15 November 2013
Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, President Pálinkás,
It is the custom in European culture to modestly decline any praise one receives. While of course we all know that people are happy to receive praise. And this is no different in the case of politicians. And in our profession, I'm sure you know, it is in vogue to question even the seemingly most obvious achievements. There are, however, special times when there is nothing to question, and today is without doubt an occasion of this nature. And so, while I wave off the praise that we have received here from the President of the Academy, I would like to tell you that we feel that this research centre also belongs to us. Nevertheless, this is a Christian-democrat motivated government, and so my reply to the President of the Academy is simply Soli Deo Gloria! We are happy to be able to say this increasingly often at occasions of this kind all around the country.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
An occasion such as this is a good opportunity for me, party through the scientific community and partly via the media, to speak out to Hungarian citizens who are interested in science and to share with them a few simple, but important thoughts. First of all, I would like to speak about the fact that in our view, well-educated individuals are our country's gold reserve, which we should preserve like good mercantilists. The question isn't whether a young researcher will go and work abroad or not; this is a rather primitive approach. The question is, in fact, can they come back? Can they find the same conditions at home that they experienced abroad? And accordingly the suitable answer to the migration of young researchers isn't to express pity, but the construction of a globally competitive research centre to which they can return. József Pálinkás launched the Momentum Programme in 2009 to keep Hungarian researchers at home and improve research conditions. And it is at this point that I would like to make some personal comments. When, sometime in 2010, President Pálinkás was kind enough to invite me to lunch at the Academy and introduced me to a few young researchers who returned home within the framework of this programme, I said to them that it would seem the use of European Union communications terminology has spread here at home, because it is in the EU that instead of callings things by name we use the names of things to denote communications objectives; Momentum Programme. I asked them, why don't we call it something else, and the young researchers and President Pálinkás all told me that I would see, this is the right word to use in this case and it makes sense and will definitely also make sense in future. The results, I feel, have proven their argument. Since the summer of 2013, 79 Momentum research groups have been conducting research in Hungary out of a tender budget of 3 billion forints, and will, we very much hope, achieve internationally significant results.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When we discussed this issue, the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences indicated that one of the greatest obstacles to the realisation of our goals was the fragmented nature of the institutional system. He claimed that work was being performed within a fragmented framework, resulting in low efficiency. And for this reason he asked, and we agreed, that there should be a program of renewal aimed at the establishment of a true research centre with a stable financial background and which performs successful research in Hungary.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The second thing I would like to remind you of is that this building here is a success story that has been constructed around a former total failure. Let us not forget that three years ago the Academy bought out a bankrupt, half-finished ruin, which without outside assistance was in danger of becoming a misshapen advert for the almost anarchic state of affairs at the time. In 2010, we decided that there was no place for whining and development projects built on half-measure solutions in a country that wishes to become one of the winners in the post-crisis world. Practically speaking, and I can perhaps also speak in the name of President Pálinkás, we grew bored of having to stagger around the ghost houses and distorted structures of the communist world. Thanks to our joint efforts over the past three years, Hungary is today increasingly strong and we are capable of providing more and more funding to our culture and to our intellectual and scientific lives. And at this point I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this building was not constructed at a typical time. It was constructed at a time when Europe is experiencing an extremely serious crisis. At a time when everyone is putting off, postponing, defunding and rescheduling development projects of this nature. This was also a serious dilemma for Hungary, but in 2010 we cane to an agreement with the President of the Academy that despite the crisis, the budget would provide increased funding for Hungarian science each and every year.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is the reason that although, in line with European recession, in 2012 we also experienced a decline in the gross national product here in Hungary, we stood by our earlier economic policy. We stood by our earlier science policy, and perhaps it is this perseverance that is behind the latest economic figures, published yesterday I believe, according to which Hungary's economic performance, that certain magic GDP, increased by 1.7 percent in the third quarter, surprising everyone. Everyone, in this case, does not include the government.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Perseverance, I think, is a characteristic that is a requirement both in our profession, politics, and in science. If one gives up their ideas in the face of temporary difficulties, that will never result, I believe, in international, sensational research results, just as it will not result in true nation-building within the field of politics.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I very much hope that this economic data indicates that on seeing the fourth quarter figures for the national product we may once again occupy the position that we set out to achieve ten years ago as one of the leaders of the region, and from which we later became the region's straggler, and can once again become one of the leaders of the region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 2013, the Hungarian Government was able, precisely because it has persevered, to follow the tradition that the founder of the Academy of Sciences, Count István Széchényi established in Hungary. That of philanthropy, as President Pálinkás also mentioned. The Government decided to transform the 9.5 billion forints that the Academy had borrowed in 2009 for the construction of the Centre, as a loan with what can be described as a budget trick of the time, into non-refundable support.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Research Centre for Natural Sciences is one of ten research centres that were established on 1 January 2012 within the framework of the renewal programme initiated by the President of the Academy. We have supported this programme from the very beginning; we do so today and will continue to do so in the future. Although it only provides the conditions for research, I think it important to also say a few words about the building itself, because when we were discussing the completion of this building with President Pálinkás, we asked that it not be a typical building, but that the building itself also be worthy of the Hungarian spirit and Hungary's past scientific results, and that it also include suitable technical solutions. And so I can now tell the public that the Research Centre for Natural Sciences is the location for the work of 544 employees. We have heard that it includes 250 world-class laboratories, 156 chemical enclosures, workrooms and communal areas. The building is also worthy of note, because I very much hope that the building itself also symbolises the future. This is an energy-efficient building operated by all kinds of automatic building management systems. It uses solar panels and recycles rainwater. In the case of Hungary, where one of the biggest problems is the fact that we must import a significant amount of our energy requirements, this approach and way of thinking will I hope become the norm in future. This is how we imagine the future, and this is how we imagine the future of modern Hungary.
