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The Prime Minister mentioned a worker loan similar to the student loan, the capitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises, the introduction of a permanent 13th monthly pension and the doubling of the tax benefit available in relation to children as part of the plan of action attached to the new economic policy. These will be the first steps of the new economic policy which will boost economic growth, he said.
New instruments will be deployed one by one in the coming months and years, he added.
The Prime Minister said “we need not some reform package evoking the socialist times or a big leap; here, we need industrial policy, business development and financial plans of action, each based on the other, in succession.”
He said Hungary already belongs to the upper half of the European Union based on the pace of its economic growth, but next year this will not be enough. The Hungarian economy’s growth rate will have to be raised to a bracket between 3 and 6 per cent, “even if no one in Europe other than us will succeed in that feat. If needs be, we’ll do it on our own, and I’m convinced that Hungary will be able to do it,” he said.
The Prime Minister highlighted that the changes experienced in the world economy this year had convinced them that in the future Hungary would need a new economic policy and new economic solutions if it wanted to achieve feats in the economy. He pointed out that without a new economic policy we could not even defend the results we had achieved to date.
Mr Orbán stressed that the pandemic, the war and the sanctions had accelerated the transformation of the world economy. The world economy which was once single and united is disintegrating into a western economy and an eastern economy at an ever faster pace which is the worst possible scenario for Hungary. He recalled that Hungary had finished the World Wars on the losing side, and so it had lost its territories which had once provided energy sources, raw materials and natural resources for the Hungarian economy. Our internal market, too, shrank, and so our national economy – and with it the Hungarian state – can only survive if we are able to manufacture competitive products for the world market and to sell them there. Therefore, the obstacle-free functioning of the world economy, the cohesive structure of world trade is crucial for Hungary, Mr Orbán stated.
He highlighted that today Hungary’s exports reached 76 per cent of its gross domestic product and with this result the country was ranked in 33rd place in the world, while based on its population it was in 95th position in the world. The past few months have only further aggravated the situation: European citizens voted for change in vain, in Brussels a commission was formed again which continues its divisive policy, the policy of splitting the world economy into two, he said.
His experience is that Brussels is ever more committed to the development of blocs, the tone and mindset of the Cold War are ever more prevalent in its ranks. Brussels and the whole European Union could choose to improve its own competitiveness, to reinforce its own immune system, could enrol in the competition which is – no doubt – becoming ever keener and could decide to take on the challenges coming from the now-emerging countries of the world economy. Unfortunately, they are not doing that, for Hungary the path of the development of blocs is not an option. This path could only lead to the restriction of our economic independence, to vulnerability, to dependence, to economic stagnation and to impoverishment, he said, highlighting that therefore, Hungary must not set out on this path, we must build a policy of economic neutrality.
Hungary must not side with either bloc, we must be left out of the conflicts which force us to choose between the eastern economy and the western economy, he laid down.
According to the Prime Minister, Hungary has a vested interest in maintaining economic relations with everyone. “We must not observe the economy through the lens of politics, we must follow the interests of the Hungarian economy exclusively,” he said.
We should only adopt practices and ideas – both from the East and the West – which are useful and reasonable for Hungary. We must reject everything that leads to armed conflicts or trade wars, he stressed, adding that the government is convinced that in the new world economy which is currently unfolding, those will be successful who will not allow themselves to be pushed onto an enforced track, who will be able to maintain their opportunities and who will preserve their capacity for action.
Mr Orbán said Hungary needs the best of everything, of technology, of capital investments and of credit programmes, too. Cutting-edge technologies, long-term capital investments, the best credit programmes, balanced relations with all four corners of the world, he summed up.
The Prime Minister rendered an account of events of the recent past. In the context of the flood on the Danube which has now receded, he said in a decade Hungary and the Hungarian state has gained in strength. Compared with the 2013 flood defence effort, the Hungarian state “has become more effective, more organised and better-prepared.” We made the right decision when after the 2013 flood we extended our flood defence lines, he stated.
