We will protect the Hungarian system of tax cuts, job creation, a stable budget and family support!

The European Parliament (EP) held a plenary debate yesterday on “Policies of the euro area 2020”. Contrary to its name, the reports on the EP’s agenda concerned not only the economic policies of the countries using the euro, but also the economic, employment and social policies of all the Member States of the European Union. During the final vote on the report, Fidesz-KDNP delegation to the European Parliamentstrongly supported the formula that is already working successfully in Hungary, namely the system of tax cuts, job creation, a stable budget and family support.

In parallel, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) discussed proposals on economic policy and employment and social policy in the euro area in 2020. The European and Hungarian left wing tried to force the implementation of irresponsible and dangerous economic policy ideas into both reports.

In her speech, MEP Enikő Győri, who was responsible for the economic policy report from the Group of European People’s Party (EPP), noted that as a responsible decision-maker, the conditions for adequate economic performance must first be ensured. “A compass for this work is the European Semester, which was set up under the Hungarian Presidency to effectively prevent and manage crises and which will help achieve ambitious goals such as the digitalisation and climate protection”, she said. Győri added that “This will strengthen our competitiveness and enable us to overcome the crisis caused by the current epidemic. In contrast, the kick-off for budgetary discipline proposed by the left wing is extremely dangerous. On the one hand, irresponsible economic policies would reduce Member States’ room for maneuvering and, on the other hand, could have long-term negative consequences, such as rising unemployment and indebtedness for future generations. Hungary has already experienced this under communism and the socialist-liberal governments, so it most strongly rejects this approach”.

Ádám Kósa, as Fidesz member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, warned that the presentation of Klára Dobrev is a dangerous collection of wishes that would lead to radical tax increases, indebtedness, redundancies and thus an increase in unemployment. Fidesz-KDNP protects Hungarians from the “Gyurcsány way” before the 2009 crisis. Hungary ensures a fair minimum wage, which has been steadily increasing since 2010 and exceeds 60% of net average earnings. It is very important that the minimum wage is set in each country in accordance with national traditions, respecting the autonomy of social partners at the national level and well-functioning models of collective bargaining.

“The Dobrev report launches another brutal attack on the common interests of the Hungarian people and Hungarian national interests by proposing a system that allows for political blackmail against Hungary. We defend the Hungarian people against all such efforts!” emphasized MEP Andrea Bocskor. “The proposal intervenes on a number of points in matters affecting the competencies of the Member States and formulates demagogic ideas that I have rejected in order to protect the Hungarian people”, she concluded.

The fallen Hungarian left, together with their European fellow party members, forced the implementation of ideas that have long been known to have negative consequences into the employment report. These ideas will lead to radical tax increases, the demise of small and medium-sized enterprises, job losses, redundancies and rising unemployment. The Fidesz-KDNP Delegation to the European Parliament strongly rejects the left’s irresponsible economic, employment and social ideas, which have led to serious crises across Europe in the past. We reject tax increases and the destruction of small and medium-sized enterprises. In the final vote on the reports, the Fidesz-KDNP Delegation advocated a system of tax cuts, job creation, a stable budget and family support.