"Today it is true for every country in Europe that not enough children are born, and although Europe's population is growing, it is solely due to immigration," Katalin Novák said at a conference in Bratislava.Continue reading
Addressing the 10th European Large Family Conference in Keszthely on Saturday, Katalin Novák, the minister without portfolio for families, said the Hungarian government’s actions taken since 2010 were proof that it supported families.
“Family is the cradle of sustainability,” Novák told a conference organised by the National Association of Large Families and the European Large Families Confederation. Political will, she added, was a chief pillar of sustainable family policy.
In 2010, the government chose to link family benefits to work, thereby laying the foundations to increase sums available for this kind of support. Accordingly, next year’s budget contains triple the amount in 2010 for family benefits, Novák noted.
If the economy grows by 5.5 percent, the government plans next year to return a large part of personal income tax to families raising children, she said.
Sustainable family policy, the minister said, needs supporters and real communities, noting the three decades of work carried out by the National Association of Large Families.
Novák spoke of sustaining the Hungarian nation and its culture and values from one generation to the next.
Close to 700 people from eleven countries attended the European Large Family Conference. Professional events were complemented by family programmes such as arts and crafts organised for children.
Featured photo by Zoltán Balogh/MTI