—
Right to clean drinking water in the EU (debate)
Clean drinking water is a basic need and a human right that the Fidesz government ignores. The Hungarian government has proven that it does not work, because it is not even able to provide such a basic need for its citizens. In Hungary, primary water poverty affects 2% of the population, some 200,000 people, because there is no piped drinking water supply in their homes. In addition, millions of people suffer from secondary water poverty, which means inadequate water quality or intermittent water scarcity. This is particularly serious in the Great Plain, Northern Hungary and the agglomeration of Budapest during the summer droughts. In 2016, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Hungary for problems with the quality of drinking water. The main problem in the countryside is the exceedance of the EU limit value for arsenic and boron content, but the excessive lead value in the tap water of the capital is not negligible either. In 2024, there were still 27 municipalities with chemically challenged drinking water quality and 110 municipalities with bacteriological problems. 40% of municipalities had problems with drinking water quality in 2024. These figures clearly indicate that the government could not and did not want to provide a comprehensive solution to the problem. Clean drinking water is a fundamental human right, so we, the politicians of the Tisza Party, are working to make it available to all Hungarians. We will re-establish the Ministry of Environment to deal with the problem at the highest level.