In his interview this morning, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the budget had to be amended to allow for a 5-percent pension increase next year. He added that the role of the Hungarian National Bank is very important when the budget is being prepared, as it is they who estimate the rate of inflation for the upcoming year.
Accurate accounting is the secret to a good friendship, the PM said, referring to the fact that pensions were increased by a further two percentage points at the end of the year, given that the increase in inflation was also higher. If there is an emergency situation, the government can also change the budget by decree, the prime minister said.
"If you have money to give, you give with a good heart," he added.
PM Orbán said that the 13th month pension, due next February, will also increase by 5 percent. "If the economy performs well, then wages can be raised," he said in response to a question on whether the country could cope with so many simultaneous wage increases in 2022.
On the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years, the prime minister said that the vaccination drive could begin on December 15. "Now doctors have reached the point where young people can be vaccinated," he said, adding that this is the way to protect our children.
According to the PM, the most active transmitters of the virus, which is spreading in waves, are those who have not yet been vaccinated, so those who are not vaccinated are not only harming themselves but all of us.
“Hungarians can register as usual from Wednesday, and vaccination will start as usual on December 15. We have designated vaccination points, and people can get the vaccine at children's GPs," the prime minister said.
Switching the topic of the interview to last week’s meeting of conservative European leaders in Warsaw, PM Orbán said that they have been organizing the event for months to gather European parties that do not support immigration and want to help families.
The most important goal for the long term, the prime minister continued, is to have a large group of anti-immigration and pro-family parties in Europe. According to the PM, the position represented by Hungarians is currently in a minority in the European Parliament.
"We don't want to be an alternative, we want to be winners; our goal is to be the biggest political force in Europe," he said, adding that help should be brought to where the trouble is, instead of bringing the trouble over to Europe.
There is a fault line throughout Europe on the issue of immigration, and what the Hungarians want is something that goes against EU policy, PM Viktor Orbán said. He added that EU rules were made in peacetime and unfortunately do not work during a crisis.
"Western Europeans have embarked on a grand experiment: [They believe that] if they mix Muslims with indigenous Christians, something good will come out of it,” PM Orbán said. He added that he himself does not like to experiment on people; he believes it is dangerous and, in the current situation, life-threatening.
"Terrorist attacks could happen in your country, you could face terrible social costs, you could lose your job if there is an economic crisis," the prime minister said, listing the risks. He also said that the Hungarian Constitutional Court will decide on Friday what can be done when a member state, namely the citizens of Hungary, and Brussels disagree so strongly on a particular issue.