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The last government info meeting of the year was held today, and as in previous years, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán joined the event, holding an international press conference to assess 2023, and outline the government’s plans for next year.
“Brussels does not see the real problems facing Europe, and the European Parliament elections are about opening Brussels’ eyes,” the Prime Minister declared at the press conference.
Viktor Orbán stressed that
the European Parliament elections will be at the heart of his political goals for the coming year.
He said that it was a fairly common opinion in Hungary that Brussels does not see real life and is distancing itself from the problems that people are struggling with not only in Hungary, but throughout Europe. He therefore named the goal of the 2024 EP elections to open Brussels’ eyes, see reality, and be able to correct the leadership mistakes it made in 2023. He called 2023 the year of great struggles and 2024 the year of great plans, adding that the EP elections will be an attempt to bring about significant political change in Brussels.
Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
Orbán also spoke about the new EU migration pact adopted on Wednesday, stating that “it will certainly end in failure.” He stressed that until the EU takes the courage to say what Hungary has said – that anyone who wants to come to its territory under any title must first apply for it and then wait for a decision outside its borders – whatever package it creates will always end in failure.
The prime minister is convinced that
the Hungarian regulation is the “model regulation,”
the only regulation in Europe today that has been proven to work.
The prime minister also made an announcement at the press conference: a three-year wage development program for teachers and kindergarten teachers could be launched. He said that “if the conditions are met, and we are close to meeting them, we can launch a three-year wage development program for teachers and kindergarten teachers.”
He pointed out that
the average salary of teachers is expected to rise by 32.2 percent from January.
He said that “a legal act is still missing” for the teachers’ pay increase, as Hungary needs to receive a letter from Brussels assuring the government that they will pay a certain percentage of the pay raise. This letter could arrive at any moment, he said.
As he noted, the government wants to implement a 32.2 percent wage increase in the three-year wage improvement program from January 1, 2024, meaning that it will be visible in February salaries. “Smaller, but more significant” increases will take effect from January 1, 2025 and 2026, he added.
At the end of the program, the average salary of teachers will be HUF 800,000 (EUR 2,000),
he noted.
He added there would be differences in those salaries based on averages, performance, and geographical location.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher