2024-02-03 08:15:50
Government press conference
Written by Rainer Ackermann
The government is not paying its share of the reconstruction of the Chain Bridge. Chancellery Minister Gergely Gulyás said this at the usual press conference on Thursday, following the most recent government meeting.
The capital repeatedly demanded payment of the promised 6 billion forints (a good 15 million euros), but the government made this payment conditional on opening the reconstructed bridge to car traffic, as before the construction work. (As is well known, the left-liberal government of Budapest decided that from now on the listed Chain Bridge may only be used by buses and taxis.)
Regarding the new deposit system for beverage containers, the minister noted that manufacturers have a grace period until the end of March to introduce the new deposit bottles and cans. The machines are installed everywhere in retail; Customers are now waiting for the new packaging, for which a uniform deposit of 50 forints is charged.
In response to a question about the price of gasoline per liter, which has recently risen to over 600 forints, Gulyás said that the prices are not at a level that requires a new price cap. Furthermore, he personally does not expect prices to jump by several hundred forints, as is being spread in panic in some media. Regarding the interest rate cut by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), which may have disappointed the government’s expectations at only 75 basis points, the minister said that the government was concerned about the independence of the central bank, so he did not want to comment on the interest rate cut. However, he shared journalists’ concerns that the ongoing recession in Germany would have negative effects on Hungary, as almost a quarter of foreign trade is carried out in this region.
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