Users on X (formerly Twitter), corporate and private alike, were captivated by the images of the recent flooding of the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. Photos of the flooded capital city spread across the social media site. Thankfully, the water levels have come down to normal since, and the flooding passed with no loss of human life.
The European Commission is allocating approximately €10 billion in aid to flood-affected countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but Hungary is notably absent from the list. The reason is somewhat paradoxical: Hungary has been so effective in its protective measures that the resulting damage is expected to fall below the threshold required to qualify for the EU Solidarity Fund.
In his speech at the Ludovika University campus in Budapest Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in uniquely hard times. He warned about Europe’s decreasing level of competitiveness, and stressed Hungary’s need to remain economically neutral. He nailed down that Hungary needs to conduct itself on the new bipolar global economic stage based on its own national interests.
The European Court of Justice issued a €200 million fine, as well as additional fines of €1 million per day to Hungary for failing to comply with migrant quotas in June. Hungary has failed to pay up by the first deadline, so now the European Commission is looking to deduct the penalties from the EU funds due to Budapest.
At the InnoTrans 2024 International Transport Exhibition in Berlin Hungarian state railways MÁV, MÁV-START, and the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) signed a cooperation agreement to enhance passenger and freight services. The agreement aims to reduce travel times on the Budapest–Vienna route and improve collaboration in technical areas, promising a faster, more efficient rail network by 2028.
Hungary has successfully fended off a significant flood, demonstrating the nation’s resilience and preparedness, the Hungarian prime minister stated yesterday. Speaking on commercial television TV2 Orbán praised the collaborative efforts of the state, local governments, water management experts, and security forces. He also highlighted Hungary’s geographical advantage, which allowed for timely preparations.
A recent report by Germany’s Tagesschau highlighted a growing trend of Germans relocating to Hungary due to dissatisfaction with their homeland’s liberal policies, particularly concerning immigration. Germans moving to Lake Balaton cite increased safety and alignment with Hungary’s conservative values, praising Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s stance on foreign and domestic policies.
Dorottya Baczoni, Rajmud Fekete, Gábor Megadja, and Gábor Csepregi took part in a captivating panel discussion at the Identity as a Political Weapon event hosted by Mathias Corvinus Collegium and XXI. Century Institute, talking about the sexual revolution that took place in the late 1960s in the capitalist West and the communist East.
In an earlier interview in the Hungarian media former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that ‘all issues in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations can be traced back to the Russian aggression’. On the other hand, he also noted the importance of Péter Szijjártó emphasizing his support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what comes out of the planned meeting with Kuleba’s successor.
Prior to the start of Hungary’s current presidency of the Council of the EU, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated that the country plans to initiate the opening of a new chapter in accession negotiations with Serbia. This intention was also extended to the entire region, as the Hungarian foreign minister highlighted the country’s aim to hold intergovernmental talks with all five Western Balkan countries.
After months of negotiations MOL Group has finalized commercial agreements with its joint venture partners, Azerbaijani SOCAR and British BP, for the extraction of natural gas reserves in Azerbaijan. This positions the Hungarian oil and gas company as the third-largest shareholder in one of the biggest gas fields in the South Caucasus, the Azeri–Chirag–Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) field.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated on Monday that the country would soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the Danube flooding is nearing its end. He added that once the immediate threat has passed, public health measures will begin, and an assessment of the lessons learned from the flood protection efforts will follow; but discipline is still required in the remaining two days.
Olivér Várhelyi will be removed from his position as Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement and will, if confirmed by the EP, be serving as Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare instead in the incoming EU Commission. EU Minister János Bóka congratulated him on his new assignment, while Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has criticized Brussels for the decision.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was established in 1988 and is awarded annually by the European Parliament. It is primarily given to individuals or organizations who have made outstanding efforts in the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The prize is named after Soviet physicist, dissident, and political exile Andrei Sakharov. Thirty-four years ago the first recipient was Nelson Mandela.
While in Budapest, Matteo Salvini also met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary on Friday. Salvini is currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of Italy. He is the leader of the Lega party, which joined Fidesz’s new group Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament earlier this year.
