The Hungarian government has announced measures to offer up to 10 million forints (€30,590 or £27,000) to married couples who have three children under its new pro-family budget.
The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will offer the $33,000 payment in the form of a loan to the eligible couples upon their marriage which would have to be repaid until the couple has three children and then the debt would be forgiven, Le Figaro reports.
Around 2,400 families have already signed up and applied for the loan this month which is paid back in small payments each month. Should the couple have a child within a five-year period, the interest on the loan is suspended along with repayments suspended for three years.
The eligibility for the programme has several criteria including that the marriage must be the first for at least one of those involved, the woman must be 18 to 40 years old, and one of the couples must have paid 180 days’ worth of tax contributions to the state.
Couples who do not have a first child within five years or no child at all will be forced to repay the full loan within a four-month period unless they give a medical certificate.
The new programme is part of the broader pro-family budget announced earlier this year by the Fidesz government in order to counter demographic declines without having to rely on mass migration policies.
“Europe is at a crossroads. Western Europe seeks to address the problem of demography with simple solutions which only offer short-term success, but convey catastrophic consequences in the long run,” a government spokesperson told Breitbart London in June.
“Hungary has a long-term approach and opts for the more difficult path, as a result of which, however, Europe could become an economically strong, rejuvenated continent. Either we encourage births by placing the interests of families in the focus of politics, or we encourage ever further flows of migration,” they added.
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