On visiting the Budapest centre of the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said at a press conference that the general taxation overhaul has been finalized and now it was time for fine-tuning.
Minister for Human Resources Zoltán Balog met with Minister for Culture Nicola Beer, also responsible for education in Germany’s State of Hessen.
In future the appointment of the President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) will be the responsibility of the President and not the Prime Minister, who will only have the power to nominate a candidate for the post. Amendments to the Media Act adopted by Parliament on Monday also stipulate that the President of the Media Authority and members of the Media Council may not be re-appointed after the expiry of their nine-year mandates.
The Hungarian Parliament adopted the act ratifying the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union on Monday. The Government proposal was also supported by the MPs of the left-wing opposition: the Democratic Coalition and the Socialist Party. Representatives of Jobbik voted against the motion, wile some independent MPs abstained.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán inaugurated the new Budapest Music Center in Budapest on Saturday night. The Center includes several studios, an auditorium, music library, information centre, study room, jazz club and restaurant.
By authorisation granted by the Government, on 22 March 2013, Minister of National Development Zsuzsa Németh, the Hungarian Association for the Stockpiling of Hydrocarbons (MSZKSZ) and the representatives of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Company Plc. signed a letter of intent to launch negotiations on the transfer of the title of MMBF Zrt., which operates the Szőreg-1 natural gas safety reserve storage facility in Algyő.
The foreign ministers of the European Union all agree that efforts must be continued to seek a political solution to the Syrian conflict because that is the only way to end the current "bloodshed", Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi declared following the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Dublin on March 23.
"It is hoped that Hungary may be the guest of honour at the 2014 Biofach international trade fair in Nuremberg", said the Ministry of Rural Development's Deputy State Secretary Katalin Tóth at an agriculture conference.
In a phone call Mihály Varga congratulated Mihály Patai for being nominated for the post of Hungarian Banking Association President.
A single final solution to the problems of Hungary’s foreign currency debtors would be amazing, but it became clear in the past two years that no such solution exists, Economy Minister Mihály Varga told Portfolio.hu in an interview. The remedy will likely consist of several stages and only the existing means should be applied to assist distressed FX borrowers, he added. Varga said local energy service providers survived the 10% reduction to retail energy tariffs, adding he hoped the cabinet did successfully lower their profits because they had ample reserves in this field.