According to the minister, representatives presented the delegation with the regulations and fundamental aspects of the spending of EU funds, followed by questions from the committee members. However, Navracsics noted that it was apparent the delegation had not read the background materials sent to them in advance for more detailed information. Also, in some cases, the opinion of certain representatives was heavily influenced by political biases, resulting in occasional factual errors during their questioning.

The Hungarian Prime Minister congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the phone on his victory in the first round of the presidential election in Turkey.

Viktor Orbán announced on social media that the renovation of Road 37 between Gesztely and Szerencs has been completed, and thus the speed limit has been increased. He also encouraged drivers to use the new road confidently but drive cautiously.

Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky drew attention to the fundamental change in the security situation in Europe and stressed that the military must demonstrate appropriate deterrence to ensure the safety of the Hungarian people. He emphasised that defence is something that concerns all Hungarians, and reiterated that the Hungarian Defence Forces welcome young people who want to join in the armed defence of the homeland.

In a letter to the new Slovak head of government, Lajos Ódor, Prime Minister Orbán expressed his readiness to work together for the development of cooperation based on mutual respect. The PM also expressed gratitude to the outgoing Slovak prime minister, Eduard Heger, for the constructive cooperation established in recent years.

21 May was designated National Defence Day in 1992 because it was on this day that Hungarian soldiers recaptured the Buda Castle after a three-week siege at the end of the spring campaign in 1849.

In its Tuesday report, the bank estimated a real growth of 0.4 per cent for 2023 and 3.5 per cent for 2024 in Hungary. The bank increased its estimate for the Hungarian Gross Domestic Product growth this year by 0.6 percentage points and raised the growth projection for next year by a full percentage point.

In February 2020, the Central Chief Prosecution Office of Investigation pressed charges against two leaders of a Northern Hungarian district office for corruption offences. The officials had requested a bribe of four million forints from the director of a company involved in a highway construction project to unlawfully influence the land office procedure in the second half of 2018.

‘If the European Union views China as a rival, it will lose out. It has become evident in recent years that China has a competitive advantage in many areas of the economy,’ the minister declared. He emphasised that if the EU wants to benefit from its relationship with China, it should focus on cooperation based on mutual trust, respect, and benefits rather than rivalry.

Protestors from the radical environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion interrupted two speeches at the National Conservatism Conference currently ongoing in London. A similar grandiose event, CPAC Hungary, recently wrapped up in Budapest without any incidents, although some reactions by left-wing media were similarly scathing.

Ágnes Hornung reminded that the government has expanded and enhanced the family support system year after year to facilitate childbearing, child-raising, home-building, and work alongside child-raising, all with the aim of leaving more money in the hands of families.

Péter Szijjártó stated that one of the main pillars of the government’s foreign economic strategy is the economic relationship with China. ‘Companies like Huawei, which not only invest and create jobs in Hungary but also share technological knowledge and actively support domestic higher education, play the most important role in this,’ he declared.

Hungary’s first female president took office in especially troubled times with a war raging in a neighbouring country. However, despite the challenges, she grew into the role of president quite fast and seamlessly, and has represented Hungary country in many high-profile diplomatic missions since her inauguration.

The prime minister said that Veszprém’s performance shows that when Brussels bureaucrats manage to defeat their ‘well-developed Hungarophobia,’ then together, Hungary and Brussels can achieve great things.

Péter Polt was unanimously voted to serve as vice president of the European network of public prosecutors. The 2025 NADAL Network conference will be held in Budapest as well.

The minister reported at a press conference following the meeting of the Hungarian-Serbian Economic Joint Committee that the contract for the planned oil pipeline, to be established in cooperation between Mol and Transnafta, will be signed at the 20 June government summit.

The six years since the start of Apollo Tyres’ operations in Hungary have been characterised by exceptionally close cooperation and good relations between the company and the Hungarian government.

Ferenc Kalmár said that unfortunately, in recent times, there has been regression rather than progress in the issue of national minorities on a global scale, and the Russo-Ukrainian war has further exacerbated the situation.

The price monitoring system will come into effect on 1 July, and is expected to contribute to pushing inflation back to single digits.

The minister held talks with ministers and was part of an energy conference panel discussion, where he emphasised the importance of renewable energy, electric vehicles and nuclear power.

On the first day of his trip to Seoul, László Kövér emphasised that in 2020, 130 Korean companies employed 15,206 people in Hungary, and the Hungarian government has several strategic agreements with Korean companies.

Péter Szijjártó emphasised that except for Germany and China, Hungary is the only country where all three German luxury car brands have factories, and three of the world’s top ten electric battery manufacturers are already present in Hungary.

In her remarks, Minister Varga paraphrased the words of Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who said that Europe will either be Christian or not be at all.

Europe and Hungary were fortunate to have a mild winter, but ‘a country’s leadership cannot make an unequivocal bet that this will always be repeated,’ Energy Minister Lantos warned. Therefore, the government has decided to raise the level of the security gas reserve. Previously, the country stored 10 per cent of its annual consumption as a security reserve, which was now raised to nearly 2 billion cubic metres, or 20 per cent of consumption, while consumption itself decreased.

According to Slovakian Hungarian-language website Új Szó’s information, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová officially announced on Sunday afternoon that she would entrust the management of the country to a technocratic government until the early elections, following a meeting with Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollár and outgoing Prime Minister Eduard Heger.

On Day 2 of CPAC Hungary 2023, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó proudly proclaimed that ‘Hungary has come out of every crisis stronger than it had entered’. Family was also a prominent topic, as well as the need to protect life and Creation.

Some EU member states are looking to abolish the veto power of smaller countries in the area of common foreign and security policies. They argue that this would speed up the process of passing laws, however, there are many hurdles to consider.

Péter Szijjártó welcomed Novartis’ announcement that the Swiss pharmaceutical company is establishing a new regional research and development centre in Budapest, from where it will coordinate its research projects in Southern Europe and Africa.

The event featured, among others, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Croatian MP Stephen Bartulica, and Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga. Minister Varga called Hungary ‘an island where freedom still lives’; while referring to the Brussels bureaucracy and mainstream media as ‘an octopus with 100 tentacles that we have to fight’.

Hungary and Bangladesh belong to the peace-loving global majority, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a joint press conference with Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in Budapest on Friday.