Hungary and Italy have agreed to jointly promote a policy of supporting families at a European level.
Katalin Novák, state secretary for family and youth affairs, held talks with Lorenzo Fontana, Italy’s family affairs minister in Rome, focused on national family policies.
Novák told MTI that the only solution to the demographic decline facing Europe is providing families increased support using national budgets instead of relying on economic migrants.
Citing official figures, she noted a favorable increase in childbirths in Hungary over the past seven years.
Statistics show that while the fertility rate in 2011 was at an all-time-low of 1.2 births, it went up to 1.5 in 2017, a record high figure in 20 years, she said.
What's more, the rate in Italy has continued to drop at an alarming pace to currently stand at 1.3 births, she said, adding that the rate should ideally be 2.1 children per mother.
Novák praised the new Italian government’s policies aimed at providing increased support for families and pledged partnership on a European level of promoting the importance of the initiative.