Elżbieta Rafalska, Polish Minister of Family Affairs has paid a visit to KINCS
Elżbieta Rafalska, the Polish Minister of Family Affairs, Labor and Social Policy held a consultation with the leaders of our Institute on family policies and future cooperation opportunities of our countries. At the meeting, the Ministry of Human Capacities was represented by Attila Beneda MD, Deputy State Secretary for Family Policy.
The Polish Minister welcomed the establishment of such a separate background institution in Hungary as KINCS, which deals with family policy and demographic issues and provides practical assistance to policy makers. She has emphasized that these two areas are also very important for Poland, and therefore she believes that the creation of a similar institution would also bring added value in her country. The Minister briefly reported on the '500+' government program introduced in Poland, resulting in an increase in the fertility rate from 1.29 to 1.45, in spite of the fact that the number of women in fertile age has dropped by about 100,000. She has pointed out that, due to their actions, childbirth is no longer regarded as a barrier, more and more Polish families decide to have three or more children. There is a significant positive change in attitude towards families and large families. She recalled that Poland has introduced its demographic measures for 3 years, the impact of which will be objectively measurable over the longer term, and therefore she trusts in the success of the autumn elections.
Tünde Fűrész, the President of KINCS has briefly introduced the background of the Institute's establisment and its activities. She has explained that, as a result of family policy measures since 2010, the fertility rate of 1.23 has risen to 1.49. By 2030, the goal is to achieve the value of 2, sustaining the self-preservation of the nation. She stressed that it takes a long time to solve the demographic and family policy challenges and to achieve results, which is inconceivable without national consensus, and pointed out that the recently finished national consultation has underlined that Hungarians were interested in developments concerning domestic family policy. In addition to creating the financial background of having a child, a family-friendly shift is necessary, which was realized in 2018, during the Year of the Families in Hungary. Hungary is building a strong relationship with Poland and the Visegrad countries, as this group of countries has shown that the answer to demographical challenges is not forced immigration but a successful family policy.
Minister Rafalska has expressed her interest in future co-operation and offered Hungary to present its achievements in the area of family policy, by complementing Poland, in an event planned to be held at the Polish Parliament.
