Hungary s government intends to provide support to those who suffer losses due to the pandemic so that they could survive the crisis, head of the Prime Minister s Office Gergely Gulyas said at his regular press conference in Budapest on Thursday. At present, the Hungarian economy is suffering a weekly loss of 390-450 million euros, so the most crucial task is to keep the jobs, the minister emphasized. The government is negotiating with the Central Bank on household loans with favourable conditions to prepare for the period after the crisis.

The pandemic affects, sets back and places extraordinary burdens on the Hungarian, European and world economy as well, Gergely Gulyas, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister s Office said at his regular press conference in Budapest on Thursday. The minister revealed that the government has „many concrete plans” to restart the Hungarian economy. Their goal is to prevent as many people as possible from losing their jobs. They are consulting with the Central Bank on how to support Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises in maintaining their economic activities, Gergely Gulyas revealed.

The minister detailed the main points of the economic protection plan announced by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban on Wednesday.

The minister said that Hungary s economy is suffering a weekly loss of 140-160 billion forints (390-450 billion euros). At present, it seems that 1,070 hotels will shut down, and tourism practically ceased to exist in the country, he said. He emphasized that if jobs cannot be protected, the recovery will be more difficult after the crisis.

Mr Orban gave a general task to all ministers concerned which is to make proposals on how to restart the economy, Gergely Gulyas revealed. He expressed his hope that the Parliament would approve early next week to uphold the emergency measures introduced by the government. The demand for household loans is expected to increase, so the Hungarian government decided to maximise the annual percentage rate of charge (APR) in the central bank base rate plus 5 per cent. Repayments will also be terminated until 31 December in the case of the prenatal subsidy introduced by the Hungarian government and the student loan, he stated.

The government issued immediate regulations for the most affected sectors – enterprises in tourism, hospitality, entertainment, culture, event organising and sports. One of the measures is that rental agreements cannot be terminated until 30 June. In the next three months, employees will not have to pay taxes and contributions except for the health insurance contribution. Employers and employees will be exempt from all other burdens. Taxi drivers will not have to pay taxes and contributions either. The minister emphasized that the government would re-evaluate the situation in June and extend the deadline if it is needed. The aim is to keep jobs safe for everybody, employers and employees are free to agree on how to provide employment. „All of us has an interest in restarting the economy as soon as possible,” Gergely Gulyas stated.

In response to a journalist s question, Gergely Gulyas refused to comment on the criticism of the Hungarian opposition and the opposition media for the government s decisions. He said that many of the opposition s proposals „would only deepen the crisis. A few people are acting responsibly, and there are others who keep their fingers crossed for the virus. And some are sad that the first coronavirus case involved a foreign patient, not a Hungarian one,” he added.