Varga: Feedback from German companies important 

Budapest, September 30 (MTI) – Feedback from German companies plays an important role in Hungary’s economic policy, the economy minister, Mihaly Varga said on Wednesday.

Varga told a conference on Germany’s reunification that trust was a basic element in political-economic relations between Hungary and Germany in the past 25 years.

The conference was organised by Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung, the Antall Jozsef Knowledge Centre and the Andrassy Gyula German Language University.

Varga added that the Hungarian government maintained special cooperation with the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Trade, and a joint committee has been set up that reviews relations every 3 months and seeks to find joint solutions to problems. He cited as an example the testing period introduced for the electronic road haulage system (ekaer) at the request of German companies.

Varga said the German economy has a dominant role in central Europe and the Hungarian government wants this to remain stable in the long term.

Commenting on the Volkswagen emissions scandal, he said vehicle production accounts for more than 22 percent of Hungary’s industrial output and German companies play an important role in this, providing jobs for some 100,000 people. It would be unwise for the Hungarian government to take hurried steps. Jobs must be preserved and vehicle production should continue with the same capacity, he added.