He added that the September flood which had come out of nowhere had been the century’s second largest flood in history; we were compelled to put up a flood defence effort on the entire section of the Danube, from Győr through Dunaszekcső all the way to Mohács. The defence effort was conducted in an organised and orderly fashion, and we managed to avert the threat, he said. The Prime Minister thanked those who took part in the flood defence effort for having stood their ground.
“We could see once again that in trouble, the Hungarians combine forces in an exemplary manner. We should save some of this attitude for peacetime as well,” he said.
According to his information, after the 2013 flood, the government spent HUF 435 billion on flood protection developments, including HUF 150 billion on reinforcing the flood defence lines along the Danube.
He highlighted that the water authority would present its post-flood report to the government shortly, and they would then decide on further developments on the flood protection system along the Danube.
The Prime Minister also informed Members of the House that this summer had been a record summer in the history of Hungarian tourism, and so this year promised to be a record year. Never before had this many fellow Hungarians spent their summer holidays within the country borders, and never before had this many foreign tourists visited our country, he highlighted, adding that never before had this many Hungarians gone abroad on holiday as they did this year.
The Prime Minister stressed that in June, after almost twenty years, they had again re-acquired the Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. “We took back the key to our country’s global gate,” he said, indicating that based on the summer data, the airport will reach a passenger number in the range of 17.5 million and will, with this, stand its ground again in competition with rival airports of the European Union.
Mr Orbán also spoke about the fact that this summer 40,000 children were able to spend their summer holidays in Erzsébet Camps by Lake Balaton, including more than three thousand children from beyond the borders and a hundred children from Ukraine.
According to the summary prepared by the government upon the start of the school year in September, they have spent 1,400 billion forints on building and refurbishing nursery and elementary schools, and at present 57 learner swimming pools, 87 gymnasiums and 31 new schools are being built. He made special mention of the fact that at the end of August, they inaugurated the country’s biggest school project, the Dunakeszi Student Quarter, including a grammar school with 20 classrooms and a vocational secondary school with 26 classrooms on a total ground space of 32,000 square metres, complete with a sports hall in each and a town swimming pool.
For the start of the school year, they sent out 13 million textbooks – free of charge – to pupils and students studying in public education and in vocational training schools. One million two hundred thousand students have access to free school textbooks, and this spares families a total expenditure of 15 billion forints. He also informed Members of Parliament that they had provided 80,000 free school supplies packages for needy families.
Regarding one of the government’s priority development plans, the Digital Hungary Programme, he said in July they arrived at an important station. Through the HealthWindow application, as many as 80 health care institutions can be accessed and patients are able to book appointments in out-patient facilities digitally. In the summer, the government continued its Care Watch programme. 650,000 elderly citizens have enrolled in the programme, meaning that by today every third fellow citizen over the age of 65 is a care watch user, and their lives and health are today safer than they were before, he pointed out.
The government has also launched a Digital Citizenship Programme, citizens can now also identify themselves with their mobile phones, in the application they can access all personal and vehicle data, and can book appointments in government windows with a single click, he listed.
Mr Orbán said it is of historic significance that the Hungarian power company MVM acquired a share in one of the world’s largest natural gas fields. After Chile and Greece Hungary is ranked third in the world as regards the percentage of solar power in its electricity production, and so it is evident that we are approaching energy independence fast, he stated.
Hungary’s economic growth is one and a half times that of the European Union, but we cannot be content with this, we will need an even better performance and a higher growth, he stressed.
As regards investments in percentage of GDP, we are ranked fourth in the European Union with a 24.5 per cent investment rate which is a fine achievement, but here, too, we should aim for the number one spot, he said. He mentioned that in Hungary there was full employment. 4,740,000 people have jobs, those who want to can find jobs for themselves and can support their families. He added that in Hungary in one year wages had increased by 14 per cent, while at real value by 9.4 per cent.
Mr Orbán also said the country’s financial situation is reassuringly stable, the sovereign debt is on a downward course, we currently stand at around 75 per cent, “but we must aim for a level below 50 per cent.” We want to reduce the deficit of the budget from last year’s 6.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent, and also pro rata we are doing well,” he stated.
The Prime Minister highlighted that the pre-tax average income currently stood at HUF 636,700. In Hungary real wages have been on the rise for twelve months now, the Hungarian economy is in a fine state and is preparing for engaging in the battles ahead.
