During today’s Operational Group press conference, Tamás Schanda, Deputy Minister of Technology and Innovation (ITM), reported that huge interest had been shown in wage subsidies, with some 126,000 people requesting help. "Those whose employer has reduced their working hours can apply for subsidies,” he said, adding that “there is also a huge demand for special R&D wage subsidies, more than 10,000 people have so far requested this type of allowance."
Schanda added that in the situation created by the epidemic, the government will do its utmost to protect jobs; an economic protection action plan has been launched with the aim of helping 70,000 jobseekers find work with a HUF 80 billion pot. However, in parallel with the protection of jobs, Hungarian-owned companies must also be protected. In order to protect Hungarian companies from unfair foreign acquisition, “according to a government decree, until the end of 2020, a foreign player can only acquire ownership in key sectors and strategically important companies with the permission of a minister," he said.
“Intentions to acquire ownership must be reported to the ITM minister, who can authorize or prohibit the transaction,” the deputy minister said, adding that this new regulation “applies to priority sectors such as defense, energy, chemicals and the food industry."
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