Katalin Novák: It is in Hungary’s basic interest to nurture British-Hungarian relations even after Brexit
November 29, 2021 Monday 23:27
| mti
As the final official program of his one-day visit to London, Katalin Novák, Vice-President of Fidesz, discussed in the London Parliament with Jacob Rees-Mogg, the British Cabinet Minister for Coordinating Parliamentary Activities, who is also the leader of the ruling Conservative Party’s lower house faction.
Katalin Novák told the Hungarian public media on Monday evening, after the meeting, that the meeting with the British politician was also important because Hungary would like to find opportunities for cooperation between the British Conservatives and Fidesz, the two governing parties.
He stressed that there are several areas where there is scope for cooperation. These include, for example, family policy, very much the same point.
Jacob Rees-Mogg is a conservative politician who believes in the importance of protecting traditional families and is therefore saddened to see an increase in abortions in the UK, the Minister for Families said.
Katalin Novák said: Rees-Mogg listened with interest to how Hungary had achieved a 41 percent reduction in the number of abortions in the last ten years. The British politician welcomed the fact that the number of marriages in Hungary has doubled at the same time, and the fertility rate has now increased by 27 as ten years ago.
Katalin Novák emphasized that the process in Great Britain was just the opposite.
The Hungarian experience and results in family policy are of concern to the British. Rees-Mogg, for example, praised the personal income tax exemption for mothers raising four or more children and said there was a need for a policy in the UK that supports childbearing through taxation, said Katalin Novák.
He added: In Hungary, the increase in the desire to have children and the number of marriages, the reduction in the number of divorces and abortions have not been to the detriment of the performance of the economy, and even the support for unemployment has increased.
This is an interesting thing, which is why the British side would like to study the Hungarian example in more detail, the minister said.
Katalin Novák stated that it was important to learn the lessons of Brexit at European level and to look at the causes as well as the consequences.
He added that he saw that the European institutions had not drawn the necessary conclusions from Brexit and that they were already making the same mistakes, for example by dragging Poland or Hungary, ignoring national specificities.
The British nation is proud of its identity, its traditions and does not want to give them up. “This is how we Hungarians are, this is how the Poles are, and if we want to preserve this sovereignty, it is important that the European Union and its institutions be partners in this,” Katalin Novák emphasized.
He added that in his opinion this was one of the lessons of Brexit and that it had not been understood at EU level.
The minister said that there are ongoing negotiations between Hungary and Great Britain in order to cause the least possible damage to Hungarian businesses and Hungarian students in the wake of Brexit.
There are already difficulties, for example, the costs are rising, Hungarian entrepreneurs and students cannot have the same rights in Great Britain as during the British EU membership, Katalin Novák emphasized.
He added that he also met with Hungarian students studying in Great Britain during the day to find out what Hungary could do to help them.
If the opportunity to gain knowledge of the competitiveness of European students at British universities with a long history of very high quality education is lost, Europe’s global competitiveness will suffer over time, said Katalin Novák in a statement in London on Monday evening.
MTI
Picture: Creator: Attila Balázs
Copyright: MTVA – Media Services Support and Asset Management Fund
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