Project Europe - Family Issues: Hungary is one of the most family-centered nations
The Mária Kopp Institute for Demography and Families (KINCS) and the Századvég Foundation held a joint online conference on the research results of the “Project Europe - Family Issues”, which shows that Hungary is one of the most family-centered nations, however, most European citizens also consider family an important value.
Katalin Novák, Minister for Families emphasized at the online meeting: It is a feature of all European countries that citizens see family benefits as a solution to demographic problems rather than mass migration. The leadership of the countries does not always take this into account, but the Hungarian government responds to the needs of the people and is working to make it better to start a family and raise a child in Hungary. The government has been running family-centered governance for ten years, including enshrining the value of families in law, supporting decisions to help families with legislation, making taxation family-centered, and helping to create homes, said the Minister.
The research " Project Europe - Family Issues" also revealed, as Katalin Novák added, that nine out of ten Hungarians and two-thirds of Europeans consider it important to live in their own homes.
Zsolt Barthel-Rúzsa, Vice-Chairman of the Századvég Foundation's Board of Trustees, emphasized: in addition to family issues, the research also asked about migration, the performance of Brussels, the relationship with Christian culture and social media.
Tünde Fűrész, President of KINCS, said that the research included nine family issue-related questions, and based on the answers given to them, it appears that Hungarians are committed to strengthening family support. According to the research, the four Visegrad countries (V4: Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia) and the other Central and Eastern European states wish for the most support for families.
In her opinion, according to Eurostat data, being family-centered is much more common in the Eastern part of Europe: the number of marriages in Hungary has almost doubled compared to 2010, while in the Netherlands, for example, it decreased by 15 percent. In Hungary, the intent to have children has increased the most since 2010 - by a quarter, while in several Benelux and Scandinavian states it has decreased by as much as ten percent, she reported.
Tünde Fűrész believed that the research of Századvég and the data of Eurostat for the last eight to ten years also support that Hungary is on the right track with the family benefits that are in demand throughout Europe.
Dr. Péter Pillók, Director of the Social Sciences Research Group of the Századvég Foundation, explained that the research was conducted in September-October last year by interviewing 30,000 people in 30 countries - the 27 Member States of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway.
The results of the research show that Hungary has the highest proportion (40 percent) of those who consider three children to be ideal in a family, and Hungary has the lowest proportion (1 percent) of those who imagine a family without a child. The latter rate is three per cent in the V4 countries and five per cent in the EU Member States and the United Kingdom. In Hungary, 90 percent of the respondents consider the family to be very important, and a similarly high proportion is experienced among V4 countries, he added.
He explained that about 70 per cent of European citizens prefer to agree that the government should focus on internal resources, supporting families, rather than supporting migration. In Hungary, 91 percent of the respondents agree with this. According to 52 percent of Europeans and 74 percent of Hungarians, large families should be given priority support, he said.
He has also mentioned that 88 percent of Hungarians and 50 percent of citizens of European Union countries agreed with the question whether young people should be assisted in having children as soon as possible. 66 percent of Europeans and 90 percent of Hungarians consider their own home important, said Dr. Péter Pillók, presenting the results.
At the round table discussion, led by Balázs Molnár, the Strategic Vice-President of KINCS, with the participation of Katalin Kardosné Gyurkó, President of the National Association of Large Families (NOE); Nóra Király, Founder of the Young Families Club (FICSAK); Anna Nagy, founding President of the Single Parents' Center, and Dr. Péter Pillók. It was agreed that Hungary will set an example to other European countries in many respects in terms of family-friendly attitudes and measures. It would be important not to lose our national identity and values, and the Hungarian government will do everything in its power to stand behind and support families. The results of the research showed that the vast majority of Europeans say yes to encouraging childbearing, not to settling migrants.
Source: MTI
