Interior Minister Sándor Pintér held negotiation in Vienna with Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior Johanna Mikl-Leitner and Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic on common fight against illegal migration.
Commemorations were held in Japan and worldwide to remember the victims of the powerful earthquake and the ensuing devastating tsunami striking Japan on 11 March 2011.
On 20 March 2012 Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi paid an official visit to Bucharest. He participated in discussions with Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu and was received on a courtesy visit by Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu and Head of the Senate Vasile Blaga. János Martonyi attended a meeting with Hunor Kelemen, President of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) as well.
Minister of State for Development Policy Coordination Ágnes Molnár participated in the consultation of heads responsible for cohesion policy in the Visegrád countries and Slovenia on 22 March 2012 in Prague. During the meeting the parties accepted a joint statement on their position regarding the proposed regulation package on the future of cohesion policy.
The Transport Council discussed the draft regulation on trans-European transport network development in the first reading. Member State ministers for transport approved of a general approach on the draft on 22 March 2012 in Brussels. The proposed regulation, which is of outstanding significance for Hungary as well as the Central European region for both transport policy and economic considerations, sets out the directions of developing the European Union’s transport network up to 2050. Once the issues previously giving reason for concern had been reassuringly settled, the Hungarian delegation headed by Minister of State for Infrastructure Pál Völner voted for the approval of the general approach.
In an interview given on Bavarian public television, PM Viktor Orbán said that before the last change of government, Hungary was in a more difficult situation than Greece, but that in the future, it will be a model for others, thanks to the Government’s reform policies, and the ability of Hungarians to regain their footing.
The experience our soldiers gain in mission areas can be put to good use in the interest of territorial defence, the armed defence of the Homeland”, said Dr. Csaba Hende on March 20. The Minister of Defence attended in Szolnok the “Welcome Home” ceremony for the 11th rotation of the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team (HUN PRT-11) and the farewell ceremony for the troops to deploy with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
According to the latest flash report of the Central Statistical Office, on the basis of data adjusted for calendar effects, in January 2012 the volume of retail sales was higher by 0.6 percent in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. This figure places Hungary among the twelve EU member countries which registered growth compared to the first month of 2011.
The National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) together with its partner institute, the French National School of Administration - Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), the Budapest French Institute (BFI) and the French Embassy in Budapest organised a joint conference with a programme to focus on giving a better understanding of the current public administration reforms in both countries.
Hungarian-French Conference Entitled “Modernisation Of Public Administration: Public Service Training Challenges in France and Hungary” was hosted by the Budapest French Institute on 21 March 2012.