The government has mandated European Affairs Minister Janos Boka to conduct talks with the European Commission regarding a ruling against Hungary over its migration policy, Gulyas said.

The government has established lines it "will not and cannot cross" during negotiations with the EC, Gulyas said. "One of those red lines is the decision the Hungarian people have expressed at a referendum. No one can be settled in Hungary against the will of the Hungarian people," he said.

The government will continue to protect the borders from illegal migrants, and will offer one-way transport to Brussels for those who are granted asylum, he said.

Other countries' costs in protecting the bloc's external maritime borders have been fully or partially compensated, Gulyas said. Meanwhile, Hungary had spent the equivalent of 2 billion euros on the protection of the external borders of the Schengen Area over the past years, and received no compensation, he said.

Gulyas noted that in 2015, Prime Minister Viktor Orban had warned that Schengen would collapse unless Brussels implemented community law, the Schengen Agreement and unless it obligated the countries with external borders to protect those borders effectively. "Migration and Germany are dismantling Schengen", he said, referring to Germany's decision to re-introduce border controls.

Gulyas said that a "great achievement" of the EU, free market and travel within the Schengen Area, "is now at risk because Hungary wasn't listened to. They did not make it clear to member states with external borders that they should act like Hungary: they should protect the external borders in an exemplary fashion," he said.

Turning to the matter of wage increase, Gulyas said the government was aiming for a "significant" increase in the minimum wages for skilled and unskilled workers next year. Gulyas said the government wanted to see an agreement on minimum wage increases that spanned several years, in the interest of predictability, while the minimum wage should be linked to the average gross wage.

He added that national economy minister Marton Nagy was given a mandate to negotiate with unions and employers. Gulyas said the cabinet had discussed the targets for next year's budget, but not the budget itself.

Gulyas noted that some 250,000 people were earning minimum wages for unskilled workers in Hungary, and 700,000 were living from the skilled workers' minimum wage.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to introduce a preferential credit for Hungarians who start work at age 17-18 and are ineligible for student loans, Gulyas said.

Gulyas said the government had weighed offering credit to workers in trades, but had decided against limiting the credit to people with vocational qualifications. Nagy will hammer out the details of the credit which will be introduced on January 1, 2025, at the latest, he added.

Alongside student loans, "an extremely successful product of the first Orban government", the workers' loans will give all young Hungarians access to preferential loans, Gulyas said.

Government spokesperson Eszter Vitalyos told the press conference that the past two weeks have seen investments worth a total of 84 billion forints (EUR 211.9m) completed, in a total of 32 projects.

Kindergartens and nurseries were built or renovated with 2 billion, Vitalyos said.

Road reconstruction worth 4 billion forints was completed between Eger and Szilvasvarad, she added.

In Lorinci, developments worth 1.8 billion forints were finished, including bus shelters, pedestrian crossings, car parks and bicycle docks.

Development projects in five settlement were completed, with a total of 750 million in funding.

Among business developments, investments worth 8.3 billion forints were made, Ms Vitalyos said, noting a 4.8 billion project at sugar refinery Magyar Cukor in Kaposvar, in southern Hungary.

Concerning talks initiated with the European Commission both concerning the fine imposed on Hungary and compensation for border control expenses, Gulyas said the Hungarian government was striving for an agreement through negotiations, adding that "any other step will only be taken should those talks fail".

He added that "Hungary has never requested a full refund for its total border control cost of 2 billion euros but only for half the sum."

"If Hungary is forced through a daily fine or a lump sum to allow migrants to enter, the government will spare the country; Brussels is a suitable place for them to find a new future," Gulyas said. He called the EU's position "hypocritical" adding that "Brussels thinks that migration is a good thing but they would not accommodate migrants".

He suggested introducing a regime in Europe "which does not allow for the arrival of migrants …, countries setting an example for protecting the Schengen borders should not be penalised."

Concerning Germany's decision to close down its borders Gulyas said the measure would only impact Hungary in that controls at road crossing stations would slow down freight traffic.

Touching upon the opposition Tisza Party's proposal to address issues around border control in line with European regulations, Gulyas said "Tisza is a member of the European People's Party which opposes migration in words only" and added that "one should not be surprised when an EPP member makes a pro-migration statement".

The EPP, Gulyas said, "is not only pro-migration but pro-war … supporting decisions that lead to the prolongation of the war (in Ukraine)".

Asked about re-nominating Hungary's Oliver Varhelyi for the post of commissioner for enlargement and neighbourhood policy, Gulyas said Varhelyi had done "an excellent job" and the prime minister "had no reason to nominate another person".

On another subject, Gulyas said the government "had not even raised" the idea of setting up individual electoral districts in ethnic Hungarian communities. He added, however, that Hungary's parliament had a clear obligation to "restore proportionality" within the current districts.

"Apart from that, there is no task concerning the electoral system," he added. Gulyas said that Hungary would continue to have 106 electoral districts, and 93 seats in parliament to be distributed according to party lists. "The next election will be conducted under the same rules," he said.

Gulyas was asked about the recent dismissal of a Catholic priest "over a homosexual relationship" and he said the case had not been raised at the government meeting.

Asked if the scandal had harmed the reputation of the Christian Democrat government, he said the leadership of the relevant churches were to make sure that such cases should not recur, "and if they still do, they should manage them in the most exemplary manner."

He added that the Catholic Church had "passed a decision and suspended the priest as soon as the reports came to light".

Govt Official: EU Employing Double Standards on Migration

The European Union is employing double standards when it allows Germany and France to close their borders but punishes Hungary for protecting the bloc's external borders, a state secretary of the interior ministry told public television.

At the defence and security conference held earlier this week in Budapest, nearly all speakers highlighted migration as one of the greatest challenges facing the EU, Bence Retvari said. And yet, the EU continues to pursue a liberal, pro-migration policy "despite the fact that the Wilkommenskultur has failed to solve the situation" in the past decade, he said.

Commenting on reports that France was following Germany in closing all its borders, Retvari said Hungary was victim of "double standards" as it had been hit by a "giga fine" for protecting the EU's external border and for foiling 1 million illegal entry attempts.

Border protection is as much part of European solidarity as redistributing migrants, Retvari said, adding that Hungary was mulling a lawsuit seeking compensation from the EU for the costs incurred in border protection.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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