Economy
PM Orbán says Hungary will protect itself from immigrants
About the terrorist attack in Paris
There is no increase in direct threat in Hungary at the moment, said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday, citing a report the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) created for him, reacting to the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre in Paris.
What is facing us is a year, perhaps an era when everything is uncertain, Orbán told public radio MR1 on Friday. In this situation, those who have influence on Hungarian life, politicians and first and foremost the government must aim to make sure the country is secure in an insecure world, he added in connection with the raid on the Paris headquarter of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, where two masked slew 12 people on Wednesday.
The PM also addressed Europe’s immigration policy, saying Hungary has a well-thought-out policy in this respect. We want to protect the country from immigrants, he said. But it’s not worth speaking on the voice of reason, it is still time for mourning, he added.
During his infamous ‘illiberal democracy’ speech last summer, which was condemned by the international press, U.S. President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton too, Orbán clearly stated he is against European policy that accepts and supports immigration.
"It needs to be said firmly, clearly and gently," he said, adding that he has failed to make this a European standpoint for he has been repeatedly outvoted.
Instead of supporting immigration it would be a wise policy choice to provide assistance for people that have the capacity but not the appropriate qualifications to have a job. "The time will come when the ethnic foundation of nation states becomes questionable. Do we want that?" He added that "we don’t want to turn Europe into the United States of America."
In May 2014, Orbán had already decried immigration and celebrated Europe’s Christian identity, saying that “the notion of family in the Christian Europe still needs to be based on the marriage of man and woman."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel then said she often disagreed with Orbán, but she did not go into detail.
"I often don’t completely agree with his tonality, because he’s among those who at least give the impression that he knows things 100 percent exactly," she said.Merkel and Putin to visit Budapest
PM Orbán confirmed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Budapest has been scheduled for a specific date, with a specific programme, whereas Putin’s visit is on the agenda but there is no date set for it. He said Putin had been invited to Hungary when he had was on a working visit in Moscow last year and now it seems this visit will take place sooner than later.
Cold war sentiment
Orbán said there is again a cold war climate between the West and Russia, and that Hungary needs to strive to stay out of this while remaining allies with the USA and NATO. We need to achieve this while we do not want to be dragged into a cold war situation either by the U.S. or Russia. Our interest is to have sound allies in an unstable world. The export of goods to Russia is at risk. This, for instance, needs to be protected, he explained.
This is the objective
The aim of the 2015 budget is to fortify the situation of employees and self-employed workers, Orbán said. The goal is to elevate those who are not yet part of the middle class. The middle class needs to be strengthened, he underlined.
He said that in his book retired people are also among employees, admitting that from a sociological perspective this is not correct. But once they did earn their living, he added.
He pledged that the value of pensions will be maintained, adding that this year’s budget is also about raising pensions, referring to the fact that the 1.8% pension hike will exceed the expected inflation this year, i.e. real pension hike can be realised also next year.
More to follow!
There is no increase in direct threat in Hungary at the moment, said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday, citing a report the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) created for him, reacting to the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre in Paris.
What is facing us is a year, perhaps an era when everything is uncertain, Orbán told public radio MR1 on Friday. In this situation, those who have influence on Hungarian life, politicians and first and foremost the government must aim to make sure the country is secure in an insecure world, he added in connection with the raid on the Paris headquarter of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, where two masked slew 12 people on Wednesday.
The PM also addressed Europe’s immigration policy, saying Hungary has a well-thought-out policy in this respect. We want to protect the country from immigrants, he said. But it’s not worth speaking on the voice of reason, it is still time for mourning, he added.
During his infamous ‘illiberal democracy’ speech last summer, which was condemned by the international press, U.S. President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton too, Orbán clearly stated he is against European policy that accepts and supports immigration.
"It needs to be said firmly, clearly and gently," he said, adding that he has failed to make this a European standpoint for he has been repeatedly outvoted.
Instead of supporting immigration it would be a wise policy choice to provide assistance for people that have the capacity but not the appropriate qualifications to have a job. "The time will come when the ethnic foundation of nation states becomes questionable. Do we want that?" He added that "we don’t want to turn Europe into the United States of America."
In May 2014, Orbán had already decried immigration and celebrated Europe’s Christian identity, saying that “the notion of family in the Christian Europe still needs to be based on the marriage of man and woman."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel then said she often disagreed with Orbán, but she did not go into detail.
"I often don’t completely agree with his tonality, because he’s among those who at least give the impression that he knows things 100 percent exactly," she said.Merkel and Putin to visit Budapest
PM Orbán confirmed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Budapest has been scheduled for a specific date, with a specific programme, whereas Putin’s visit is on the agenda but there is no date set for it. He said Putin had been invited to Hungary when he had was on a working visit in Moscow last year and now it seems this visit will take place sooner than later.
Cold war sentiment
Orbán said there is again a cold war climate between the West and Russia, and that Hungary needs to strive to stay out of this while remaining allies with the USA and NATO. We need to achieve this while we do not want to be dragged into a cold war situation either by the U.S. or Russia. Our interest is to have sound allies in an unstable world. The export of goods to Russia is at risk. This, for instance, needs to be protected, he explained.
This is the objective
The aim of the 2015 budget is to fortify the situation of employees and self-employed workers, Orbán said. The goal is to elevate those who are not yet part of the middle class. The middle class needs to be strengthened, he underlined.
He said that in his book retired people are also among employees, admitting that from a sociological perspective this is not correct. But once they did earn their living, he added.
He pledged that the value of pensions will be maintained, adding that this year’s budget is also about raising pensions, referring to the fact that the 1.8% pension hike will exceed the expected inflation this year, i.e. real pension hike can be realised also next year.
More to follow!
