Speeches

Dear Madam President, Fighting climate change is in our best interest. At the same time, I watch with concern as we cross over to the other side of the horse: there is a lack of robust calculations and a sustainable vision behind some of the proposed measures. Perhaps that is why the Social Climate Fund was proposed? Europe is watching the spike in utility costs and fuel prices in the Member States. It is unfortunate to come forward now with a proposal or proposals that will further increase these burdens. The Social Climate Fund can only reduce them partially and temporarily. Responsible legislation and climate protection can only be pursued with appropriate and substantiated impact assessments, in agreement with the Member States, so that the biggest polluters pay. The burden on citizens cannot continue to increase. Hungary is the only country in Europe where this has not happened.

Dear Mr President, Without effective prevention, the number of accidents, illnesses and deaths at work cannot be effectively reduced or even reduced to zero. Workers should be protected from exposure to carcinogens or toxins. At the same time, the disease can be caused by many other things. Long standing, sitting, lifting heavy objects or continuous vibration. It is time to take seriously the problems of stress, anxiety, depression and burnout, as well as the negative impact of working at the expense of leisure time. They can therefore play an important role in prevention by promoting workplaces, healthy lifestyles, sporting activities and physical activities.

Dear Madam President, The well-being and equal opportunities of children and young people must be one of Europe's most important goals. It is therefore more important than ever to implement the Child Guarantee and the reinforced Youth Guarantee. Families are the cornerstone of European society. They ensure the survival of nations, only strong families can form a strong society that can stand its ground in global competition. This is what we are seeing now, as thousands of families are helping Ukrainian refugees on a voluntary basis. The government of Hungary is providing serious support to young people in terms of creating a home and starting a family. The reduction in household utility charges, introduced nine years ago, makes it possible for the income of families not to go to the heating bill, which is of particular importance, especially in this current situation. Public education and textbooks are also free and contribute to equal opportunities for future generations.

Dear Mr President, Young people do not need big words, but good help, knowledge, their own home and let's say financial support. In Hungary, from this year onwards, young people under the age of 25 do not have to pay personal income tax, and thus they can take home more money up to the amount of the average salary. This measure involves 280,000 young people already working. In addition, students receive an interest-free student loan, which young women who later give birth, have more children, do not have to repay. It also helps to start a family. These measures also confirm Eurostat data. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for young people has fallen by 2.4% to 12% and youth unemployment has fallen by 10% to 8.7% over ten years. I also recommend that the other EU Member States follow our example and use the resources coming from the European Union in this way.

Dear Madam President, Hungary's performance is outstanding in the 2014 and 2020 financial periods. By the end of 2020, we had spent almost €15.5 billion from the European Structural and Investment Funds. As a result, we have achieved the best result among the V4 countries in proportion to their populations, with no risk of loss of funds. EU funds increased Hungary's GDP growth by an average of 2.6 percentage points per year. This is the best result in our region. Thanks to the Hungarian government's zero-corruption tolerance and strengthened public procurement rules, the proportion of public procurement infringements among irregularities related to all cohesion funds in Hungary was 20 percent, while the EU average was 29 percent. My country is therefore in the middle of the EU with Germany, Ireland or the Benelux.

Dear Mr President, Without the development of a common IT system, it is impractical to implement the idea of a digital social security card. Hungary is among the seven Member States that have already successfully met these technical requirements. However, this has only been achieved in seven of the EU's 27 Member States. So the question arises as to how to have a common EU social security number if there is no common IT system. Isn't the idea really just a tool against wrongly assumed social dumping against the Central and Eastern European Member States? Instead of creating a difficult situation for the Eastern Member States, it is essential that the Commission focus on protecting the free movement of persons and produce a thorough, evidence-based impact assessment, as it has not done this homework before.

Dear Madam President, I am convinced that the fight against poverty, and especially child poverty, can only be successful with the complex support of families. Hungary has achieved that energy poverty is not generalised through the reduction of public utility charges introduced earlier. In addition, he was very serious in supporting family tax relief, personal income tax repayment, free textbooks, kindergarten and school meals. He supported the renovation of families' homes, he also supports and ensures the expectation of babies by young people and young married couples, and I could list it for a long time. The annual report to the European Parliament was drawn up last year by the left-wing Klára Dobrev, which was full of wishes that had no financial means. It could only have been achieved by increasing taxes and abolishing the financial independence of the Member States. I am pleased that this report has become much more balanced, but I continue to miss the insight that securing an economy based on respect for work and support for families can provide a stable future for all of us.

