In his speech delivered at the Bosch Budapest Innovation Campus, the Prime Minister highlighted that at present 11,000 sanctions are in effect against Russia, but the war is still under way, the attempts made to weaken the Russians have not met with success. By contrast, brutal inflation and the shorttage of energy could bring Europe to its knees, he pointed out.
He said he does not know how much longer this policy of sanctions will be pursued in Brussels, but problems are only becoming ever more acute.
He said “over here, there won’t be a shortage of energy,” and this is not just some prediction, but a statement of fact. “In Hungary there will be gas, and there will also be sufficient electricity,” meaning that due to a shortage of energy, not a single factory will have to stop production or will have to be closed down. There will be enough energy for everyone, and those who want to invest and manufacture here can come here and invest, he stated.
He stressed that among Hungary’s strategic goals, a priority objective is for Hungary to become one of Europe’s most innovative economies, and so they will continue and strengthen the programmes and developments that are taking the Hungarian economy in that direction. This is why they implemented the model change at universities and every year the government will allocate more funding for higher education because “not only war, but also research requires the same three things: money, money and money,” he said.
He took the view that “unless we change the policy of sanctions, Europe’s situation will not be easy,” however, despite the international difficulties, also in the future it will be worth investing in Hungary because “in Hungary there are national and local authorities, we have universities which have a vested interest in the solutions of the future and the best solutions”.
Despite all difficulties, this is where Europe’s largest battery plant is being built, this is where the machinery, transport vehicles and technological equipment of the future are being made, and many innovations are being conceived in Hungary, too, the Prime Minister listed, adding that also in the present difficult situation, researchers and scientists continuously coming up with new solutions will lead Hungary forward.
Mr Orbán said “the situation is that Europe has run out of energy,” what there is must be brought here from elsewhere, and the energy that is coming here is expensive. “Despite this, we must continue the fight against the fundamentalist greens and the bureaucrats engaged in geopolitical games,” they must be convinced that they should not exclude various sources of energy from the possible options, he explained.
He said “for political reasons, we give up on the use of various energy sources, thereby making our own lives more expensive and making the situation more difficult for our own industry in global competition”. There are few continents in as difficult a situation as Europe is finding itself in, but it is only this continent that is making its own life this hard, he said.
The Prime Minister congratulated Hungarian engineers, developers and researchers working for Bosch, and on behalf of Hungary, he thanked them for their work as it is evident, he said, that “your talent, competence and performance were the number one reason why Bosch brought and built this centre here”.
He observed that the performance of Hungarian engineers also stands in praise of their schools and teachers, it seems that “Hungarian schools are standing their ground”.
The Prime Minister also thanked the German executives of Bosch for “regarding Hungary as a friend”.
He said experimenting is the true secret of innovation, and also in politics there is innovation,
“also in our department we need new ideas for solving new problems”. It is “over” for those who stop making efforts, allow their brains to become dulled, and sit back and relax, he added.
He also highlighted that the Government of Hungary welcomes all technologies that “serve the good of the country”. Bosch’s presence in Hungary “clearly serves the good of our country,” this is Europe’s oldest and at the same time most successful company, he laid down.
He said “we would like” Bosch to conduct a considerable percentage of its work here in Hungary “so that we can say that Bosch is building the future in our country, meaning that the future is being built in Hungary”.
