Monthly newsletter Hungary – June 2022
Fifth Orbán government sworn in
Hungary's new government is in place. On May 17, one day after Prime Minister Orbán's re-election, the Hungarian National Assembly voted with 124 votes in favor and 39 against on the law on the establishment of ministries, which provides for significant structural and personnel changes. The ministers were sworn in on May 24th. "I also want to bring in a lot of new people. There are a lot of profound changes coming, just like there are a lot of profound changes in the world" – said Orbán at the beginning of May.
New ministries, new ministers
A significant change is brought about by the dissolution of the Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI), which covered large areas of education, health, social affairs and culture in its entirety. In the future, some of the tasks, such as family policy and culture, will be taken over by the newly created Ministry of Culture and Innovation. The area of health policy as well as education policy, which was previously the responsibility of the EMMI, will in future fall to the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry of Innovation and Technology has been restructured and will now be called the Ministry of Technology and Industry and will continue to be headed by László Palkovics. From now on, his ministry's tasks also include environmental protection.
Katalin Novak has been Hungary's first female head of state since May 14, 2022.
War in Ukraine: new emergency legislation
On May 24, the National Assembly passed the tenth amendment to the Hungarian Basic Law and, in connection with it, the amendment to the Civil Protection Act. These two proposals will allow the government to declare a state of emergency not only in the event of an epidemic, but also in the event of an armed conflict, war or humanitarian disaster in a neighboring country. The government's proposal to amend the Basic Law was announced at the first cabinet meeting after the elections by Chancellery Minister Gergely Gulyás and presented shortly afterwards on May 3 by Justice Minister Judit Varga. She argued that “The Russo-Ukrainian war has created a humanitarian situation not seen since the Second World War.”, and that Hungary must “ensure the possibility of developing an effective and rapid national response”. Article 53 paragraph 1 The constitution now reads as follows: "The Government may, in the event of an armed conflict, a war or a humanitarian disaster in a neighboring country, or in the event of a natural disaster or an industrial accident threatening the safety of life and property, or to deal with its consequences, declare a state of emergency and take extraordinary measures as specified in a cardinal law. In the event of a state of emergency, the Government may issue decrees to suspend the application of certain laws, to derogate from legal provisions and to take emergency measures..." The decrees will remain in force for 15 days unless Parliament authorizes the government to extend them. Constitutional lawyer Zoltán Lomnici explained in an interview with Origo: "In such times of war, we need a government capable of taking quick and effective decisions to protect the Hungarian people. This is the purpose of the amendment “war-related emergency” in the legal instrument.”
The epidemic one Corona emergency again is scheduled to end on May 31, more than two years after it was announced. The new war-related state of emergency came into force on May 25th. In this context, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already announced the first measures. A defense fund and energy cost reduction fund should be set up so that the economic consequences of the war in the neighboring country can be cushioned and the Hungarian armed forces can remain capable of acting. Large corporations - especially banks, telecommunications companies, energy suppliers, etc. - that have also made additional profits in connection with the war must pay part of their profits into the two funds over a period of two years. This is primarily intended to relieve the burden on Hungarian families.
First CPAC Hungary from 19th-20th May 2022 in Budapest
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On Thursday, May 19, 2022, the CPAC Hungary the first Conservative Political Action Conference in Europe took place. First held in 1974, this political conference grew into the grassroots event of the American Conservative Union (ACU) and is now the largest and most influential gathering of conservatives in the world. Under the patronage of the American ACU Foundation and the Hungarian Alapjogokért Központ (Center for Fundamental Rights), CPAC Hungary offered a two-day platform for conservative lectures, exhibition stands and networking at the Bálna conference center in Budapest. The motto of the event was: God, homeland, family – Isten, haza, család (God, homeland, family).
In his speech, Orbán referred to Hungary's past and the long road to democracy, which have made today's Hungary a bastion of conservative and Christian values. The Hungarian recipe worked. Below he explained twelve points of this Hungarian recipe.
The event was simultaneously online English and Hungarian transferred and can still be accessed as a recording. The Orbán speech in the original text can be found on the official government website here.
Corona in May
With the easing and normalization of the Corona situation within Hungary and the end of the Corona emergency on May 31st, the recommendation for a fourth vaccination was also suspended for the time being. On average, fewer than ten people died every day from or with a corona infection at the end of May.
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.
