Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Speech at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of Hamburger Hungária Ltd's New Power Station
21 May 2014, Dunaújváros

Greetings to all of you, Good Afternoon!

I would also opt to get the compulsory tasks out of the way first. Today, I am placing a copy of one of today’s papers into the capsule. It is a copy of the Magyar Nemzet. “Murderers placed above public”, is one article. “A Russian agent caused his downfall.” “Bajnai liked the head-kicking too.” That would be my head, by the way. “Mourning in the Balkans.” I think it is best if we quickly place a paper like this into the time capsule and wait in the hope that the next issue will be full of better news.

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I must first of all reply in short to the question of why I feel it is an honour to have the opportunity to be here with you today. We are honouring a family invitation today. Hungary owes the Prinzhorn family a debt of thanks and we hold this family in great respect. You heard the owner speak a little earlier, but it is perhaps proper that we also say a few words about his father, because we also hold his father in high respect. And we all know that we could not be sitting here today had he not undertaken the risk, the hard work and tough decisions in the late nineties, with which he committed his family to Hungary. And so I would ask that you be so kind as to pass on our good wishes to your father.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The second reason we are here today is the strategic partnership agreement that we have concluded with each other. We are holding this foundation stone laying ceremony while the building whose foundation stone we are laying is in fact already under construction. This is a remarkable innovation, but is not totally unknown, because the situation is similar with regard to the government. We too have an old government and must now form a new one. That will occur on June 6, but in the meantime the government is already working at full steam, just as here too we are laying the foundation stone after the work has already begun. And there is something else that links what I have seen inside the factory to the logic of the government, because the fact is that the factory is using waste, which is a bad thing, to manufacture paper, which is a good thing. If you look at what governments do, then one can state that governments deal with troubles, problems and difficulties, which are bad things, but it is from these that some kind of advantage must be created for the country, which is a good thing. The logic is not unknown to us, therefore.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement that we have concluded with your company binds us, dear CEO Prinzhorn. I can perhaps tell those who have gathered here today that we reviewed a few important issues before coming here today and in accordance with the contents of our Strategic Partnership Agreement I assured the owner and CEO of the company that when Hungary formulates its new waste strategy in the near future then before doing so we will consult you and incorporate all of your observations  and I hope we will be capable of doing so  into the waste regulations. This is important because for many years the fate of Hungary’s waste management regulations were governed by ad hoc decisions. It is only now that we finally have the strength to view the issue from a suitable distance and from a good perspective and to fundamentally reregulate the sector, and from what I have seen here today it would seem that the direction we plan on moving forward in concurs almost perfectly with your interests.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

So, this is the reason we have come here today, and since we are here than in accordance with Hungarian custom we are not only here on a courtesy visit but, as they say in Hungarian, we also pay our respects, acknowledge our host and honour his performance and his achievements.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Hungarians will never forget that the Prinzhorn family stood by the people of Hungary while others left everything behind, pocketed their profits and closed shop, leaving tens of thousands of people without work. In contrast, at the zenith of the economic crisis in 2009 you invested, realised development projects, created new jobs and turned to Hungary with confidence in the future. This is a wonderful thing, a strong friendship and a serious strategic partnership that the Hungarian Government views as especially valuable. And later, Ladies and Gentlemen, when Hungary had only just accumulated enough impetus to begin moving forward, you again stood ready to forge an alliance with us in the interests of the development of Hungarian industry. As you all know, Hungary’s goal and that of the Government is to make Hungary into an industrial production centre. As a result, Ladies and Gentlemen, the company today employs 800 Hungarian people in Dunaújváros and Csepel, in addition to which it provides work to a further 1500 people indirectly. That’s 2300 families, or more precisely the livelihood of 2300 families, which you provide them the opportunity to earn.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am glad that your family, the Prinzhorn family, is creating a further 60 jobs through your latest development project, the construction and putting into commission of this power plant, and as such is acknowledging the performance achieved by your Hungarian workers thus far. Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, many things lie behind this latest investment. Things such as capital, such as owners, such as plans and ideas, but in fact what lies behind all foreign investment is the people of Hungary and the performance of the Hungarian people. From the unskilled worker to upper management, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Hungarians can and want to work. This has become absolutely clear during the past four years. The Hungarians, and Hungarian workers, learn fast, are flexible and adapt well. And so we have highly qualified professionals and we have and will always have well-trained engineers. This is what provides the real strength of the Hungarian economy and I am convinced that this is why the Hungarian economy has begun to grow during the past 18 months.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The people of Hungary also deserve recognition for the work they have performed over the past 18 months because this was the performance with which Hungary succeeded in evolving from being a regional tail-ender to become one of the region’s front-runners; we are once again competing for the title of the region’s most greatly, most deliberately and most rapidly developing country. Although there is of course serious competition from the other countries of the region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would also like to point out that the goal we have set is a just and competitive Hungary. And what this means is that if we succeed in achieving and realising our goals then everyone in this country will get what they deserve, and what we expect from people in return is that they do their utmost. If everyone gets what they deserve and everybody does their utmost then Hungary will remain among the region’s front-runners for many years to come. I would also like to tell you about the fact that made today’s visit topical, and that is that the plant that is being constructed is in fact a power station, a small power station, and energy prices will be the most important issue within the European economy during the next two or perhaps even three decades. As things stand, those countries that are unable to produce cheap energy for their own production sectors will not be competitive. And today the whole continent and the whole European Union is uncompetitive to a significant extent because it is incapable of competing with the energy prices of other continents, and predominantly with the United States.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now that we have reduced household utility prices in Hungary, it is time to begin the period of reducing energy prices for industry and for enterprises. If the European Union is together incapable of developing energy regulations that reduce the price of energy used by enterprises then Hungary, within the European Union, must achieve this itself through its own regulations. This is not a possibility, it is not a “should” or an “it would be nice”; we must do this otherwise Hungarian industry will not be competitive. I would like to remind you that at one of the upcoming meetings of the European Union’s prime ministers, while counting on the toughest possible debate and resistance, we will be making very serious decisions on this issue. And with this I have arrived at the final point I would like to make, because we cannot be Pharisaic or hypocritical; we may be laying a foundation stone, but we are after all preparing for European Parliament elections in a few days’ time. And accordingly I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the following: it is important that we send people to the European Parliament who will stand up for a large-scale, radical and rapid decrease in European energy prices, and who as such also stand up for Hungary’s interests.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I ask that you go out on Sunday and participate in the elections and that you support those political forces who have pinned a rapid reduction in energy prices onto their flags. And finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, in closing please allow me to once again thank the Prinzhorn family for the support they have provided to the Hungarian economy during the past year. Hamburger Hungária Ltd. is a trusted and proven partner to both Hungary and the Hungarian people and we may even be able to conclude longer-term cooperation agreements for development in future. I am convinced, therefore, that it is worth continuing what we have begun.

Thank you for your kind attention.

(Prime Minister’s Office)