Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had talks with European Commissioner for Internal Market
05. 03. 2021.
On Friday in the Carmelite Monastery, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had talks with European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton about the production of vaccines, and defence industry and energy policy issues, Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief informed the Hungarian news agency MTI.

The EU commissioner was first received by Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics and Justice Minister Judit Varga, he added

Thierry Breton is in charge of the EU task force whose duty it is to eliminate the bottlenecks of vaccine production and distribution, and to achieve faster responses to biological threats at a European level.

As part of the fight against the coronavirus, the European Union is making attempts to facilitate the certification of newly-established production plants through the early involvement of the regulatory authorities concerned. In the interest of creating the conditions for Hungary’s and Europe’s self-sufficiency, the Hungarian government decided on the establishment of a national vaccine plant and a national coronavirus vaccine plant, Mr Havasi recalled. The plant could start operation as early as in 2022; according to plans, it could be capable of manufacturing 8 to 10 million coronavirus vaccines annually.

At the Friday meeting, the parties confirmed that the epidemic had highlighted the EU’s dependence on third countries, and therefore sufficient capacities must be created in the Member States for key sectors and strategic value chains. Exposure to external suppliers must be reduced in particular in the area of critical raw materials, further strengthening our energy sovereignty. Outlining Hungary’s position, Mr Orbán said, in the interest of a future-oriented, crisis-resilient and clean economy, we will focus investments, among others, on the renewal of universities, laying the foundations for sustainable green transport and energy, and the circular economy, and the acceleration of digitisation.