In connection with a visit today by a delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), Gulyás said most of its members were expressly in Budapest to “insult Hungary” and “help the opposition”. He insisted that their criticisms of Hungary were unfounded.
 
He added, however, that as a matter of courtesy, the government welcomed the delegation and the justice and interior ministers would meet them. The prime minister, he said, had important matters to attend to so he would not receive the LIBE delegation. Meanhile, Gulyás congratulated the winner of the German election, saying that he trusted Germany would continue to be a predictable partner and adding that economic relations were highly important.

Gulyás said whatever new coalition emerged was expected to have narrower differences between its parties than ever before, and these parties, he added, were not especially known for their understanding of central Europe.

 

Whether or not there will be a deal on the EU recovery fund was hard to say but negotiations were ongoing, Gulyás said. On certain issues progress has been made, he said, but the government refuses to adhere to the demands made by the European Commission regarding Hungary’s child protection law in their current form since ‘there’s no basis for such a request under EU law’. On the topic of the opposition primaries, he said 8 percent of those eligible to vote had taken part in the first round.
 
He insisted the primaries were for show and the winner would inevitably be the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony.
 
Regarding the Covid situation, he said revealing data on fatalities of the unvaccinated would be problematic in terms of personal data protection and a sense of decency. But those who have been inoculated have a much lower chance of getting seriously ill and dying, he added. Government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkiralyi noted the second round of vaccinations for 12-19 year-olds had recently taken place and a majority had received the vaccine. With a vaccination rate among teachers of around 85 percent, she added, there have been no school closures.
 
Regarding the referendum on Fudan University, the government’s standpoint is that the university will be built according to the wishes or otherwise of Budapest residents.
 
The Fidesz group leader supports the opposition initiative to hold a referendum on election day, she noted, adding however that current regulations are unclear as to whether this is possible or not.

Commenting on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to the Czech Republic on Wednesday in reply to a question about whether it would be possible for Hungary to purchase a 51 percent stake in a Czech company manufacturing military aircraft, Gulyás said: “We’re glad if we’re able to acquire Hungarian ownership in important foreign companies”.

Regarding inflation, he said the central bank was taking the required action and the current level was expected to be temporary, with inflation possibly easing within a year. Answering a question about Hungary’s Gazprom gas contract, he said Hungary would be paying much less to the Russian giant than before, but the price was a business secret. The energy mix, he added, would not change in the future, neither would the proportion of Russian gas as part of it.