The Government Information Centre (KTK) has said that saving the print media in Hungary is of public interest.
The announcement followed the government’s decision to grant the Central European Press and Media Foundation’s acquisition of control over Opus Press, Echo TV, New Wave Media Group and Magyar Idők Publishing.
A statement said that the law prohibiting unfair market practices and restriction of competition enables the government to give certain company holdings the status of special significance for national strategy.
The statement added that the cabinet has so far made twenty-one such decisions, so the decision affecting the Central European Press and Media Foundation is not without example.
The government decision to grant the acquisition is to ensure that print media in Hungary is of public interest, especially in order to maintain the forums of publicity around the country in the long term, the statement said.
The statement concluded that the foundation has set this target in its founding document and what makes it especially worthy of support is that it plans to fulfil this target on a not-for-profit basis.