Mr. President, please. Since August 2017, at least 700,000 Rohingya have fled persecution in Myanmar to Bangladesh. Many of them are Christians. This situation was exacerbated by the military coup. The persecution of religion further endangers religious minorities in Myanmar. It is clear that quick and tangible help is needed. Hungary supported the improvement of the situation of the Rohingya refugee community in need through the Hungary Helps programme. By purchasing medical equipment and medicines, providing food for pregnant mothers and children, and in cooperation with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dhaka, he built residential houses for 20 families. Our goal is clear from the beginning. Help must be put in place to prevent refugees from continuing to migrate to Europe. The task is therefore twofold. Stand up for religious freedom, for persecuted Muslims and Christians, and provide effective help to those in distress on the ground.

Mr. President, please. I've worked here for 12 years. There is progress: already in the first version of the report a number of important elements had to be fought for separately in the past. Thank you from colleagues for standing up for deaf people and sign language. At the same time, I reject in the strongest terms the fact that the report does not focus exclusively on people with disabilities. He brings in the issue of intersectionality, he deals with the issue of migration, and God knows what else, which does not belong to the issue of disability. Colleagues, this is counterproductive, until we solve the situation of citizens with disabilities! I'd like to give you one piece of data: only 50.8% of workers with disabilities are in employment. This house is not unobstructed, tomorrow is not unobstructed, let's deal with this instead! I would ask that organisations representing people with disabilities be involved in this work in order to implement the ‘nothing about us, without us’ principle. The Committee on Petitions is at the forefront of this, and I hope that the European Parliament itself will do the same in the future.

Dear Mr President, The US brain drain, i.e. attracting the most skilled European professionals overseas, has been opposed by the EU as long as it is preparing to do the same. It would invite highly qualified third-country nationals to live and work freely within EU Member States. Let's stop this hypocrisy. I am afraid that you really want to use this tool to speed up migration. We know that unemployment is huge, especially in the southern European Member States. Why don't we train our own young people and provide them with jobs? Why don't we care about our own citizens? Hungary builds its future on young people. We support your studies and employment with all means. University education is free and young people under the age of 25 do not have to pay personal income tax because they are important.

Dear Mr President, We saw shocking footage of the devastation of the floods in July. We have barely recovered from this, and we have already witnessed the unbridled destruction of the forest fires. In Sinzig, Germany, the flood killed 12 people with disabilities in a home because help arrived late. However, we do not have accurate statistics on this. What is certain is that, according to statistics so far, older people and persons with disabilities are twice as likely to be victims of natural disasters. In addition to reducing the risk of natural disasters, there is a need to keep an eye on hazard notification, its system and its development in Europe and to apply the latest technological innovations. In Hungary, VÉSZ, the emergency notification service, is a free application developed for smartphones and tablets. The information, warnings and alerts displayed here help to provide authentic and accurate information and ensure the safety of users. This is the path we must follow.

Dear Madam President, Innovative solutions are needed and consumers are keen to use applications to order services. Platform workers also have the right to healthy and safe working conditions, social assistance, upskilling and fair and transparent salaries. At the same time, they are often self-employed, and care must be taken to ensure that this is not a coercion on their part, while at the same time respecting the decisions of those who want to work in this way. Let us not forget that during the COVID pandemic, many people have benefited from this form of employment and received income in this way. Finally, the interests of SMEs need to be better taken into account, as they are the backbone of the European economy, accounting for 99% of all businesses in the EU. I therefore regret that the report mentions SMEs in only two places.

Mr. President, please. Hungary is a smaller country than Bangladesh. There is an even greater difference in the number of people, but it is still possible to learn from us how to create a modern, competitive, market-economy-based economy with full employment, which respects the rights of workers. Our Prime Minister told us about the recipe at the Porto summit: a strong social policy with energetic tax cuts. We need to build a family-friendly policy and a work-based economy based on workers, whose rights are respected and international rules are respected. These rules must be adhered to and will result in a work-based, competitive economy. The recipe is ready, use boldly seasoned with local ingredients.

Madam President, I'm sorry. The elderly are valuable members of society. It is important that they live their lives in a dignified and independent way. We need to help our ageing family members live with new technologies, adapt their homes to their needs and learn how to manage e-services. In the same way, older people can help their adult children with the arrival of new generations. In my country, Hungary, grandparents who are still working can get five days extra leave after the birth of each grandchild, and grandparents can also stay at home with the baby, as the grandchild can receive a childcare allowance until the age of two. I encourage you to take these good examples from Hungary.