A report recently released by the Hungarian Information Centre points out that despite all denials, the election campaign of the opposition parties was funded by sources coming from the American Left. Moreover, the overseas Democratic elite, led by George Soros, had direct ownership influence over the company DatAdat, which managed the campaign.
The 2022 opposition prime minister candidate announced the official establishment of his new Mindenki Magyarországa Néppárt (Everyone’s Hungary People’s Party). At the scarcely attended press conference, he revealed that they plan on not taking any funding from the central government, and operating on donations alone; as well as eventually joining the European People’s Party.
The Hungarian government has recently announced a significant legal initiative: under the Hungarian Council presidency, the creation of a new rule of law assessment procedure overseeing EU institutions could be put on the agenda.
Ukrainian representative Yuriy Kamelchuk demanded an explanation as to why Hungary had blocked the payment of the next instalment of military aid from the European Peace Facility (EPF) to Ukraine. In his reply, the Hungarian minister reminded that Ukraine has put the biggest Hungarian bank on their list of international sponsors of terrorism, suggesting that the Hungarian bank enables the Russian war machine. As soon as OTP is removed from that list, the minister declared, Hungary will reconsider its veto.
The European Parliament is trying to do everything in its power to politicise and ideologise the disagreements between the EU institutions and the Hungarian government. The MEPs attacking Hungary seem to be forgetting what the role assigned to them in the treaties is, and instead of fulfilling their role of EU co-legislators, they pretend that they are sitting on the opposition benches of the Hungarian parliament.
The best example of how pointless it is to interfere in these debates from abroad is the obvious difference between the Hungarian and Israeli legal systems, as Hungary has a written constitution, while Israel has no constitution at all, the minister pointed out.
Based on the above formulation, some have already suggested that there is actually no mandatory migrant quota, as states can decide for themselves how they show solidarity with other member states, so the claim to the contrary is just another Hungarian government talking point. Of course, it is possible that a Member State does not have to accept immigrants into the country in a physical sense, but in this case renitent countries must compensate for their recalcitrance with heavy sums of money or other material expenditures.
Alexander De Croo stated that depriving Hungary the presidency would not only be a bad idea, but it would prove counterproductive as well.
Donald Trump has been charged with criminal offences for a second time this year, this time in federal court. The Republican presidential frontrunner allegedly mishandled classified information related to national defence. Democrat Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton were investigated for similar alleged misconducts before, however, they were never charged.
According to Bence Rétvári, the voluntary quota introduced earlier has proved unsuccessful, so Brussels now wants to forcefully distribute migrants. He added that if Hungary refuses to comply, it may face penalties, referred to as ‘financial contributions’ in the proposal. This would mean that the Hungarian government would have to pay some eight million Hungarian forints per migrant that it is unwilling to accept.
MEP Rob Roos and political pundit Eva Vlaardingerbroek, both from the Netherlands, took to Twitter to defend Hungary and advocate for its upcoming EU Council presidency.
During his visit to Hungary, Eli Cohen also participated in the unveiling of the statue of Árpád Weisz, a Hungarian-born soccer player who coached Inter Milan and later Bologna before perishing in the Holocaust. The bronze statue was unveiled by Eli Cohen and Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, together with Sándor Csányi, the head of the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ), and Giuseppe Saputo, the chairman of the Bologna football club.
‘Despite their injuries, the Hungarian soldiers have shown brave commitment, and many of those who were able to do so have already returned to their posts,’ the Hungarian defence minister said after the clashes between KFOR troops and local Serbs in North Kosovo. The minister stressed that the stability of the Western Balkans is very important to Hungary, which is why it is present in the region not only diplomatically and economically, but also militarily in the framework of the KFOR mission.
Gáll-Pelcz, a 61-year-old engineer and economist, former EP Vice-President, a mother of three, has proved that she is both a competent leader and also highly qualified for a seat on the European Court of Auditors. She was certified as an international tax expert in 2004. Her qualifications, including being a chartered tax expert, clearly made her a suitable candidate for a role that is mostly related to EU taxation and auditing.
