Gulyas: 'National consultation' to be held on family benefits

The government will hold a "national consultation" public survey on the topic of family benefits, the head of the Prime Minister's Office told a press conference on Thursday. Gergely Gulyas said Hungary spends 5 percent of GDP on family support schemes, the highest proportion in Europe, and this has resulted in the fertility rate rising from 1.23 to 1.5. This is still far from the government's goal of achieving the natural replacement rate, so further measures are expected to be introduced in the coming months with the aim of helping couples to have children, the minister said.