Although it is perfectly legitimate to suggest that the noise pollution caused by the huge number of vehicles passing through his town needs to be addressed, the solution is not to penalise those who cross the border. Possible, more constructive solutions may include the improvement of the community transport infrastructure at local level or the opening of new crossing points so that those wishing to enter Austria are distributed more proportionately.
The conservative Prime Minister of Italy is aiming to ease the migration pressure on Europe by having the migrants’ transit countries and countries of origin more involved in managing the migration flow. She has already made some headway on this front.
At first glance, the declaration of wanting to see Ukraine in NATO does not seem much more than what the country was already told in 2008. But the truth is that Ukraine is closer than ever to joining the Alliance, which was indicated not only by the unanimous adoption of the closing communiqué, picturing Ukraine’s future within NATO, but also by the fact that Ukraine can skip the preliminary Membership Action Plan (MAP) that every other post-Soviet country had to undergo and negotiate defence issues as an equal partner in the established NATO Ukraine Council.
Németh stated that the question of Swedish accession is currently before the Hungarian parliament for a final vote, and he believes that the Turkish parliament will follow suit in the coming months, aligning with the Hungarian position.
The Christian Democratic Union in Germany has shifted to the left in recent years, which does not seem to be working out for them, while the far-right has got stronger. Can a change of leadership and incoming conservative Secretary General Carsten Linnemann reverse course? An analysis by Bence Bauer, head of the German-Hungarian Institute for European Cooperation at MCC.
The current system involves separate national elections with varying rules and representation. The proposed changes aim to create a single European election, but critics argue that it would diminish the role of member states and distance voters from politicians. The majority of member states oppose the reforms.
While Sofia, Prague, Bratislava and Ankara seemed to be eager to send more aid to Ukraine and support the war-torn country in its NATO bid, the NATO summit in Vilnius must have been a disappointing ending to a promising start for Zelenskyy.
It appears that the Visegrád Four cooperation is once again revitalising itself along the lines of common interests. The green transition and its impact on industrial investment in Central Europe, European security or illegal migration are issues that have prompted the V4 countries, and the Poles and the Hungarians in particular, to once again join forces.
It appears that the European Commission and the European Court of Justice work hand in hand to move the union in the direction of a federal state. In fact, rarely does the Court rule in favour of a member state when the Commission initiates a lawsuit against it in connection with the exercise of powers affecting national sovereignty.
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.