Local services
According to the minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office, Debrecen sets a good example for other cities and even for the government in many areas.
On Thursday, the new General Assembly of Debrecen was formed. The ceremonial meeting was attended by Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, who gave an interview to Debrecen Television.
Gergely Gulyás said that Debrecen sets a good example in the local government system, the city is not only planning for the future but also caring for the past and traditions, a good example of this is the renewal of the Old Town Hall, where the Mayor’s Reference Library has been established in the former Debrecen room of Lajos Kossuth, which will be open to the public.
Government efforts to move the Natural History Museum and the Transport Museum to Debrecen were also discussed. According to the minister, it is important to have large national museums that are not in Budapest.
“In terms of transport, Debrecen has made great strides in recent years. With the BMW factory also opening its doors here, it greatly contributes to the development of the Debrecen economy. If there is a way for the automotive companies, which play a major role in the economic development here, to present their developments and their activities to the wider public, it can give a lot to Debrecen and the surrounding settlements as well, since we must not forget that Debrecen also needs to play a regional central role, in a certain sense even across borders,” he said concerning the Transport Museum.
Turning to economic development, he said that Hungarian cities are facing the challenge of Hungary being an attractive investment region, and the biggest challenge now is to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of skilled labour.
“Anyone who is involved in economic policy, and local authorities are like that, can see that if we want to work with the world’s cutting-edge technologies, we have American, Chinese and German ones, and our aim, and the interests of local authorities, is to avoid having to choose between them, to avoid ideological barriers that prevent us from making a fruitful investment for a city because we do not want to trade with one country or another for ideological reasons”, he added.
He emphasised that Hungary complies with international and EU rules and sanctions. But if there are no sanctions against a country, it should be free to decide what investment is in the interest of a local community.
Gergely Gulyás said that China has grown up alongside the major world economic players, while Europe is losing ground. According to him, many people do not see that Europe’s main interest is to trade with everyone it can trade with, but the Hungarian government has this in mind.
He also said that the government will make affordable housing a priority for the next two years.
“Coordination is in the special position that the state, the central government, can learn from others. Debrecen has announced a housing programme that can greatly help young people to get housing. Debrecen sets the best example for other cities in this regard and if this can be done at the national level – I am not sure- then for the government as well,” the Minister said about the Főnix Housing Programme, which is expected to be launched next year.
The minister also spoke about how, thanks to the conscious construction, Debrecen’s cultural offer has been continuously colourful, even competing with Budapest.
Source:dehir.hu
