Mr Orbán said the goal of the government is to pursue a pro-family policy, as a result of which the desired children are born, and those who want to have children will find themselves faced with a bearable challenge, rather than a financial burden. He added that in the future in Hungary, those who decided to have children would be better-off even financially.
He indicated that we were not there yet, but we were moving ever closer to the point where we could say that those who decided to have children were not any worse-off financially, even in the short term, than those who did not.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the fact that Western Europe had responded to demographic problems with migration because they thought that “one child is merely one child, and if there are no children of our own, we’ll replace them with migrants.” He highlighted that Hungary had not embarked on this path. Instead, we decided to remove the financial obstacles that make starting a family difficult for young people.
He stressed that people in the West wanted Hungary, too, to become an immigrant country, but on the issue of immigration, Hungary was not prepared to make a compromise.
He said, based on an average income, in the case of the tax exemption of the infant care benefit introduced from 1 July, families will have an extra income of HUF 78,000 a month, while in the case of the child care benefit, an extra HUF 43,000. He added: if a person is on infant care benefit, meaning that they spend the first six months after the birth of their child at home, they may even find themselves in a situation where they receive more money than if they were working.
He also said with the doubling of the tax benefit available in relation to children, the incomes of one million families have increased from July. In the case of families raising one child, the tax benefit has increased from HUF 10,000 to HUF 15,000, in the case of families with two children, from HUF 40,000 to HUF 60,000, while in the case of families with three children, from HUF 99,000 to HUF 148,000, and from 1 January, this will happen again, meaning that the tax benefit in a family with two children will increase to HUF 80,000, while in a family with three children to almost HUF 200,000, he said, relating the details. As a result, the budget of a family will increase by HUF 1 million to HUF 1.2 million a year, he pointed out.
Mr Orbán also mentioned that there was enormous interest in the state-subsidised fixed 3 per cent housing loan with which people can enter the realm of home owners in Hungary at a very young age. He stressed that the loan with a maximum term of 25 years and a fixed interest rate of 3 per cent until the end of the term, which was also free from exchange rate risks, was particularly favourable for those who wanted to buy their first homes.
He said if someone takes out a loan of HUF 20 million as part of the programme, they save HUF 60,000 a month compared with the interest on market facilities; if they borrow HUF 30 million, they save HUF 90,000 a month, while if they borrow HUF 50 million, they save HUF 150,000 a month. This means that those who are interested can buy homes more cheaply and can also buy bigger homes, he said.
He recalled that in Hungary there was a major debate on whether the government should support the construction of rental properties or should help with home ownership. He said, in his opinion, while there is also a need for rental properties, a rental property always involves a degree of dependence. However, “the essence of the Hungarian dream” is to own your own home because, he pointed out, “in a Hungarian person’s mind this is what lends them the ultimate independence somehow.”
He stressed that with the fixed 3 per cent loan, the amortisation instalment would be lower than the rent borrowers would pay, and additionally, at the end of the term, they would own their own housing property. He said the loan helps people to join the community of home owners already at a young age, and with this, they strengthen the middle classes and also the nation.
He said the essence of the middle classes lies not just in us speaking the same language and sharing a culture, but also in that “Hungary is the place where you have something and you belong the community of home owners […], you have something that ties you here.”
Regarding the details, the Prime Minister highlighted that there was no exchange rate risk involved in this facility, and recalled that in 2002, the Left had done away with the then housing support system and had attempted to guide people towards risky foreign currency loans. “Everyone can make a start” on the subsidised credit facility, a commitment to having children is not a requirement, and it does not matter if you are from a village, a town or the capital. At the same time, combining this facility with other forms of housing support and other credit facilities, people have access to large amounts with state subsidies, he pointed out.
