The pro-Israel experts and politicians who gathered at the Israel Defence and Security Forum (IDSF) and the Danube Institute’s conference titled October Effect: Strategic Implications for Israel and Europe in the Middle East War, held on 9 September at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, discussed and analysed the rise of antisemitism in the West, the ramifications of Israel’s war in Gaza, and the emerging Russia –China–Iran axis.
‘2023 was not a good year for national and ethnic minorities, and 2024 is unlikely to be either. While there were numerous advances during the 1990s, we have been recently witnessing a clear regression.’
Alexandra Szentkirályi, president of Fidesz in Budapest, announced the party’s eight-point plan aimed at reforming governance in the capital. The proposals focus on curbing the mayor’s decision-making powers, improving public services, and streamlining the city’s committees to save costs and better represent the people of Budapest.
As the WSJ noted, Vance’s calm and effective performance could bolster Republican confidence in his future within the party. His ability to advocate for Trump’s policies in a composed and persuasive manner suggests that he could be a strong contender for future leadership roles within the conservative movement.
Hungary’s strategic focus on Central Asia positions it as one of the key players in strengthening economic ties between the EU and the region. As outlined in the programme of Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU, the country has been planning to further strengthen its economic ties with Central Asia, building on the New EU Central Asia Strategy adopted by the EU in 2019, which aligns closely with Hungary’s own regional interests.
Achieving the demographic turnaround will take a long time and a lot of work, but Hungary wants to take the first steps already in the coming months. Finding solutions to existing problems will be one of the key objectives of the Hungarian EU Presidency in the second half of 2024, using the EU demographic toolkit as a starting point.
‘Albeit few expected Mongolia to actually make the arrest, the case is nevertheless indeed a blow to the ICC’s credibility and generally to the Western institutional system. The unsurprising development of Putin walking away free exposes the fallacy of Western international institutions of having based their policies in the past couple of years on morality. The reality is that countries pursue their self-interest first and foremost, rather than doing “the morally right thing”.’
The war quite literally consumes people; they are killed or maimed physically and psychologically at an unprecedented rate. Using foreign fighters is consequently quite logical for both sides. They alleviate domestic pressure to recruit more soldiers, with the new fighters likely being versed in military matters. They also demonstrate the global clout of the given side by showing the diverse coalition that stands behind it. Of course, this is a double-edged sword, which is why there is an intense war of narratives about whether these people are mercenaries or volunteers.
Parties belonging to Patriots for Europe (PfE) are achieving electoral successes one after the other: first, Andrej Babiš’s ANO party secured a major victory in the Czech regional and senate elections, followed by Herbert Kickl’s FPÖ emerging as the leading party in the Austrian parliamentary elections. These results indicate that the preferences of the European electorate align closely with the vision of the political group co-founded by Viktor Orbán, which continues to gain strength day by day.
Atlas Intel has gotten the popular vote margins correct within 0.3 percentage points in the US in the last two election cycles. Their most recent polling data has Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris by 2.9 points in the popular vote; while their swing state polling data has him winning the election with 290 electoral votes. However, other public opinion firms have published different results.
Historically, so-called ‘October surprises’ have influenced election outcomes, particularly when they involve national security or military engagement that provides little room for candidates to respond and little time for voters to digest before heading to the polls. A broader conflict in the Middle East could become a significant liability for Harris’s campaign, especially if US forces get drawn into the fighting.
In a recent podcast, Balázs Orbán drew a comparison between the 1956 Revolution and the war in Ukraine. His remarks, taken out of context and misinterpreted, were swiftly exploited to smear the government of Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán responded by stressing that the war in Ukraine must not be allowed to overshadow the memory of the heroes of 1956, and that Hungary’s position must always be articulated accurately and unambiguously.
The launch of MCC Brussels Director Frank Füredi’s latest book was cancelled at a Brussels bookshop on the day of the event, presumably due to left-wing political pressure. The situation closely mirrors the controversy surrounding the National Conservatism Conference in April, when a Brussels district mayor attempted to use police force to suppress right-wing voices.
As Minister for EU Affairs János Bóka also emphasized on 24 September, the Hungarian government is aware that the Commission has other tools at its disposal to deduct the sum. Despite not being willing to pay the fine, Budapest aims to engage in a ‘constructive way’ with Brussels to ensure compliance with the ECJ ruling. Minister Bóka also said Hungary was looking into ‘legal possibilities on how certain expenses incurred in the protection of the border could be offset’ against the penalty.
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.
A key factor in the European Union’s courting of new partners will be how it balances its ideological inclinations and the necessity of compromise for meeting its needs. The break from Russian sources has been seen by some as an opportunity to accelerate the conversion of the continent into a green energy-powered utopia.
EU Member States are soon set to vote on the introduction of punitive tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. In the informal vote held in July, only four member states opposed the measure, while 11 abstained. Now, it falls to Germany and Hungary to lead the effort to shift positions and prevent an unnecessary trade war with China.
‘From a sovereigntist standpoint, we need a rule-of-law conception that does not concede any authority over domestic affairs to supranational organizations and international bureaucracies. We need to keep an eye on the bigger picture and understand that these discussions are very much related to the future of the European community. Eurocrats instrumentalize courts to promote their federalist agenda through seemingly neutral rulings about the rule of law.’
‘The gradual diminishing of Europe’s importance in the eyes of the successive US administrations in the twenty-first century has been arrested by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and weakened the “pivot” or “rebalance” to Asia for the time being: emergencies have cropped up elsewhere. As Joseph Stalin may be said to have been one of the “founding fathers” of NATO, so may Vladimir Putin be seen in a similar role with regard to the revival of NATO, and closer US–EU cooperation.’
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.
This study focuses on questions related to the Russia–Ukraine War, one of the most dramatic events in contemporary European history. It seeks to examine the extent to which the citizens of Europe feel that the official positions of Brussels (the EU) and NATO, and the resultant decisions, are their own.
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.
‘In contrast to five years ago, the legitimacy of the Commission’s former and future President has been weak from the start in 2024. Although she is a Spitzenkandidat now, as she was the leader of the European People’s Party list in the European Parliament elections, the support of the leaders of the Member States is much weaker. In Germany, she is considered an opposition politician, so she is not a favourite but rather a forced choice for the governing coalition.’
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.
Ukko Metsola is a top lobbyist for the Royal Caribbean Group, the world’s second-largest cruise ship company. So ironically, while Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, has been apparently making efforts to have green regulations adopted by the EP, her husband is lobbying for a global polluter. In addition, thanks to the new code of ethics she pushed through, she is not required to disclose potential conflicts of interest.