Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – The network of bike paths in
Hungary could double in the years 2007-2013 due to a 56 billion
forint (about 224 million euro) programme involving EU funding, the
Ministry of Economy and Transport said on Friday. The Bicycle Hungary Programme is expected to draw on 14 billion
forints (about 56 million euros) from Hungary’s Transportation
Operative Programme, 28 billion forints (about 112 million euros)
from the Regional Operative Programme and 14 billion forints from
the central budget during the 2007-2013 EU budgetary period. Some
2,000 kilometres of new bike paths could be constructed, double the
current paths. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Next year’s budget will be tight
but wages are not expected to decline in real terms overall and will
even rise in some segments, government spokesman David Daroczi said
on Friday. The government plans no further austerity steps but will aim to
continue its stability programme, Daroczi said. Minor tax changes will raise net incomes for about 1.5 million
employees, and welfare benefits including the childcare allowance
will be higher in 2008, Daroczi said. Pensions will rise by 5
percent from January, he added. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – The Budapest Stock Exchange BUX
index closed the year 2007 on Friday at 26,235.63 points, down 82.66
points (0.31 percent) for the day and up 1,391 points (5.6 percent)
for the year. Overall trading amounted to HUF 16 billion (EUR 63.15 million)
on Friday. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Misty, overcast, with sporadic
sleet or snowfall. Moderate winds. Lowest night-time temperatures will be between -3 and -8 degrees
Celsius while the daytime highs will be between -2 and -7 degrees
Celsius, the National Weather Service forecasts. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Hungarian police carried out
nearly 28,000 alcohol and drugs tests on December 11 and 12 to
filter out drivers who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
police told MTI on Friday. Merely 1.2 percent of the drivers checked by police were found
drunk but none of them were under the influence of drugs. The checks were conducted mainly in the late afternoon and
evening hours when drunk and drugs driving is generally more
frequent. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Government spokesman David Daroczi
on Friday summed up the past year. “The aggregate figures for 2007 clearly demonstrate that Prime
Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany has dictated an especially quick pace for
both himself and his government,” Daroczi told a press conference,
noting that 160 of the 185 bills approved by Parliament had been
proposed by the cabinet, he said. The government has accomplished an above-average 70 percent of
its legislative programme. It even submitted some bills which the
original programme had not included, for instance on registered
partnerships and on the obligation of certain officials to declare
their assets, the government spokesman said. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Fidesz parliamentary group leader
Tibor Navracsics on Friday summed up the past year. Navracsics told a press conference that main opposition party’s
MPs had put forward 40 bills, of which just three had been passed by
Parliament. Fidesz supported 18 of the 19 bills government-sponsored bills
requiring a two-thirds majority, he added. He insisted that hardly a week had gone by this year without a
government-related scandal, adding that the Socialist-liberal
coalition had not attained its own objectives, had made false
forecasts and had failed to engage in dialogue.  Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Several hundred fans gathered in
Budapest’s Kossuth Square outside parliament on Friday to wish
Hungary’s Dakar Rally team the best of luck as they embark on the
2008 event, which is expected to be the toughest yet. The trailers transporting the team’s equipment — bikes, cars
and trucks — are making their way to Lisbon for the start of the
Lisbon-Dakar on January 5. The event concludes in Senegal on January
20. Continue »

Budapest, December 27 (MTI) – The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE)
is expected to post an after-tax profit of 2.5 billion forints in
2007, BSE’s chief executive Arpad Pal told the press on Thursday. 2007 was the first year the BSE paid taxes after its earnings,
but profit was still up from 2.4 billion forints in 2006, Pal said. The BSE had revenue of 4 billion forints in 2007, up 600 million
forints from a year before. President of the BSE Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy said the U.S.
credit crunch will continue to be a market-shaping factor in 2008
and its final impact is unpredictable. Hungary’s unfavourable
macroeconomic position could also make 2008 a difficult year for the
bourse, through the performance of companies floated on the stock
exchange, he said. Continue »

Budapest, December 28 (MTI) – Sentiment at Hungary’s small and
medium companies (SME) slightly improved in December, Ecostat said
on Friday. Ecostat’s SME confidence index measured 89.4 percent in
December, up from 87.6 percent in November. Last year’s government measures introduced to regain fiscal
balance resulted in a gradual loss of SME confidence starting in
July but a slight improvement started in the later part of the year. Business outlooks for the first part of 2008 show that SMEs
expect an improving economic climate, Ecostat said. Continue »