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October 7, 2016 morning issue <strong>AM</strong> SZIJJÁRTÓ: CENTRAL EUROPE’S CHINESE TIES SERVE WIDER EUROPEAN INTERESTS Europe must be open to outside partners and allies and not be inwardlooking, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a conference on Chinese ties. Central European countries have always known the rational choice is to build up cooperation with China and the Asian region as this also serves Europe’s interests, Szijjártó said. In these “exciting times that we are living in”, both the EU and the western Balkans face historic challenges created by migration, he said. Further, the EU’s economic woes are exacerbated by Britain’s exit from the bloc, he said. The war in Ukraine, energy security issues and EU-Russian relations present other challenges, he added. Global trade demands that free trade deals are signed and regional cooperation forged, and the EU cannot afford to be left out, as this would hurt its competitiveness, Szijjártó said. Recently, the EU conceded that central European cooperation with China is useful, he added. On the subject of Brexit, Szijjártó said the UK’s competitiveness had been affected by its decision to leave the EU, since many non-EU investors were looking for partners within the bloc. “Our western European friends are obviously not happy that China is forging closer ties with central Europe,” he said. Yet Chinese financing for infrastructure investments in central Europe is a pan-European interest, especially given dwindling EU funds for such purposes. Bilateral trade turnover grew 2.7 times last year, whereas the first seven months of 2016 had seen an 80% increase, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, noting that Hungary had submitted its membership request to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Hungary is ready to host a central Europe-China summit in the second half of 2017, he said. Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Liu Yunshan noted the CPC and the Chinese government’s appreciation for central Europe cooperation. Mutual respect and political confidence have been instrumental in building these ties, he added. The Chinese politician called coordination of development strategies crucial, adding that economic ties should focus on deals yielding mutual benefits. Later in the day Liu held talks with House Speaker László Kövér. Parliament’s press office quoted Kövér as saying that Hungary is committed to further developing friendly ties with China. He noted that ties between the Hungarian parliament and China’s National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference are also becoming stronger. Liu thanked Hungary for being the first European country to join China’s One Belt, One Road initiative aimed at establishing a link between East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. He presented to Kövér an invitation from Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. OFFICIAL: REJECTION OF EU QUOTAS BRINGS NEW OBLIGATIONS FOR GOVT The result of last Sunday’s referendum, in which more than 3 million people rejected European Union migrant quotas, has established new obligations for the Hungarian government both at home and abroad, a government official said. As part of fulfilling its obligations at home, the government will submit a constitutional amendment proposal to parliament to reflect the outcome of the vote, Csaba Dömötör, parliamentary cabinet state secretary, said at a press conference. To meet the government’s international obligations, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a letter to European Commission President Jean- Claude Juncker notifying him of the referendum’s result, Dömötör added. On Friday, Orbán is scheduled to discuss the result with Robert Fico, the prime minister of EU presidencyholder Slovakia. Dömötör said the referendum heralded the start of a new process rather than the final act, arguing that migration pressure on Europe was unlikely to ease anytime soon and that Brussels had not withdrawn its migrant quota plan, in spite of Hungary’s Hungary Matters is an English-language newsletter produced and distributed by the Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA) with content provided by Duna Media Service Provider exercises copyright over all content. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, redistributed or transmitted without prior written permission from the publisher, with the exception of copies made by individuals for private use, educational purposes or scholarly research, provided that such transmissions do not exceed the extent justified by the purpose and are not aimed at financial gain, even indirectly, and the source name are indicated at all times. 2 All rights reserved. Enquiries should be made to the English Help Desk at +361 441 9340 For MTI’s real time coverage please visit http://english.mti.hu, http://econews.hu
October 7, 2016 morning issue <strong>AM</strong> referendum outcome. The state secretary added that the quota scheme could soon also end up on the agenda of the European Parliament, with a parliamentary hearing on the plan set to be held as soon as next week. Dömötör insisted that the Hungarian government would use “any method it can” to get the EC to withdraw its prior decisions regarding the resettlement of migrants across the bloc. Asked whether there were any polls or analyses released before the referendum that had been “hidden” from Orbán, Dömötör said all members of government had had access to every poll that was released. Meanwhile, commenting on a recent report by the daily Magyar Idők that some SIM cards purchased by Hungarian criminal organisations may have ended up with terrorists who had collaborated in the Brussels and Paris attacks last year, Dömötör said that the national security cabinet would discuss the reports in greater detail. The paper said the criminals had bought around 200,000 SIMs from Magyar Telekom over the course of several months using the personal details of a homeless person. Dömötör said the national security cabinet would investigate whether the rechargeable SIM card concept had any “loopholes” from a security standpoint that could have been exploited by the terrorists. Commenting on a statement from Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) saying that it was the prime minister who had ordered an audit of the Norwegian NGO Fund by the Government Control Office (Kehi) two years ago, the state secretary said that only the prime minister or the Prime Minister’s Office were authorised to request such Kehi audits. Citing the independence of the National Bank of Hungary, Dömötör declined to comment on reports that central bank governor György Matolcsy has been living in an apartment owned by head of the Banking Association and Unicredit Hungary chief Mihály Patai in the Buda Castle district. HUNGARIAN-BAVARIAN INTER-GOVT CTTEE HAILS ECONOMIC TIES Economic ties between Hungary and Bavaria are developing well and Bavaria has a major impact on Hungary’s economic performance, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said at the 19th meeting of the Hungarian-Bavarian Intergovernmental Joint Committee in Budapest. A third of Hungary- Germany trade is with Bavaria, which takes a 36% share of Hungarian exports to Germany and produces a third of Germany’s investments in Hungary, Szijjártó noted. The car industry, the backbone of Hungary’s economy, accounts for 72% of the latter, he said. Beate Merk, Minister of European Affairs and Regional Relationships at the Bavarian Prime Minister’s office, said they are looking forward to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit in a few days’ time. Szijjártó said Germany is Hungary’s most important economic, trade and investment partner. The Hungarian government has three strategic partners from Bavaria: Audi, Siemens and Knorr-Bremse, and each of these companies plays a serious role in Hungary’s economy, he added. Bavarian investments in Hungary and the involvement of Hungarian companies as suppliers result in state-of-the-art technology being brought to Hungary, enabling it to be among the first to change over to new industrial technologies. He added that Hungary’s investment and legislative environment also helps Bavarian investments. From January, firms that promote labour mobility and expand their research, development and innovation activities will be eligible for tax allowances, Szijjártó added. He said illegal migration carried a high economic risk for the whole of Europe because Schengen could “tumble” if external borders are not protected. Its survival is in the interest of both Hungary and Germany, he added. The end of Schengen would result in the loss of European economic competitiveness, he said. He underlined Hungary’s position that the first step to resolving the migration crisis was to protect the external borders. Ever since Hungary built a fence on its southern border, the relevant legal regulations have been enacted and the Visegrad countries have provided help, Hungary can assure Bavaria that illegal migrants will not arrive there from Hungary, the minister said. Hungary Matters is an English-language newsletter produced and distributed by the Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA) with content provided by Duna Media Service Provider exercises copyright over all content. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, redistributed or transmitted without prior written permission from the publisher, with the exception of copies made by individuals for private use, educational purposes or scholarly research, provided that such transmissions do not exceed the extent justified by the purpose and are not aimed at financial gain, even indirectly, and the source name are indicated at all times. 3 All rights reserved. Enquiries should be made to the English Help Desk at +361 441 9340 For MTI’s real time coverage please visit http://english.mti.hu, http://econews.hu
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