The ‘survival programme’ was approved with 18 votes in favour and 12 abstentions. As a result, the city will take out a 16.6 billion forint loan for project development in 2023. The loan is going to match the support provided in EU funding, central budget allocations and loans granted by the European Investment Bank.
The Justice Minister announced on social media that the government will submit further, child protection-related legislative proposals to the National Assembly in the autumn. ’Hungary will have the strictest child protection regulations in Europe because there is no compromise in child protection,’ she wrote. She also pointed out that more and more evidence is emerging that the Hungarian opposition had accepted 4 billion forints in ‘mysterious’ foreign donations to represent foreign interests and policies in Hungary.
The Political Director of the Prime Minister, Balázs Orbán has been appointed to oversee the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT), which is also changing its name back to the pre-2014 one of Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA). The new president of the organisation will be Gladden J. Pappin.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy, where he expressed his strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance. Viktor Orbán, who has been a vocal proponent of peace negotiations and is fully aware that such remarks are seen as a provocative move by Russia, took to Twitter to voice his strong dissent.
Monday’s negotiations were a very important milestone in building trust between the EU and Hungary, Judit Varga said, who added that she does not expect any new conditions from the European Commission regarding the Hungarian justice package.
Following the escalation, the Hungarian government started to evacuate Hungarian citizens from the affected zones. Four individuals have already been evacuated from Sudan, while the taking to safety of six other individuals is still ongoing.
Viktor Orbán emphasised at the event organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry that six out of ten students who finish their primary education continue their studies in vocational education in Hungary, with technical schools being the most popular choice.
On the day of the performance, artists will only be able to bring in a small bag with them. This means security checks will be similar to those at airports, so participants and performers will need to arrive hours before the event.
Zsolt Bayer, known for his radical rhetoric, announced that another Peace March would be held during the papal visit, and asked people to attend in ‘awfully large numbers’, as a big turnout would not only ‘have a spiritual, but also a political message’.
The Hungary Helps Programme, however, does not only help persecuted Christians, but provides effective support in crisis areas and areas that are hit by man-made or natural disasters as well. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Hungary has provided 130 billion forints (335.6 million euros) in aid to the victims of the war in Ukraine. Hungary also sent ten tons of relief supplies to Turkey immediately after the deadly earthquakes on 6 February and 50 million forints (132,000 euros) to Syria.
‘If in the coming years, the world cannot transition to electric-based transportation, then all environmental goals, climate goals, and green objectives will remain naïve illusions,’ Péter Szijjártó explained at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new factory of the South Korean EcoPro company.
In February 2023, the Defence Innovation Research Institute (VIKI) was established, with the aim of identifying and supporting the development of dual-use technologies, that is technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. The institution is led by Brigadier General Imre Porkoláb, Ministerial Commissioner for Defence Innovation.
‘Hungarian-Serbian strategic energy cooperation is one of the guarantees that Hungary’s supply will remain secure in the next period,’ the minister said.
During a visit to the United States Balázs Orbán appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show, spoke at a Heritage Foundation conference and gave an interview to the Washington Times.
The minister announced that the government has imposed a ban on 25 agricultural products from Ukraine, including grain, sunflower seeds, cooking oil, and specific meat products until 30 June. He also noted that while according to the European Commission, Ukrainian grain exports should be facilitated to ease the food shortage in Africa, these imports could ‘ruin the Hungarian agricultural market instead’.
Péter Szijjártó noted that the so-called post-Cotonou agreement, planned between the European Union and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group, has three pillars: economic cooperation, migration, and other issues, such as sexual rights. ‘Hungary clearly agrees that economic cooperation should be tightened, which would be beneficial for both parties, especially nowadays when the world is moving towards the formation of blocs again,’ he said, adding, however, that regarding the issue of migration and sexual rights, the Hungarian government has serious doubts and red lines.
The Hungarians in the crowd did not allow the protesters to ruin the unveiling, instead they started to loudly sing a Hungarian folk song and the national anthem of Hungary, thus, drowning out the voice of the few protesters.
Pope Francis is set to arrive in Hungary on 28 April. During his visit, he will convey a strong message in support of peace in Ukraine, and will meet refugees, children struggling with illness, as well as Hungarian leaders.
Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa, said Ethiopia and Hungary had both preserved their Christian values, making them similar in many ways.
The confusing messaging of the US Embassy-sponsored billboards seems to erroneously imply that the Orbán administration is not in favour of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, when in fact the Hungarian government has repeatedly stated its public support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Hungary will not allow a slew of agricultural products to be imported from Ukraine until 30 June. A spokesperson of the European Commission called the actions of the Central European countries ‘not acceptable’.
Bucharest would also deepen its defence cooperation with Washington, and not exclusively through arms purchases. Meanwhile, Romania and Poland, the two largest countries in the Central and Eastern European region, are building the two most powerful militaries, with a strong emphasis on interoperability between their armed forces.
While last September, only 40 per cent were satisfied with the transformed utility cost reduction scheme, by March this year the same number rose to 49 per cent. Additionally, the percentage of those dissatisfied dropped from 52 to 44 per cent, the data shows.
Budapest energy prices were the lowest among capitals that are part of the European Union. As far as Europe is concerned, prices were the lowest in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The two major European countries are the 14th and 15th to officially get behind the EU Court proceedings against Hungary for its 2021 law restricting the teaching of gender theory in schools.
The PM opined that if the escalation leads to a world war, it is definitely going to be nuclear. He said that the situation in Ukraine is getting worse by the week, and the danger of escalation keeps increasing.
‘So far, they have done everything, and they will continue to do everything in the future on behalf of the United States government to make Hungary change its position,’ the leader of the Nézőpont Institute, Sámuel Ágoston Mráz said in a radio interview.
Péter Szijjártó visited the construction of Mercedes-Benz’s new plant and later presented the company’s CEO, Christian Wolff with the Hungarian Cross of Merit.
The US Ambassador announced that three senior officials of IIB, including a Hungarian citizen, Imre Laszlóczki, and two Russian nationals, Nikolai Kosov and Georgi Potapov have been placed on the list of sanctioned individuals. IIB is a platform for Russia to extend its influence in the region, and is therefore a potential threat for both the European Union and its Western allies, Pressman stated.
The new law just passed by the National Assembly provides additional protections to whistleblowers; as well as ascribes duties to create confidential abuse report systems to private companies of a certain size and institutions in the public sector.