And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to talk about another issue. A general issue that is also well know outside both Hungary and Europe. Throughout the world, businesses are having trouble finding suitably trained professionals for the jobs they advertise. And while they can't find suitable professionals, unemployment is still high. It is above 10 percent in Europe. This problem can be solved in two ways. One is if these businesses drain suitably trained workers away from other countries. We know this process well and we Hungarians also suffer because of this process. What we would like, however, is that instead of taking away talented and well-trained Hungarian professionals, enterprises instead decide to establish a presence here in Hungary. For this reason, in 2010 the Hungarian Government committed itself to harmonising the requirements of the economy's operators with the Hungarian secondary and higher education systems and with scientific research. Hungarian researchers and experts have an excellent reputation, and this is a mountain for which it is worth Mohamed visiting Budapest.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many enterprises have indeed come to Hungary during the past three years. We must facilitate the continuation of this influx and that can only happen if the education system is in harmony with the market and the expectations of employers. And this also coincides with our plans, because we don’t want to simply be Europe's assembly line, but would also like to play our part in research and development. This objective is served on the one hand by the strategic partnership agreements we are signing with large, international companies operating in Hungary, and we will in fact be signing yet another strategic partnership agreement with a large, Japanese company later today, and on the other hand, among others, through supporting the work of the Academy. We have increased the funding that the Academy receives from the budget, which stood at 35.4 billion forints in 2010, to 43.1 billion forints for this year, and according to the proposed budget for next year, which is already before the Honourable members of the House, funding will increase to over 49 billion forints. And so we can say that we have been able to increase annual funding from 35 billion forints to 49 billion. In addition, the Hungarian Government is providing 8 billion forints in special funding towards the establishment of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Research Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences, which it is our hope will be completed in 2014. We very much hope that this means that the Hungarian Academy of Sciences will begin its third century of existence as a renewed, modern, 21st century institution.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please allow me to declare, with due modesty, but also with the self-assurance provided by the work we have completed, that the success that is symbolised by this building here is our mutual success. It is the result of the solidarity between the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Government. I repeat, with modesty but no less sincerely, that we were brave, we dared to dream big, we worked hard to achieve success; we saved a seemingly lost investment and turned it around to serve the best interests of the country. I think it is important that this success is in part also due to the work of the Hungarian research community over the past years and decades, because the Hungarian Government was able to come to an agreement with the Academy of Sciences, in addition to the person of its undoubtedly highly laudable President, because behind the Academy lies a wealth of experience and a standing accumulated through many decades of work, which created the foundations of trust that dictated, if the Hungarian Government comes to an agreement on something with the Academy, it can be absolutely certain that the Academy will also fulfil its part of that agreement.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you to everyone who took part in the creation of this institution. I would also like to wish much success and unceasing work to all the researchers who are helping Hungary become stronger through their talent and diligence.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The renewal of Hungary will be successful if more and more people are willing to set out in new directions. We will be successful if our best people believe that they are in the best place here, in the middle of Europe, if they recognise that this is not becoming the land of risks, but the land of opportunity for them also. And if they believe this, then we can truly trust in our ascension. And we can trust in the fact that our grandchildren will look on the researchers of today as great and legendary individuals. It is to this that I wish you much strength and good health. It is with respect that I thank you for your kind attention.
(Prime Minister’s Office)
