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ORBÁN ANNOUNCES FAMILY PROTECTION MEASURES

 

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, announced a seven-point family protection action plan in his state-of-the-nation address, saying this is “Hungary’s answer [to challenges], rather than immigration”.

Orbán said every woman under 40 years of age will be eligible to a preferential loan when they first get married. The preferential loan of the family home purchase scheme (csok) will be extended; families raising two or more children will now also be able to use it for purchasing resale homes.

Until now, the government has undertaken to pay off 1 million forints of families’ mortgages for every third and subsequent child. Now, the government will pay off 1 million forints when the second child is born, 4 million forints after the birth of the third child, and another 1 million forints after the birth of every subsequent child, he said.

Women who have had and raised at least four children will be exempt from personal income tax payment for the rest of their lives. Families raising at least three children will be eligible to a grant of 2.5 million forints to buy a new car seating at least seven people.

The government will create 21,000 crèche places over three years. Grandparents will also be eligible to a child-care fee and look after young children instead of the parents, he said.