Iran launched a major missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, just hours after the Jewish state began a ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán convened a meeting of the government’s National Security Cabinet and also condemned the Iranian attack in a post on X.
The ‘Friends of Peace’ group was established at the United Nations last Friday on Hungary’s initiative. Led by China and Brazil, the 15-member group aims to facilitate the initiation of peace talks regarding the war in Ukraine and promote the implementation of the key points of the Sino–Brazilian peace plan.
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.
The Hungarian government and Jewish communities, along with thousands of ordinary Hungarians, have shown full support of and solidarity with the State of Israel and the Jewish people in a number of ways since 7 October. We have listed the most important ones on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Hungary–Israel relations.
The 1838 flood, commemorated by many memorial plaques and water level signs in the centre of the city, was not only a natural disaster but a tragedy that brought the country together. The heroism of Baron Miklós Wesselényi (1796–1850) for instance is kept in high regard to this day. The young baron gained national recognition for rowing around the flooded city rescuing people. His boat was equally open to the poor and the rich survivors of the flood; many were pulled from the water, others were save from rooftops.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, BMW is building a solar power plant in Debrecen, Hungary, spanning an area equivalent to 71 football fields. It will be the largest within the BMW Group, and the largest industrial solar power plant in Hungary. further affirming Hungary’s position as a global leader in the green economy.
The informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council took place amid heightened tensions in Brussels on 29 August. The mood was set by Josep Borrell’s decision to relocate the meeting from Budapest to the Belgian capital as a signal of disapproval of Viktor Orbán’s peace mission. Ahead of the meeting, pro-war ministers issued statements criticizing the Hungarian government, and the tense atmosphere carried over into the discussions in the meeting room.
Ukraine’s decision not to renew its contract with Gazprom has raised concerns in many about how Russian gas will reach Europe in the future. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that Russia could still meet European customers’ needs through the Turkish Stream pipeline, but at a higher cost than before. This latest move by Ukraine poses yet another threat to Hungary’s energy security.
In 2022 Swiss-based ACORE discovered a rich lithium deposit near Lopare, a town in the northeast of Republika Srpska. Although the entity led by Milorad Dodik has not yet issued a tender for the extraction of the ‘white gold’, excellent diplomatic relations and statements from Hungarian and Bosnian Serbian leaders suggest that the project could potentially be undertaken in cooperation with Hungary.
The escalation has raised concerns of a broader conflict in the region, as Israel declared a 48-hour state of emergency and placed restrictions on public gatherings and transport across the northern regions. Both sides have signalled that further actions may be taken, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to protect the nation at all costs, while Hezbollah indicated that their response to ‘Israel’s provocations’ was only beginning.