He observed that they had extended the deadline for the births of children in connection with the Baby Expecting Loan to 1 July 2026. It also improves the financial situation of families, he continued, that on 1 July they launched a new home refurbishment programme which is designed to support the energy upgrades of family homes built before 1990. According to their calculations, minimum 20,000 homes can be upgraded from the funds available in the programme.
Inflation and the related level of interest rates significantly affect the country’s financial situation; by the end of last year, they honoured their pledge and pushed inflation to below 10 per cent. They continued this work, and at the end of the summer, inflation stood at 3.4 per cent, he said, adding that meanwhile, the central bank prime rate is 6.5 per cent.
He also pointed out that in the realm of economists – as we saw at the annual meeting – there was a keen and vivid debate about the desired level of the prime rate. Seeing the interest levels of the region’s other countries, this is understandable, he said, making it clear that while the government regards a higher economic growth and more favourable lending terms and conditions than those in effect at present as desirable, they fully respect the central bank’s independence, and the government will live together with the interest environment determined by the central bank, he stated.
Mr Orbán recalled that the summer had brought heated debates regarding migration in the whole of Europe. Germany closed its borders, the Prime Minister of France says he is restoring order at the country’s borders, the Netherlands has announced the toughest migration legislation of all time, and the governments of Sweden and Finland, too, are debating anti-migration laws, he listed, adding that the era of free travel is coming to an end. The Prime Minister stressed that instead all they should have done was heed Hungary’s advice, follow the Hungarian example, and not let migrants in at the very beginning.
He drew attention to the fact that in Germany, there are vast numbers of stabbing incidents, while some parts of the United Kingdom remained scenes of open clashes for weeks. “In most western countries, there are appalling conditions,” he said in summary, observing that “we’re not happy that we proved to be right,” but it still would not be too late to return to reason. At the same time, “the trend” today is that those who protect their own borders, protect Europe’s borders and state the truth are persecuted and punished.
Hungary must pay now because it protected Europe, while they want to lock up Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini because he defended his own country, Mr Orbán said.
“If Brussels continues to insist on its decision punishing us, they will get what they want, we will transport the migrants hammering on Hungary’s doors to the main square of Brussels,” he pointed out.
He stressed that regarding the war, too, Hungary would prove to be right the same as on the issue of migration. There is no solution to the war on the battlefield, there are only dead people, suffering and destruction there. We need a ceasefire, talks and peace, he laid down.
He took the view that the West “jumped” into the Russo-Ukrainian war rashly, based on flawed calculations and with a flawed strategy. The situation is getting worse and worse, the fighting is escalating, rather than abating.
In Europe only Hungary regards peace as its mission; Hungary launched a peace mission in Kiev, Moscow, Beijing, and also conducted talks with President Trump, thereby opening a debate on peace in Europe as well which was unthinkable before, he said.
At Hungary’s initiative, an international country group called ‘Friends of Peace’ has been formed which does not want to idly watch the whole of humanity being pushed to the brink of World War III, he highlighted.
“The government will deploy – without hesitation – all possible means at the disposal of the Hungarian state in the interest of Hungary’s sovereignty and independence,” Mr Orbán laid down.
We will defend Hungary against all sanctions that may pose a threat to the Hungarian people’s best interests, security, welfare or health, the Prime Minister added.
He said the government of Hungary is a national government, and so necessarily sovereigntist, too. International cooperation is an important and fine thing, but we know that in actual fact we can only count on ourselves, Mr Orbán stated. “Trouble has always been brought upon Hungary’s neck from the international arena, and the solution has always lain in national resistance, national unity and national governance.”
He observed that in many countries in Europe, this had been the other way around – for instance, in Germany – and so they were wary of sovereign governments; in fact, at times they were not only wary, but downright hostile, and they sought to restrict the sovereignty of governments “at times in overt, at other times in covert ways.” Mr Orbán mentioned as an example a report published by the news agency Reuters “exposing a US disinformation war against Chinese vaccines at the time of COVID.” “I believe that we can expect things like this more frequently in the future,” said the Prime Minister.
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