the ministry.
The leadership and diplomatic corps of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary was shocked to hear the sad news of the death of Presidential special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke.
Minister of Defence of the Hungarian Republic Dr Csaba Hende participated in the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU in Brussels on 9 December.
Pál Völner, state secretary of the Ministry of National Development, met British Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond in the spirit of the preparation for the EU presidency on 9 December 2010 in London.
One of the most important goals of the National Collaboration Government established in May 2010 is the development of Hungarian rural areas, and, at the same time, the regaining of respect for rural life. The affairs of Hungarian rural regions and agriculture are not only the problems of those living in villages and involved with agricultural production, but the whole of society shares in the successes and failures of rural areas. Deviating from previous years the present government is setting a fundamentally new direction for the development of agriculture, it is primarily promoting the development of small and medium sized family enterprises.
The Márai program to be financed from a HUF 1 bn budget will start in January 2011, the target of which is to support the publication, distribution and presence in libraries of literary and educational works – announced Géza Szőcs, under-secretary responsible for culture and Marcell Jankovics, president of the commission of the National Cultural Fund on Thursday.
It is indispensable for Hungary's renewal that corruption is recognized as a common enemy. In recent years, unpunished and systemic corruption and its toleration has had a major role in the development of the country's financial and economic situation, and in the degradation of everyday moral standards and trust in society. The government which came to power in May is committed to raising the level of trust in the state, and it will ensure responsible management of national assets and public funds, the exposure of corruption, and the prosecution of those found guilty of criminal malpractice.
The troops stationed at Camp Nothing Hill were visited by Colonel Carlo Emiliani, the newly appointed Commander of the Multinational Battle Group-West, MNBG-W, Lieutenant Colonel Boris Rutar, Deputy Commander of MNBG-W and Lieutenant Colonel Angelo Del Lungo, Commander of the Italian manoeuvre company.
According to the announcement by the Prime Minister’s Office, in the 2011 budget the Government will increase the subsidies to sports to more than one and a half times as high as compared to the present sports budget of HUF 16 billion.
Effective as of 3 December 2010, the Minister for national development, Tamás Fellegi has been appointed Government Commissioner for Hungarian-Chinese Economic Relations for a term of 18 months.
Between 6 and 9 December, Tamás Fellegi is meeting leaders of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Railways, as well as the heads of large companies and banks in Beijing to conduct negotiations.
Minister of Defence Dr Csaba Hende paid a few-hour official visit to Berlin where he had talks with the Minister of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg on 7 December.
Hungary would like to contribute to the execution of the Europe 2020 Strategy with its particular national capabilities and priorities. The primary priority of the government’s economic policy is to improve employment – it also appears as Hungary’s most important commitment of the National Reform Programme, outlining the execution of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
The 500-700bn HUF extra gap in the budget left behind by the Socialist government forced the new government to urgently introduce measures aimed at increasing revenues and cutting expenditure.
The new Hungarian government is firmly determined to make Hungary the 21st century financial services centre of Central Europe by the recently released, long-term and sound economic policy concept. To reach European competitiveness standards, we intend to create an environment with such taxation as well as legal and market regulatory background which, by stimulating financial investments, could turn Hungary into an attractive destination for foreign institutional investors and which could facilitate the long-term rise of domestic savings rate.
General Hakan Syren, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee paid an official visit to Budapest on December 6. He was received with military honours. Then he laid his wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Heroes’ Square.
Report on the measures taken in response to Council recommendation of 7 July 2009 under Article 104(7) of the Treaty
The HDF PRT (Hungarian Defence Forces Provincial Reconstruction Team) has nothing to do with space mission. Instead they carry out reconnaissance missions on the main road named Uranus connecting Pol-e Khumri with Mazar-e Sharif.
Parliamentary State Secretary Dr István Simicskó held discussions on the possibilities of cooperation between the Hungarian and the Slovakian Armies in Bratislava.
Jaroslaw Pietras, Director-General in the EU Council's Secretariat-General (DG I) was welcomed in Budapest on 29 November 2010 by Iván Tamás Kovács, Deputy State Secretary in charge of European Union and International Affairs and Péter Olajos, Deputy-State Secretary Responsible for Green Economy and Climate Policy. Of the EU Council's secretariats-general, "DG I" is responsible for policies on climate change, environment protection, healthcare, consumer protection, food safety, education, youth policies, culture and audio-visual policies.
The Ambassador of the United States in Budapest informed the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary well in advance about the planned publication of documents by WikiLeaks.
The objective of the comprehensive pension reform currently under way in Hungary is to return to the two-pillar pension system, based on social solidarity on the one hand and voluntary contributions on the other, which is in place in eighteen EU Member States, from the current three-pillar system which is hopelessly threatening the budget balance, and is financially unviable in the short, medium or long run. Having accomplished this transformation, the government is committed to maintain and support voluntary private pension funds parallel to the state-run social security pension pillar.
Zoltán Schváb, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of National Development in charge of transport and co-chairman of the Accident Prevention Committee of the Hungarian Police Force, opened the conference "How to go on? Road Safety after the White Book" on 30 November 2010 in Budapest. The State Secretary reported that Hungary's action programme for the next few years was just before finalisation. During the event it was made known that a total of HUF 1.8 billion co-financing had been made available for local councils to implement road safety projects in the framework of the recently published tenders up to 2013.
The most preferred target for insurgent activity is Shahabuddin triangle. It has become legendary since it is a strategically important area straddling a Y-shaped junction of highways linking Kabul with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Four hundred and eight contract soldiers, completing the basic training have taken the military oath at the HDF Central Training Base in Szentendre.