Monthly newsletter Hungary – January 2022

Corona situation in December

The fourth wave reached its peak at the beginning of December with an average of almost 200 people dying from or with the coronavirus every day. The Hungarian government decided against far-reaching restrictions during Advent, as have been reintroduced in many other European countries.

In contrast, the daily average number of deaths halved over the course of December, and the incidences also fell significantly during Advent and Christmas. While more than 7,600 people infected with the coronavirus had to be treated in hospital at the beginning of December, this figure fell to around 3,300 at the beginning of the new year.

However, because the number of infections and deaths did not decrease further at the beginning of 2022, several experts have already concluded that this heralds the fifth, the Omicron wave.

Is vaccination mandatory?

The vaccination requirement for employees in the health sector was already decided in the summer. Educators had to decide on the first vaccination at least by December 31, 2021. Those who refuse the vaccination despite the regulations will be given unpaid leave. In addition, employers can generally require their employees to be vaccinated.

Despite all this, the Hungarian government has so far spoken out against a general vaccination requirement.
A survey by the Publicus Institute showed that 72% of unvaccinated people were categorically against the
uptake of a vaccination. Half of those who refused vaccinations said they wanted vaccinations on principle
However, trusting people does not show trust in the corona vaccinations.

Entry restrictions for traveling to Hungary

For the current status of entry regulations, we always recommend taking a look at the website Foreign Office.

Family Minister Katalin Novak
future president of Hungary?

At 44 years old, Novák will most likely not only be the youngest person in the world
Office of the Hungarian President, but also the first woman. The mother of three
came to the top ranks of Hungarian politics in 2014 when she was appointed State Secretary for
Family Affairs was appointed. Before that, she was ministerial representative for francophones
Foreign Ministry Affairs. She became Fidesz deputy chairwoman in 2017 and has been a Fidesz representative in the Hungarian Parliament since 2018.

Labor market reforms and tax cuts 2022

From January 1st, the minimum wage will be at least 200,000 HUF (about €550).
Minimum wage for skilled workers raised to 260,000 HUF (around €715). At the same time it happens
Wage increases, especially in the health sector, and the salaries of educators, police officers and soldiers are also increasing. Retired people should be helped by reintroducing the 13th pension, and at the same time the pension rate will increase by 5%.

There are also a number of tax reliefs. Families with children growing up will be refunded the full income tax (15% flat tax) for 2021.

From now on, people under 25 no longer have to pay income tax. On average, such young employees would have an additional €100 available per month.

The social contribution tax will fall from 15.5% to 13% from July 1, 2022. In addition, the specialist training contributions (1.5%) will be abolished at the same time - which will primarily relieve the burden on employers.

The tax reforms for small businesses, for which the tax rate is reduced to 10%, are proving to be extremely favorable.

Major projects in Budapest

Away from the major political events, Budapest is currently developing rapidly - so it is worth, at least for the sake of overview, tracing some of the developments that will give the capital a new face.

Railway tunnel under the Danube decided

At the end of December, the Hungarian government adopted the “Railway Strategy”.
Budapest metropolitan area", in which the transport policy goals for 2040 are set out. 5.6 billion euros in additional funds were approved for the expansion of the railway infrastructure. The aim is, among other things, to double the number of passengers in public transport in order to counteract the growing car traffic. Perhaps the most important project here is the Excavation of a railway tunnel under the Danube, which would mean that two of the city's three terminal stations (South and West Stations) would become a thing of the past.

Budapest, like Vienna, would have a through station as the main station. At the same time, an express train to the airport and a ring railway based on the German S-Bahn model are to be created.

Change in the urban forest

Not only is the castle district undergoing major – and sometimes controversial – renovation and construction work, the city park (Városliget) is also gradually getting a new look. As part of the large-scale transformation of one of the capital's largest green spaces, the construction of the "House of Hungarian Music“Completed not far from Heldenplatz.

More buildings like this almost finished Museum of Ethnography or the New National Gallery to follow in the future – the goal is to build a museum district in the countryside. When he took office as Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony promised to stop the “Liget Project” for ecological reasons, among other things - regardless of this, it is still popular with the majority of the population.

Survey results

The pro-government one Nézőpont Institute In a survey in mid-December, the Fidesz-KDNP list with 55% was clearly ahead of the opposition list, which would only get 43% of the vote. 70% of respondents believed that the election would result in a victory for the current governing parties.

The one critical of the government Republikon Institute However, in the same period, the opposition list was stable at 48%, ahead of the government parties at 43%, if you count the safe voters. At the same time, the institute noted that “compared to the beginning of the year, the balance of power between the opposition bloc and the government appears to have remained unchanged.”

To the source:

The German-Hungarian Institute for European Cooperation is intended to provide a forum for academic, scientific and political dialogue between Germany and Hungary and to familiarize decision-makers and interested specialist audiences from both countries with topics, debates, processes, thought patterns and ideas from the other country. The aim is to achieve greater understanding, communication and constructive cooperation by objectifying the German-Hungarian discourse and thus renew our Europe together.

We would like to support this goal and publish excerpts with the kind permission of the authors. The complete issue can be found here as a PDF. The institute's website you can reach here.