Gergely Gulyas: Don't ask us to celebrate Treaty of Trianon!

The minister heading the Prime Minister's Office answered questions by the press at today's government briefing.

Budapest, 2023. május 25. Gulyás Gergely Miniszterelnökséget vezetõ miniszter a Kormányinfó sajtótájékoztatón a Miniszterelnöki Kabinetiroda épületében 2023. május 25-én. MTI/Kovács Tamás Fotó: MTI/Kovács Tamás

The government has sent the first invoices to Brussels, and if they are paid, the next teachers' pay rise could be implemented soon, Gergely Gulyas announced at today's government briefing. After his statement, the prime minister was questioned by journalists.

We will still not supply arms to Ukraine

In response to the suggestion that Brussels is demanding 20 billion euros from member states to arm Ukraine, the minister said that Hungary has supported and will continue to support the invaded Ukraine in many ways.

But we are not going to supply arms and we are not going to provide financial support for it.

„We cannot support a non-EU member state from the EU budget. Certainly not until all member states have access to their the budgetary resources they are entitled to,” the minister said.

Utility price cuts remain in place

In response to a question, Gergely Gulyas confirmed that the reduced utility prices will remain in place from 1 August. He also clarified that there is no reality that the Hungarian EU Presidency will not take place. 

Regarding the increase of the prices of public transport tickets and the water tariffs, the minister emphasized: 

In the current situation, the Hungarian government does not support any scheme under which the public has to bear a higher burden.

The government is making great sacrifices to ensure that the Hungarian people do not have to pay more for utilities.

We have included the discounts in the legislation. All products that were subject to the price freeze have been converted to discounted products. For these, the rate of the reduction will be increased from 10 to 15 percent," said Gulyas when asked when the decision on the compulsory discounts will be taken.

I am not sure that the Hungarian people can stop at half a glass of wine, so I am in favor of zero tolerance. The ministry has the opportunity to review this," he said when asked if the zero tolerance for driving would be reviewed.

We will not celebrate Trianon

Commenting on the international reaction to the prime minister's speech in Baile Tusnad (Tusvanyos), Transylvania, he said, 

Viktor Orban did not make the kind of statements that were made against him in Slovakia or Romania. 

Commenting on Slovak interim Prime Minister Lajos Odor's statement that no territories had been taken away from Hungary, Gulyas said.

"The Trianon peace dictate was not something we asked for, it was imposed on us by the great powers. Is this new information for anyone?" asked the minister. He added that the government accepts the situation as it is,

but no one should ask us to celebrate the Trianon decision.

We have created the border patrol squadrons so that they can protect the border, even by force, he said in response to a question about the government's position to the fact that migrants are opening fire on police officers in Serbia. The minister said that a country is not a country if it has no borders. This is not recognized in Brussels, nor is the need to defend the border by any means, including by violence. 

Asked by RTL about Sweden's accession to NATO, the minister said that there was no need to hold an extraordinary session and that the issue would be put on the agenda during a regular session. He said that the government had submitted the ratification to parliament, but that there was still not full agreement in the parliamentary group of Fidesz.

It was also revealed that the Ministry of Transport is currently working on a HUF1200 billion (€3.2 million) railway development program. According to the minister, these developments should take into account which lines are used by the most people.

The minister said it was unacceptable for a Hungarian politician to accept money from abroad, referring to the scandal around Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony and his 99 Movement. 

Commenting on the financial situation of Budapest, Gergely Gulyas said that the country's richest municipality, which inherited a significant surplus in 2019, could hardly go bankrupt, but if someone manages to do so, it would be worthwhile for the people of Budapest to find a better bankruptcy manager.

Gergely Gulyas stressed that according to the data, Lake Balaton is expecting its best tourist season ever. In terms of numbers, more than 700,000 visitors came to Lake Balaton during the peak season between 1 June and mid-July. So far this year, 2,400,000 overnight stays have been registered, which is 98 per cent of the record year 2019.

The minister stressed that the Erasmus agreement with the European Commission will be agreed by the end of October.

Slovakia has a caretaker government, so there is no point in talking about long-term plans. We are waiting for Slovakia to have a stable government," said Gergely Gulyas in response to another question on Hungary-Slovakia relations. 

There is no chance that Fidesz will support Zsolt Borkai, who wants to run for mayor of Gyor in next year's local elections.

the minister made clear.

The article is being updated...