The Patriots for Europe group sought a plenary debate on corruption cases in Ukraine and the risks linked to EU financial aid, but their proposal was rejected by the left, liberal, and EPP majority in the European Parliament, prompting renewed criticism over transparency and accountability.
Robert Palladino’s tenure as Chargé d’Affaires in Budapest is ending as Ambassador-designate Benjamin Landa prepares to take over. Bryan Leib praised Palladino’s professionalism and his efforts to strengthen the US–Hungary alliance in a heartfelt farewell message on X.
‘Even in 2015, when the PiS government came to power, individuals with communist pedigrees were still numerous within the less visible but essential layers of state administration, the judiciary, the economy, NGOs, and the media. Today these networks are returning…The goal is clear: to maintain control over social and state institutions regardless of electoral outcomes.’
The government will begin talks with municipalities in January on reforming the solidarity contribution system, but no changes are considered realistic before the elections, Minister Tibor Navracsics said in an interview published on Tuesday.
The Hungarian Institute of International Affairs’ first EastSec Forum examined Europe’s shifting security landscape amid the Russo–Ukrainian war. Speakers, including HIIA President Gladden J Pappin and Zachary Paikin of the Quincy Institute, stressed Hungary’s growing mediating role, the collapse of post–Cold War security structures, and the need to rebuild guarantees for lasting peace.
Mathias Corvinus Collegium hosted a major conference in Budapest on the global drug epidemic, warning that the narcotics industry, backed by vast networks, is undermining communities. Experts stressed prevention, youth protection, and international cooperation as key to resisting drug normalization and crime.
Hungary has become China’s most important economic partner in Europe outside the EU, with nearly a third of all Chinese investment headed to Europe last year arriving in Hungary, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday in Budapest.
Hungary’s average gross monthly wage reached 687,100 forints in September 2025, while net earnings rose to 475,100 forints. Both gross and net wages increased by around 10 per cent year-on-year, with real wages growing by 5.5 per cent, according to the latest KSH data.
‘“Personnel is policy,” and right now the liberal managers are running the show, even with the New Right in power.’
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary unveiled an 11-point plan with the Chamber of Commerce to cut taxes and reduce bureaucracy. The package includes higher VAT-exemption limits, lower burdens for sole proprietors, expanded small-business tax options, and new incentives for brownfield and infrastructure investments.
After ICE agents were deployed in Charlotte, NC (the city where Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was brutally murdered earler this year), one Democratic official in the state posted a video claiming that ICE agents are ‘specifically coming to terrorize communities of colour’; while a disturbing video shows a white van appearing to try to run over immigration agents in the city.
If Mrs Sikorski wants to publish an article blasting the Hungarian government, she should mention she is married to Poland’s foreign minister.
Congressional Republicans are preparing to receive a major AfD delegation in Washington, potentially led by party co-chair Alice Weidel. The invitation, made by Rep Anna Paulina Luna, signals a deepening ideological alliance between MAGA Republicans and Europe’s rising sovereigntist movements.
Despite only needing a tie and even taking an early lead, Hungary lost to Ireland 3–2 at home and thus failed to advance to the World Cup qualifier play-offs. Troy Parrott became a bona fide football hero for his nation with a hat-trick against the Hungarians, after also scoring two against Portugal in the previous round.
‘Pokrovsk’s encirclement emerged from these dynamics not as a sudden catastrophe but as the predictable outcome of long-developing trends.’
The Trump–Orbán summit seems to have shifted political perceptions at home: 50 per cent of Hungarians now believe Viktor Orbán will win the 2026 election, according to Nézőpont. His main challenger, Péter Magyar, trails at 32 per cent—a gap analysts link to the prime minister’s high-profile successes in Washington.
‘The paradox, if not hypocrisy, on the part of the EU is that its so-called enforcement of the rule of law or founding values, whatever those are supposed to be, is in direct violation of the principle of subsidiarity…’
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his regular Friday morning radio interview that the US president ‘likes Hungarians and hates war,’ adding that Hungary’s exemption from energy sanctions will remain secure for as long as Donald Trump is in office. He also highlighted recent government measures, including the 14th-month pension and increased child-protection funding.
Hungary’s government says it is standing with citizens rather than ‘profit-driven multinationals’, extending its price-margin reduction measures until 28 February 2026 and expanding them to 14 additional food products from 1 December to protect families and pensioners.
In a case opposing a nun to her former community, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is considering the legal nature of a monastic cell: should it be regarded as a private home?
Hungary beat Armenia 1–0 away from home in Yerevan, Armenia. Barnabás Varga scored the winner with another header, his fourth goal in four games in the campaign. If Portugal beat Ireland later tonight, Hungary are guaranteed to make it to their first FIFA World Cup qualifier play-offs since 1997.
Mercedes-Benz is establishing its first research and development centre in Hungary with an investment worth tens of billions of forints, further strengthening the country’s role in the global automotive transformation, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced in Kecskemét.
British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay visited Budapest, Hungary, for his birthday weekend. There, he visited a restaurant with a name that is very special to him, so he decided to share a short video of the experience on his social media.
Elon Musk has publicly humiliated Ursula von der Leyen over the EU’s democratic deficit, replying to her post about the ‘European Democracy Shield’ by asking: ‘If democracy is the foundation of freedom, shouldn’t your position be elected by the people?’ The viral exchange reignited debate over the Commission’s legitimacy and growing centralization of power in Brussels.
Hungarian Air Force Gripen fighters have conducted 20 real NATO air alerts in the past three and a half months as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission, which safeguards the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, the mission commander said in Lithuania.
Online anxiety has become one of today’s most pressing mental health issues, experts warned at the ‘Under Pressure – Our Anxieties in the Real and Virtual World’ conference held on Wednesday in Budapest, Hungary.
At an event, singer Tish Hyman confronted California State Senator Scott Wiener about biological men identifying as women being allowed in women’s locker rooms by local state laws. Hyman claims to have been assaulted by a trans woman at a gym.
More than 82 million forints have been collected through Hungary’s bottle return donation system. Until 31 December, those using REpont machines can choose to donate their refunds to support disadvantaged children and families.
‘The renovation of the Hijaz railway is not an independent project but part of broader Turkish foreign policy, which aims to elevate Türkiye’s position in the Middle East hierarchy. Through neo-Ottomanism, Ankara is not only striving to be a strong actor in the region but also to be indispensable to the local states.’
Momentum co-founder and MEP Katalin Cseh has announced that she is joining the newly founded Hungarian Humanists’ Party. The pink-themed progressive movement, established by Richárd Barabás, promises ‘more EU and Pride flags’ and ‘less machismo and hatred’ in politics—prioritizing the advancement of a woke agenda above all else.