Hungarian FM labels Vice-President of the European Parliament a Hungary-hater

The suggestion by the "Hungary-hating" Vice-President of the European Parliament that BMW should take its investment to Romania instead of Hungary is ridiculous, and the political blackmail of German companies investing in Hungary is clearly a complete failure, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Wednesday. A journalist for ATV asked whether the planned construction of the BMW plant in Debrecen was indeed at risk, following reports that it might be relocated to Romania.

In his answer to the question, Péter Szijjártó called Katarina Barley, the EP Vice-President, a Hungarian-hater. "The lady in question is a Hungary-hater and suffers from severe Hungarophobia," he began, as seen in the video he later posted on his official Facebook page:

Péter Szijjártó said that the construction of the BMW factory is going according to plan, with the company bringing a very significant element of its electromobility strategy to Debrecen. "It is the German socialists who would like to see these job-creating, high-tech investments made in Romania instead of Hungary, and I sometimes get the feeling that the Hungarian left would love to see that too. Fortunately, however, it is not up to them, but to the decisions of the investors and the cooperation between the investors and the Hungarian government," he said.

"Despite all the efforts of said lady, the German and the Hungarian left, this year we may even be able to double last year's investment record," Szijjártó said.

The foundation stone of the BMW plant in Debrecen was laid last June. The company's board member Milan Nedeljkovic later said that they intend to build the world's most modern plant, and that BMW would be increasing its investment in Hungary to more than two billion euros (around eight hundred billion forints), thereby doubling the value of its investment in Hungary.

According to an announcement made last November, the car manufacturing plant, which is expected to launch operations in 2025, will be complemented by a new facility producing batteries for electric models, which is currently under construction and will create five hundred new jobs on top of the existing ones.