Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Speech at the Inauguration of the Electronics Waste Recycling Centre in Karcag

Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen! Mr, Mayor, Minister, Dear People of Karcag,

We have already found out the most important thing a little earlier: "Neither the Jászság, nor the Kunság, nor the Court of Karcag have any power here", if I heard correctly. I wouldn't call people's approach in this area an aulic, Pannonian mindset.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to respectfully greet you also as proof of the fact that this stubborn collective spirit of yours can be the substrate not only for works of art, but also for serious creations of industry. When I was preparing to come here today, I thought about the fact that I am coming to attend the opening of an electronics waste recycling centre and if someone had told me as a child that something like this exists, I probably wouldn't have understood what they were talking about. And in fact when I was in high school we still probably didn't even know that electronics waste existed. And now we are standing here and are about to inaugurate a plant of this kind. It is clear to what extent the world has changed.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

But things have also changed a lot in Hungary over the past four years. In addition to the joyous moments, I would also like to remind you that the country had to be dragged back from the edge of the precipice, from the edge of the precipice of financial collapse, and we had to undertake serious conflicts to be able to travel our own path. This statement requires no explanation in a place like this.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Luckily, and thanks to all the hard work we have performed, our efforts were not in vain and we are now in a position in which in its forecast for the upcoming years even the European Commission, who is often in disagreement with us, describes Hungary as a promising economy. It has transpired that there is life in these parts after all and there will in fact also be economic growth, and what's more, the budget is in order and public debt will continue to decrease. In summary, Hungary is slowly but surely occupying a position that can be called a European success story.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While people like us, meaning people who work in the administration, deal with large, macroeconomic figures and issues, we sometimes forget the fact that there are in general no great successes. Hungary's great successes are all made up of individual and local successes. So there is no successful Hungarian economy without a successful Karcag, without a successful Karcag Industrial Park and without the successful Hungarian businesspeople who work in it.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

And this is why it is also important for Karcag to perform well and for Karcag to perform better, because it is only then that the country can also be successful. I have added up the figures: we have removed 6 billion forints in debt from the city and from the shoulders of the people of Karcag, while we have brought 12 billion forints in funding for development projects. That is a total of 18 billion forints; this is by how much the city of Karcag is better off because it has a national government that is committed to rural Hungary, compared to if it had stuck with the previous, internationalist course.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Not to mention the fact that in addition to the 6 billion forints in debt, we also took away from you two ministers, which in today's world is a noteworthy ratio, because there are only eight ministers in the government, two of whom are from Karcag. The number of ministers per square kilometre is almost certainly the highest here in the Nagykunság region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