While officially, the conference’s main agenda point was the shadow rapporteurs on the current state of the rule of law in Hungary, more time was devoted to Hungary’s Council of the EU presidency set to happen in 2024, a concept none of the MEPs was thrilled about. The ongoing negotiations about releasing the frozen EU funds were often talked about as well.
Who is Lajos Ódor, Slovakia’s first ethnically Hungarian Prime Minister? Read our in-depth analysis of his background and how he came to power during the political crisis of his country.
It can be clearly stated that over the past years, the current majority of the European Parliament has not shied away from using the tools provided to it by the treaties to assert its political will, and one of the results of its activism has been that the debate with the Commission on the rule of law in Hungary has shifted to a political-ideological level.
Previously, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary voiced his support for the presumptive Republican challenger, Former President Donald Trump. Both statesmen are making the case that their preferred US Presidential candidate would be better for peace in Eastern Europe.
James Woudhuysen, the author of the study and a guest professor at London South Bank University, stated that the EU energy policy and decision-making are more ‘performative’ than effective, and the related decisions have not improved but rather worsened the energy situation in the EU.
The 44-year-old politician, who has been frequently likened to Orbán, publicly announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C.
The historian from Florida calls people on the right who give up on their values due to social pressure ‘Vichy conservatives’, because they surrender when outnumbered by the opposition just as easily as the leaders of the Nazi-collaborator Vichy regime in France did. Back then, the German occupiers appeared to be a hegemonic force; today, it’s the radical left that seems to be invincible.
State Secretary for European Affairs János Bóka is confident that about one-third, €13 billion, of the withheld EU funds will be received by Hungary by 2027. The London-based Financial Times, in a piece covering the contentious negotiations, seems to agree with his assertion.
The Hungarian government blocking the latest round of sanctions comes only days after the Orbán administration vetoed the release of €500 million of military aid to Ukraine. The blacklisting of the Budapest-based OTP Bank by Ukrainian officials is behind both of these decisions.
‘We condemn all forms of terrorism in the strongest possible terms, we recognise Israel’s right to self-defence and we express our sincere sympathy to the government and people of Israel in the face of this new grave threat,’ the MFAT statement said in reaction to the recent terrorist attacks on Israel.
The events of the 1990s are becoming part of history everywhere, including in Hungarian politics. It has been a quarter century since Viktor Orbán formed his first administration in 1998, which was then followed by four more after 2010.
The European Peace Facility was posed to transfer €500 million to Ukraine for artillery round purchases, but the aid was blocked by the Hungarian government. The official explanation for the move is that Budapest would like to see the off-budget EU fund focus on more than just Ukraine, but some believe the blacklisting of OTP Bank may be behind it.
Changing decision-making in areas crucial to state sovereignty would create a specific system of majority tyranny where, although it would be easier to adopt a Council position and bring together a majority of votes, political divisions would be further deepened and the democratic functioning and legitimacy of the Union as an institution would be undermined, and the long-term consequences of this would be unforeseeable in today’s already uncertain times of crisis.
Hungarian weekend schools are also emerging in the farthest corners of the world, with new locations such as Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore launching weekend Hungarian school activities for the local Hungarian diaspora communities.
According to Frontex data, 330,000 illegal migrants arrived in Europe last year, based on which the revenue of human smugglers could have reached 1,7 trillion forints, Bence Rétvári highlighted in interviews with Hungarian public media.
The fate of a sum of 13.2 billion EUR is at stake in the political and legal debate between the European Commission and the government of Hungary. Parts of the regular EU cohesion and post-COVID recovery funds are being withheld, as the Commission has issues with the state of the rule of law in Hungary. The new law, to enter into force on 1 July, aims to resolve the deadlock.