Hungary guarantees unified food and water supply for law-enforcement at major events

Hungary’s Interior Minister, Pósfai Gábor, has issued a decree guaranteeing a uniform in-kind catering and drinking-water supply for law-enforcement personnel deployed to major events, from mass gatherings and disaster response to the protection of internationally protected persons. The rule is set out in Decree 17/2026. (VIII. 19.) BM, published in issue 115 of the Magyar Közlöny on 19 August 2026, and enters into force on the third day after its promulgation.

The measure amends the 33/2015. (VI. 16.) BM decree on the pay and benefits of professional members of law-enforcement bodies under the Interior Minister, adding a new Chapter V/A on “supply rules related to major events.” It also updates the 5/2022. (III. 31.) BM decree on law-enforcement officer candidates and the 47/2022. (XII. 27.) BM decree on contract border guards, so that the same catering rules apply to those groups when they are drawn into a major-event operation.

Who is covered and when

The entitlement applies to professional personnel (the “eligible persons”) engaged in a major-event task, as well as to supporting staff in a law-enforcement administrative service relationship or employment who work at the same site as the professional force or cannot leave their post during the operation. A “major event” is defined as a service of at least six hours’ duration involving:

• protection, rescue, site-security and order-maintenance tasks linked to a significant incident endangering life, property or the public;
• security tasks for assemblies and mass events;
• security for an event attended by an internationally protected person under Government Decree 160/1996. (XI. 5.).

The supply must be provided from the moment the eligible person begins the major-event service, or from the pre-deployment briefing if the task does not coincide with the normal daily service period; travel time is also counted when personnel are transferred from another duty station.

Meal and water norms

The decree sets a “special catering norm” expressed in forints, defined as the maximum value of food raw materials per person, excluding VAT, broken down by meal:

• breakfast: HUF 1,200;
• lunch: HUF 1,950;
• dinner: HUF 1,200;
• night supplement: HUF 1,000.

The minimum value of the norm is set at 80% of these amounts. At least one hot meal must be provided when three or more meals are served a day, and drinking water must be supplied at least every four hours throughout the service, preferably as drinking or bottled mineral water, though other non-alcoholic drinks or tea with up to 4% sugar may be used in part or in full.

Delivery and financing

The supply may be delivered through the body’s own resources, purchased services, agreements with other bodies, municipal catering services, or donated foodstuffs in compliance with food-safety rules. Each law-enforcement body is responsible for planning the appropriation in its annual budget and for providing the supply to its eligible members, while bodies coordinating a joint operation must deliver the supply in a coordinated manner and, where possible, with identical content.

The decree also obliges each law-enforcement body to submit a proposal to the Interior Minister by 15 March each year to adjust the special catering norm in line with the average annual inflation of the preceding year, keeping the values current over time.

Why it matters

By standardising food and water supply regardless of duty station, deployment conditions or organisational form, the decree aims to preserve service capability and operational safety during the most demanding law-enforcement operations. For the professional and supporting staff who work long shifts at mass events, disaster sites and high-security visits, it guarantees a predictable, state-funded standard of care that had previously varied between bodies.

Source: Magyar Közlöny, issue 115, 19 August 2026, Section V (decrees of members of the Government), p. 4014 (official reference: 17/2026. (VIII. 19.) BM rendelet).