‘The debate on the motions took place on Monday, followed by the vote on Thursday. The Patriots criticized the Commission’s trade deals: not only the EU–US deal, which introduced high tariffs on European exports, but also the Mercosur agreement, which opens European markets to cheap agricultural products from Latin America.’
What could be Europe’s future: a decline, or a new golden age? How imminent is the Russian threat to Europe? How does Sweden view Hungary’s fight for sovereignty? We asked former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt about Europe’s bright or dark future at Brain Bar 2025 in Budapest.
Hungarian universities have achieved higher positions in the latest global rankings, with Semmelweis University now among the world’s top 1 per cent. Minister Balázs Hankó praised the results and emphasized deepening US academic ties amid EU-related disputes.
‘Beyond the fence on the Serbian side…the AK-47-wielding people smugglers have established military-style camps for the migrants; is it compassionate to support a multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise? Many illegal migrants who successfully break through are forced to continue paying the smugglers under duress; is it compassionate to support a modern form of indentured labour?’
‘When political parties on opposite sides of the parliamentary spectrum voice sharp criticism…against a politician belonging to the centrist party family, it is easy to conclude that “extremist” groups are fighting against…balanced policies. This may be true in some cases, but a closer look reveals a much more complex picture, especially in the European political arena.’
‘What are Western institutions for? To impose left-wing progressive ideologies on the world? If so, how are they any different from the Warsaw Pact or its late successor, the “Russian World”?’
At Ludovika University, experts including former Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi and former US Assistant Secretary Philip T Reeker discussed the present and future of US–Hungary relations. Topics included strong historical ties, NATO cooperation, economic partnerships, and shared values. Panels also addressed investment, the war in Ukraine, and cultural exchange programmes.
‘The best approach for Hungarian politicians is to try to help Romania find a new path. The globalist path that the country has been on for the past two decades is coming to an end. Romania needs to figure out new ways to engage with a new world. The country can no longer rely on external alliances or foreign financial inflows. It must fight for its future and its prosperity.’
‘On the face of it, it looks like Robinson used violence as an instrument for advancing a political goal that he came to believe couldn’t be advanced by any other means. The goal was to silence Charlie Kirk, who was an outspoken critic of LGBTQ rights…If all this is correct, Robinson is the archetypal terrorist who murdered not for personal reasons but for politics.’
‘True freedom is a paradox: we are most free when we accept the burdens of responsibility. A society that worships liberty without responsibility ends with neither. But a society that remembers responsibility as the guardian of liberty secures both.’