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Special week dedicated to marriage and family starts in Hungary

Xinhua, February 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

The "week of marriage" started on Sunday in Hungary with more than 250 events and cultural programs focusing on marriage and family in a country that is facing ageing and decreasing population like many other European nations.

Kornel Herjeczki, the general coordinator of the event, told national television M1 in an interview on Sunday that "the series of events will hopefully give a boost to new weddings."

"It is proven that without marriage, the relationships between two people disintegrate more easily, and less children are born from such relations than from marriages," said Herjeczki.

"In the first 10 months of 2016, the number of marriages rose by 10 percent, which is very good, but during this week, we wish to present not only the statistics, but also to show how marriages can be filled with passion and joy, throughout personal stories," he explained.

The Hungarian government encourages bigger family with a grant scheme, under which young couples, with one of them under 40 years old, who agree to have three children within 10 years, are eligible to 10 million forints (about 34,500 U.S. dollars) non-repayable aid for the purchase of new homes.

And they may also be eligible for a further loan of 10 million forints for a term of 25 years with interest rate no more than 3 percent.

The government introduced this state grant system at the end of 2015 with two objectives, one was to increase the birth rate, and the other was to help the construction industry. Endit