By UME
Demographic challenges must be met with family support and not with migration, said Hungarian Family Minister Katalin Novák
The Visegrád Four (V4) states Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia founded a “family-friendly coalition” at a video conference last Thursday, said Hungarian Minister for Family Affairs Katalin Novák on Thursday.
“In the heart of Europe there is a partnership that focuses on families. We are not looking for answers to the demographic challenges that we all see in migration, but in supporting families, ”said Novák. The family conference was organized by the Polish Presidency of the V4, which was also attended by ministerial colleagues Marlena Malag from Poland, Milan Krajniak from Slovakia and Jana Malacová from the Czech Republic. The parties agreed to coordinate their decisions regarding families and to start joint research.
Novák emphasized that the common goal of the four countries is that young people can have as many children as they want and that financial barriers should not prevent them from starting a family.
“I spoke about Hungarian practice at the conference. In Hungary we support the fact that when someone thinks about a family, it means that they respect their predecessors and feel responsible for their descendants, that is, they think long term, ”said Novák.
She stressed that women should be able to balance their work and family life and not have to choose between the two. She added that the government is also thinking about families during the coronavirus epidemic and is spending more and more money in its budgets for this year and next to support them. She stressed that the amount earmarked for family support over the next year will be three times what it was in 2010, when the current Conservative government came to power.
“We launched Baby Support, Hungary’s largest housing creation program, and we will be increasing the childcare allowance from July 1st. From 2022, people under the age of 25 will be exempt from income tax, while mothers raising four will also benefit from income tax exemptions, but I can also mention the construction of kindergartens, “she said while discussing the achievements of the Government enumerated.
Novák also mentioned that a recent Hungarian survey found that young people do not have set schedules when planning a family, adding that similar research should be coordinated among Visegrád member states. She believed that such an investigation at the Visegrád group level would contribute to better cooperation.
“Within the V4 we observe each other’s good practices; in Poland, for example, young people already enjoy income tax exemptions, although this means slightly fewer discounts than will apply in Hungary from next January, ”said Novák.