The embassies of the United States, Germany, Slovakia, and 35 other nations have put out a joint statement ahead of the Budapest Pride March, condemning the Hungarian government for allegedly not protecting the rights of LGBTQ people in the country. US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman was also present at the March, where also gave yet another critical speech.
At the UNSC session on the situation in Ukraine, the Hungarian foreign minister stated that the resolution of the armed conflict is not to be found on the battlefield but at the negotiating table.
Another summit of the intergovernmental cooperation between Austria, Hungary, and Serbia took place on 7 July in Vienna, Austria. Apart from the heads of state and government, the three nations’ ministers of foreign affairs, and domestic and law enforcement leaders also took part in the conference, held at the Austrian Chancellor’s residence. The Vienna Summit was organised in the wake of Hungary and Poland officially objecting to the migration package at the European Commission’s 30 June session.
Enumerating the factors strengthening the positive outlook for the economy, the Hungarian finance minister stated that the country’s export performance is very good, and in terms of population, Hungary ranks 94th among the countries of the world, while it stands at 34th place in terms of export indicators.
The PM’s political director stated that as opposed to how the European asylum system is currently working, Hungary’s position is that no one who is not eligible for legal entry should be allowed into the territory of Europe and the Schengen area. Those wishing to submit an asylum application should do so outside the Schengen area, and only those entitled to refugee status should be allowed to enter.
Katalin Novák emphasised that this is the first occasion for a Hungarian President to visit Rwanda, and it could therefore be a milestone in bilateral relations.
Orbán noted that according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden could put an end to the war, adding that he actually agrees with the Ukrainian President. ‘If the United States said they want peace, it would happen by tomorrow morning,’ the PM opined, stating that he cannot comprehend why the Americans do not want to do that, and there was no answer at the NATO summit to that question either.
In response to the ruling of the Veszprém regional court, Fidesz MP Gergely Gulyás and KDNP MP Zsolt Semjén have submitted a legislative amendment proposal to parliament on 13 July which states that only women who have worked for 40 years as women are eligible for early retirement.
‘This drone is the result of several years of development work and the cooperation of Hungarian engineers,’ Imre Porkoláb, Ministerial Commissioner for Defence Innovation underlined.
‘If the measure regarding mandatory migrant quotas is adopted, a migrant camp accommodating 20,000 to 30,000 people should be established in Hungary,’ the PM’s Chief Security Advisor told public M1 television.
The Veszprém Regional Court ruled that a trans woman named Elvira is eligible for early retirement under the government’s ‘Women 40’ programme. Fidesz MP Gabriella Selmeczi and president of the Interest Group of Hungarian Women Kinga Szőnyi spoke out against the decision.
The environmental permit of CATL, which has significant water and energy requirements, was challenged in court by six private individuals and two civil organisations.
On 12 July, one day after the correction issued by the Ukrainian foreign ministry, some Ukrainian media, including the English language Kyiv Independent, were still posting articles about WizzAir having removed ‘a Ukrainian war veteran’ from its flight. Obviously, the fake news was too conveniently painting a negative picture of Hungary to be just let go by the unapologetically anti-Hungarian Ukrainian press.
According to the European Parliament, Romania and Bulgaria’s industries and inhabitants are negatively impacted socially and economically by the two nations’ continued exclusion from the visa-free zone.
The deepening of cultural dialogue can be the solution to the domestic tensions in France, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Gladden Pappin told the audience at a roundtable discussion titled The BLM-Moment of France? – Political and Security Implications of the Riots in France, held by the institute on Friday, 7 July in Budapest, Hungary.
‘We have managed to make a decision that does not carry the risk of war escalation, and the member states have made it clear that Ukraine can only receive an invitation to join NATO if the country fulfils all the necessary conditions and if the allies unanimously agree on it in the future,’ the Hungarian foreign minister stated.
The facility aims to produce 700–800 million aluminium beverage cans annually, with approximately half of them filled, mainly to meet the demands of local and regional third-party brands. Additionally, the company plans to serve its own local and regional markets from this plant.
Erdoğan spoke about the issue of Sweden’s NATO membership during a press conference held at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport before travelling to the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. He stated that Turkey would approve Sweden’s NATO membership if the European Union resumes accession negotiations with his country.
The minister reminded all that the independent Hungarian Ministry of Finance was the first lasting success of the revolution. In April 1848, Lajos Kossuth began working on the establishment of the ministry, and it started its operations in May of that year.
With the recent large-scale build-up of the national defence industry, Hungary is not only ensuring its own military equipment supply, but also contributing to the development of European defence industrial capabilities and thus enhancing the EU’s security.
With this victory, Blanka Kata Vas achieved the biggest win of her career. Within the past three weeks, she won a stage in the Swiss Tour, as well as gold medals in the Hungarian Time Trial Championship.
Gergely Gulyás explained that since the previous cabinet took office in 2018, numerous changes have occurred in world politics and the economy, and the government elected in 2022 had to face completely different challenges than it did four years earlier.
Brussels is requesting an additional €98 billion in contributions from member states. Hungary does not approve of this contribution. As Gulyás pointed out, this request raises the question: how have Ukraine and the EU spent their funds so far? ‘Where is the money?,’ he asked. He also posed the same question to Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, who is embroiled in a campaign finance scandal while he is also claiming that his city is nearing bankruptcy.
This report is a piece of war blackmail, and the reason is that time is running out for the EU. Next year, there will be European parliamentary elections, a new Commission will be formed, and they want to put pressure on Hungary before that, Attila Kovács of the Center for Fundamental Rights said in a press conference on Wednesday.
The controversial document highlights the ongoing concerns of the EU Commission regarding the rule of law in Hungary. While the country has introduced legislative reforms and anti-corruption measures, there are persistent challenges in areas such as judicial independence, media pluralism, legal certainty, and civil society rights.
The new Task Force set up by the Finance Ministry has been portrayed as a sign of austerity measures to come by the opposition media, however, the Ministry has debunked these speculations in a press release. In their statement, the Ministry assures the people of Hungary that family support schemes and the utility price cap will remain in place.
Mária Ádám-Haszonics, Zoltán Lomnici, András Patyi, and Réka Varga have all been confirmed to the Constitutional Court by a two-thirds majority vote in the parliament, replacing the four term-limited former justices on the 15-member panel. The Court has the power to strike down legislation if they find it incompatible with the Fundamental Law of Hungary.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated at a press conference on Tuesday that Hungary will keep its promise of not holding up Sweden’s joining of NATO, thus it is ready to back it once Turkey is. However, a recent incident of Quran burning in Stockholm may set the process back for some time again.
In a recent interview with business news site Világgazdaság, Hungarian Tourism Agency CEO Péter Horváth highlighted that the number of guest nights booked by foreign visitors to Hungary is on the rise, while domestic tourism has shrunk, which is in line with international trends in the industry. On the whole, however, the total number of nights booked has increased by four per cent in the first five months compared to last year.
Gergely Karácsony’s 99 Movement received over 650 million HUF in funding, mostly after they went inactive with the Budapest Mayor dropping out of the primary race for prime minister. The organisation claims that the bulk of its revenue came from ‘microdonations’ collected in cash in drop-boxes at live events. However, even opposition media admit that this is more than unrealistic given the large sum, and the fact that much of it came in foreign currencies.