Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke at a meeting of the Hungarian Diaspora Council on Wednesday and at the Hungarian Standing Conference (Máért) on Thursday in the Parliament Building.

The Prime Minister stated that Hungary's achievements over the past three years, including the decreasing of public debt, keeping the budget deficit under 3% of economic output and new economic growth, are such that they must be recognised in the reports of international institutions such as the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. A European Commission forecast published on Tuesday is proof that Hungary is performing better than the EU average in every respect, he added.

Hungary has offered a response to the crisis of Western civilisation, and he trusts it has been a good response. The Prime Minister also stated that he sincerely hopes that the United States, who is Hungary's greatest ally and who it would seem is not prepared to accept losing its leading global position in any field, will achieve success as the driving force of the whole of western civilisation.

He stated that the world is undergoing great changes in which former economic, political and cultural principles are being questioned. Hungarians must not ignore this, and this is why the Government has launched, for instance, a strategy of opening towards the East.

The Government has established a unique economic-cultural-social system based on a Hungarian way of thinking. The new Constitution, in place since 2011, acknowledges Hungary's Christian roots and an economy built on work, he said. He said that Hungary will return to its position as frontrunner in the region within one or two years.

On Thursday, addressing the Hungarian Standing Conference (Máért), Prime Minister Orbán announced that the Government has decided to introduce the so-called "child-care extra” system. Under the scheme, mothers could return to work for shorter shifts per day or fewer days per week within the period during which they are entitled to receive a child-care allowance or child-care benefit. Details will be outlined by Minister of State for Social Affairs Miklós Szócska later on Thursday.

The Hungarian Diaspora Council is a meeting of Hungarian organisations from all over the world, creating a representative body for the global diaspora, while the Hungarian Standing Conference (Máért) provides a forum for regular consultation with the leaders of the Hungarian minorities within the Carpathian basin.

(Prime Minister’s Office)