The atrium of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, Belgium, the old headquarters of the Council, is hosting an exhibition of great Hungarian inventions in honour of the Hungarian presidency. The items on display include Ányos Jedlik’s dynamo, Dávid Schwarz’s airship, and, of course, Ernő Rubik’s Rubik’s Cube.
‘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.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu on Friday, a day before Orbán’s speech at Tusványos. The discussions focused on bilateral relations between the two countries and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area.
Balázs Orbán emphasized at a party political roundtable discussion on Thursday at the 33rd Bálványos Summer Open University and Student Camp that peace advocates will eventually become the majority in Europe, stating that ‘time is on their side’.
Viktor Orbán’s plane had not even landed in Moscow when the Brussels elite were already criticizing the Hungarian Prime Minister for his visit to Russia. First, Charles Michel, and later Josep Borrell, distanced themselves from Orbán’s trip, stating that the prime minister was not representing the EU in Russia—although this was never claimed to be the case to begin with.
Political Director for the Prime Minister of Hungary Balázs Orbán talked to the prominent French paper Le Monde. In the piece, he discussed Hungary’s pro-peace approach to the Russo–Ukrainian war, the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President, and Fidesz’s pursuit of joining a political group in the European Parliament as well.
As part of the Europe Day celebrations, EU Member States opened their embassies to the public last weekend. Hungary’s Embassy in Washington DC was visited by around 3,000 people, who could take part in miscellaneous programmes celebrating Hungarian culture and history.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s political director stressed the urgency of diplomatic talks, highlighting their potential to save lives and mitigate the risk of a global conflict.
Hungary has persistently advocated for a shift in the EU’s agricultural policy towards Ukraine. The prolonged farmer protests have influenced the stance of other member states, with France spearheading a coalition of states seeking to enforce stricter trade restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural products.
The Prime Minister’s political director Balázs Orbán held a book launch at the Ludovika University of Public Service in Budapest. The new book, now also available in English, looks at the changing geopolitical world order as well as Hungary’s role and place in it.