Deputy Chairman of Mi Hazánk party Előd Novák accuses Hungarian BAC Consulting of aiding and abetting a terrorist act for supposedly manufacturing the pagers that exploded in the hands of Hezbollah operatives. Apart from being based on information debunked by the Hungarian government, Novák’s allegation regurgitates leftist anti-Israel narratives.
Earlier this week several hundred members of Hezbollah were reportedly severely injured in a mysterious series of explosions in Lebanon when bombs hidden inside pagers detonated. The manufacturing of the devices was initially linked to a Hungarian company. It has since been revealed that the company is only Hungarian on paper, and it does not have a manufacturing plant in the country. In fact, the pagers have never been within Hungary’s borders.
Press reports indicated that the pagers were manufactured by a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. CEO of Gold Apollo Hsu Ching-kuang held a press conference on the matter, where he announced that the AR-924 pagers ordered by Hezbollah were manufactured under licence by a Budapest-based company called BAC Consulting Ltd. Gold Apollo has not presented the specific agreement made with BAC Consulting.
Following the keynote speech by Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, Retired Brigadier General in the US Army Antony J Tata, Director of the Baltic Security Foundation Otto Tabuns, Programme Director and co-founder of the Swedish think tank Oikos Arvid Hallén, President of the information warfare firm WorldStrat Jim Hanson, and Hungarian Ambassador to NATO István Balogh shared their views about the future of the military alliance.
Prime Minister Orbán briefed the press on the status of flood defence in Hungary on Wednesday. He shared that intense defence efforts are ongoing at twelve key locations along the Mosonmagyaróvár section of the Danube and Leitha rivers, as well as in Budapest and several settlements at the Danube Bend.
The first panel discussion of the second day analysed warfare and its moral implications, and how policymakers, global powers and ordinary people react to the war in Ukraine and to the Israel–Hamas conflict.
Professor Frank Füredi explained that he is concerned about how cultural issues and conflicts are able to influence geopolitical and military issues in the world in his opening keynote speech at the Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit.
Distinguished experts gathered at the fourth Danube Institute Geopolitical Summit to talk about the consequences of the green energy transition many leftist politicians are pushing for. Then, Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia; Ambassador Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security of Hungary; and Former US Secretary of Veteran Affairs Robert Wilkie took the floor for closing remarks.
During the third panel of the conference some of the renowned experts held that the future will be about a multipolar world the axis of which are non-Western countries, particularly China, while others argued that the 21st century is still American, with the United States remaining the central and most powerful actor.
Prof. S. John Tsagronis, László Jónás, Jeffrey Hoffman, Nathan Levine, and moderator Michelle Watson gathered for a panel discussion at the Danube Institute-Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit on how private companies can and should cooperate with national governments that best serve both national and business interests.
The first panel discussion of the Geopolitical Summit discussed several aspects of democracy, and how conservatism fits into it in the ‘changing world order’. The panellists agreed that Western liberal elites have in many ways hijacked democracy.
In his keynote speech at the fourth Danube Institute – The Heritage Foundation Geopolitical Summit, Political Director for the Prime Minister of Hungary Balázs Orbán talked about how the current liberal world order is changing, and conservatives now have the chance to not be the ‘losers’ of the new world order. He also stressed the importance of favouring family policies instead of migration for the solution to the demographic challenges; as well as the upcoming presidential election in the US.
58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh pointed a rifle at President Trump while he was golfing at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida but Secret Service agents thwarted the assassination attempt. Routh, apprehended by the police shortly after the incident, is an avid supporter of Ukraine and has apparently attempted to recruit volunteers to fight against Russia.
The municipality statement issued on 16 September said that from 1 January 2026 the Terézváros local government will set the number of days that properties can be used for short-term rentals in the district at zero. The referendum was called in response to the growing number of resident complaints about the disturbance caused by Airbnb-type accommodations.
A recent op-ed on The Federalist argues that the conduct of ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis during the debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris constituted an illegal, in-kind campaign contribution to the Harris campaign worth over $40 million.