Budapest Metropolitan Public Development Council to be reconstituted

The Budapest Metropolitan Public Development Council (FKT) is being reconstituted with expanded powers to foster cooperation between the Hungarian government and the capital. According to Dávid Vitézy, the transport and investment minister, the council will consist of ten members: five representatives from the government and five from the capital.

To ensure consensus-based decision-making, the council is designed to reach decisions unanimously. Prime Minister Péter Magyar will serve as the council's president, while Mayor Gergely Karácsony will act as co-president. The council's enhanced authority includes the ability to designate specific Budapest investments as priority projects and to appoint development companies that are jointly owned by the government and the city on a 50-50 basis.

Vitézy noted that this move aims to move past previous political conflicts between the central government and the capital, seeking instead a partnership to drive urban development.