But while we talk about the debts we have taken away and while we talk about the development projects we have brought, we should not behave as if everything were in order, because life here is still very difficult and there is still much that we need to do. To mention just the most important thing: I see there is an unemployment rate of 13-14 percent in the region. On my way here, I see that highway 4 has still not been completed, and when later today I travel on from here to Mezőtúr, I will see that the minor roads are still in a terrible state. We may have worked a lot and performed many important tasks, but we still have a lot of work to do before every family in Karcag can say that their present is secure and their future is secure because they have a job.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I was also surprised for a moment when I was preparing to come here today by the fact that we are after all inaugurating a modern industrial unit here in Karcag, while if you ask the Hungarian people then nine out of ten of them will say that Karcag is an agricultural city.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The fact is that Karcag is undoubtedly a rightly famous agricultural city, but the world has changed such that even the most successful agricultural cities can no longer get by on agriculture alone. Without industrial development, agricultural areas are also not viable. Without industry there are not enough jobs. Agriculture in itself will never be able to provide enough jobs, and so we must develop industry everywhere, including in our historically agricultural regions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is of course important how we develop industry in areas like this. I would like to congratulate the people of Karcag, and especially the operators of the Industrial Park, for having established this industrial park, because if we want to develop our industry in a cultured way without destroying our natural environment, and if we want to develop our industry without treading on our agricultural traditions, then we must do so according to a well thought out concept. This is how we can protect our settlements while conforming to our economic requirements. What this means, in other words, is that we must establish industrial parks to where we can direct our industrial investment projects. I would also like to congratulate you on the fact, as we have just heard, that the majority of this industrial park has also been categorised as an eco-park. It is with modesty, so we too can share in this success, that I would like to mention that we provided funding for the establishment of this industrial park within the framework of the New Széchényi Plan.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would also like to say a few words, especially in such a rightfully famous location for Hungarian agriculture, that the industrialisation, the reindustrialisation that we have embarked on is occurring at a pretty good pace. One of the manifestations of this is the inauguration of today's project, or rather of today's enterprise. We don't usually talk about this, but the countries of Europe are often placed in order according to what percentage of the gross national product is derived from their industrial production. In Europe today, the average contribution of industrial production to the national economy is 15 percent. In Hungary, it is 23 percent; we are much higher than the European average. And if I add the fact that there are only two countries in Europe in which industrial production contributes a larger percentage to the gross national product than in Hungary, the Germans and the Czechs, but they too are only ahead be a nose, then I can state that Hungary is the third most industrialised nation in Europe. And if I understand our own plans and interpret the trends correctly, and if Minister Varga [Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga] is capable of continuing to do a good job over the next four years, then by the end of the next four years we will have a good chance of stating that, within Europe, industry contributes to the whole of the national economy to the greatest extent here in Hungary, meaning that we will be able to enter the competition for the title of Europe's most industrialised country. And this will create both new job opportunities and new jobs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Hungarian industrial development cannot do without international giants, industrial giants, who come to Hungary, realise investment projects, include Hungarian enterprises in their supply chain and put the products of the Hungarian workforce on to the global market. We are of course very glad to welcome factories of this kind, and we have inaugurated several such factories in the area recently and in Szolnok, although Sándor [Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas, from Karcag] warned me that the name of that city should not be mentioned in a place like this, but I would like to say that the people who live there are Hungarian too and we must all also be glad of their success.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

But one is even happier when one has the pleasure of inaugurating an enterprise that is in Hungarian hands. Where it isn't just a question of Hungarian finding work and Hungarian families earning a living, but where the enterprise itself, the capital, the business is also in Hungarian hands. It is not easy for Hungarian-owned enterprises to perform at international level. I would like to congratulate the businesspeople who have cooperated here, this business group, for having succeeded in finding a gap in the market in which they can be the market leaders in Hungary. They have succeeded in finding a segment of the market in which, as Hungarian entrepreneurs, they were able to include such modern technology that I am able to now tell you that today we are going to inaugurate the most modern electronics waste recycling plant not just in Hungary, but on the whole continent, and it is owned by Hungarians. This is a huge success and I congratulate the owners and wish them must strength and good health for further development and expansion.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have heard that the plant will mean the creation of some 170 jobs directly, but I would also like to mention the fact that there are related work processes, and if these begin operating at full steam then that will mean two or three times as many further jobs, and this means that this enterprise could mean the creation of a total of 400-500 new workplaces.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What Minister Sándor Fazekas mentioned a little earlier is also important, that electronic instruments today have taken on a form in which we no longer repair them but instead throw them away. This is a clear indication of the task at hand, according to which we must today not only be able to assemble such products, but we also need to be able to take them apart, because if we were to simply throw them away it would represent a level of waste that a country that is low in raw materials such as Hungary simply cannot allow itself to tolerate. This is why it is important, as we have heard, that although we are inaugurating a single plant here today, we must also establish other, similar plants, because after having established a network of assembly plants, Hungary also requires a network of disassembly plants.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is also important to mention, because [The Ministry of Rural Development's Minister of State for Environmental Affairs] Zoltán Illés is also here and he will reprehend us if we do not talk about it, that this plant uses closed system technology in view of the fact that the disassembly of products of this kind can pose a danger to the environment, and so it is important that breaking up this electronics waste into its components should occur within a closed system, meaning that no pollutants can enter the air, the soil or the water system.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would also like talk to you about the fact that, as we have heard, 18 million tons of waste are generated in Hungary each year. Only 5 percent of this waste is used to generate energy. This is a very low ratio. Western European countries are capable of recycling energy from a much larger ratio of this kind of waste. We are doing a little better with regard to recycling. In 2010, Hungary was capable of recycling 31 percent of all its waste, and the latest figure I have available is for 2012, from which we can see that over the space of just two years this figure rose to 37 percent, meaning we were capable of recycling 37% of our waste, which is not a bad figure, but it still means that we could be recycling a further 63% of it. My wish for the businesspeople here is that they are able to successfully exploit this inherent business opportunity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is also important that I report on the fact that we have not been inactive within the field of waste management over the course of the past four years, thanks to the responsible members of the government who deal with this field of affairs. We have adopted a Waste Act and introduced a waste contribution, which is one of the reasons we are able to realise projects such as this one. We have also introduced regulations according to which only those non-profit organisations can perform public services, and I am talking about refuse collection here, that are community-owned. I would also like to inform you of the fact that selective refuse collection will be introduced nationally from 2015, or at least we hope so, in addition to which we have established the National Waste Management Agency, which is capable of improving the state of affairs in Hungary and reducing the sometimes litter-ridden and neglected image of some of the country's settlements.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The illegal metal trade and metal theft. This is also something we must mention when talking about waste. We have tried for a long time to trust in the discretion of potential perpetrators. This was not a successful policy. And so instead of a step-by-step politics of gradually increasing punishments we have taken an approach of radical, tough and immediate action and have changed the related legislation. In future, metal theft and thievery will be severely punished in view of the fact that it is a dishonour and shame with which honest people find it very difficult to live when even our public statues are stolen and when we must face metal theft that endangers the safety of public transport on a daily basis. This is unacceptable and accordingly we will apply the strictest possible legal sanctions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today is also an important occasion for us because it represents a step towards establishing order within the field of waste management, and as such in our own backyards.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