He also spoke about the fact that, as a result of the credit programme, far more homes would be built than before. He said the programme supports home buyers and young people, but they set limits, thereby preventing a price increase. He added that the facility was not available for the purchase of luxury homes. The government built limits preventing an increase in prices into the programme: the price of a flat cannot exceed HUF 100 million, while the price of a family house cannot be more than HUF 150 million. Additionally, the new or second-hand home cannot cost more than HUF 1.5 million per square metre, he stated.
The Prime Minister takes the view that after a swift boost, the housing market will settle for a balanced, harmonious growth. He said the construction industry capacities necessary for this expansion are available. After they managed to come to an agreement with Roma communities, that rather than receiving social benefits, they are supported by the government through work, a very large number of Roma have joined the realm of work, in particular, the construction industry.
According to the Prime Minister, not assuming any ill intentions, the Tisza Party is criticising the Home Start Programme due to a lack of information. He said Tisza is a party that has never governed before, and therefore, does not know how these mechanisms work.
Mr Orbán stressed that those who attacked this initiative in politics, had not yet implemented such housing programmes, and so they did not have the knowledge that the governing party did.
The Prime Minister said as long as the war continues, the Hungarian economy will not be able to render the performance that it has the potential for, but as soon as a ceasefire and peace set in, the performance of the Hungarian economy will increase by magnitudes. He said it was a question whether they should venture to start the fixed 3 per cent housing credit programme as amidst war circumstances – such as those that Europe and the world are in today – all such measures involve a risk. At the same time, he said in continuation, he took the view that “war or no war,” “the family tax revolution” and the fixed 3 per cent housing programme had to be launched, but for the same reason, they built in a few braking mechanisms as well. These economic programmes will fundamentally change the way we think about the future, he concluded.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the fact that there was a need for a Russian-European summit regarding the conclusion of the Russo-Ukrainian war. He added: it is good news that next week, the Russian and US presidents will meet as a ceasefire can only be concluded and the sanctions can only be lifted if the US and Russian presidents come to an agreement. He recalled that Hungary had had an official proposal on Brussels’ table for years. According to this, rather than the leaders of the European institutions, the German chancellor and the French president should go to Moscow together in order to negotiate on behalf of Europe, or should organise a meeting in a neutral territory. The Russian-American summit may well take place, and this is good news because peace may set in, but if we Europeans are left out, we will become mere extras in the administration of our own continent’s security affairs, he warned.
If Europe wants to keep the decisions about its future in its own hands, then we must behave according to the rules of diplomacy, if there is trouble, we must negotiate. This war cannot be concluded on the frontline, there is no solution on the battlefield, it must be concluded by diplomats and politicians at the negotiating table, he stated.
He said with the tariff agreement between the United States and the EU, the EU has lost 12 per cent as instead of the former 2 to 3 per cent tariff, we will have to pay a 15 per cent tariff on products exported to the United States, while the Americans will not be required to pay tariffs. This, in his view, “will kick big corporations that export to the United States in the side,” and could have a gravely negative impact on jobs in Hungary. Therefore, there will be a job protection action plan and an industry protection action plan which will seek to ward off the effects of the poor agreement concluded by the EU. The proposed measures will be tabled by the government before the end of the summer, he stated.
In response to the news that it has been revealed that in the 2016 US presidential election, the Democrats tried to discredit Donald Trump with non-existent Russian contacts, he said the Democratic administration, the Soros Foundations and the paid media built up an unfounded story about relations between Donald Trump and the Russians in order to explain away Hillary Clinton’s election defeat. They even involved state agencies in devising a false story, he pointed out.
He added that this was nothing new in Hungary. “We are protecting state agencies to prevent them from becoming involved in things like this, but the Soros Foundations are here, the dollar media are here, and the Americans were here for a while, they have now been replaced by Brussels. They do nothing else, but continually build disinformation campaigns against Hungary, the goal of which is to weaken the government, to induce the government to make certain decisions that are in line with the Brussels interests, but are contrary to the Hungarian interests, and to finally succeed in helping a Brussels government into power in Hungary as well,” Mr Orbán said.