No matter how much I would like to, or others would like me to, I cannot ignore the fact that there will be elections on 6 April. And of course, if I really had to, I am sure I could come up with a good comparison between waste management and the upcoming elections. But instead of attempting a manoeuvre of this kind, I would instead simply admit that this will be an important election. And if you will allow me, since we are up to our ankles in the election campaign, or rather are wading in it up to our waists, I would like to ask you not to forget about this upcoming date. 6 April will be an important day in the life of Hungary. It may easily be the case that sometime in the future it will be regarded as a date of historic significance, because after all, we must decide what direction the country will move in. You have seen everything, you know everything and you know about everything, because all political forces in Hungary have has ample opportunity to show the country what they can do. Some have had the opportunity of doing so for eight years, and on this last occasion we were given the opportunity to do so for four. So we have a basis for comparison. Knowing the political situation in this neck of the woods, which is the direct consequence of the folk song that I quoted at the very beginning of my speech, I would ask the good people of Karcag and the Kumanians, because although everyone likes to tread their own path and this has many positive aspects, there are nevertheless issues with regard to which we must seek to be unified, and so I would like to ask you to place the issue of unity in first place at the upcoming elections. Do not play with the thought, since one can post two votes at the same time in Hungary, for various clever reasons and calculations, of splitting your votes. Every success that we have achieved over the past four years was only possible because we were the most unified nation in Europe. If there is no unity, there is no strength, and then even with the greatest courage and the best of intentions, we cannot fight the battles of the kind that we have had to fight over the course of the past four years and will need to keep fighting over the course of the next four years. Those who split their votes are acting against unity. Those who act against unity are reducing our strength. Those who reduce Hungary's strength are not giving us a chance to represent our national interests in the debates in which national interests must be represented in modern politics and in Europe. And accordingly I would like to ask you to keep the issue of unity in mind. I would like to thank the people of Karcag for having always stood by us since 1990. You have always placed their vote of confidence in us since 1990, when we were still scantily-bearded adolescents, then when we were young men and then also when we had become grown men and fathers. We have always felt your support. I have always been able to come here, we have always been understood here and we have always been able to begin reconstruction again here. I am grateful for this to the people of Karcag. We are men after all, and we rarely get emotional, but believe me, it is important for a government, and even for a Prime Minister, to feel that there is clear and indisputable support behind them. This is what I have always received from you. As the numbers I quoted at the beginning of my speech show, I am doing my best to repay your kindness, and all I can tell you is that I will keep doing my best in future.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

(Prime Minister’s Office)