Hungarian Conservative

At his recent hearing in the EP, the Budget Commissioner stated that it is not true that the Commission is hindering negotiations with the Hungarian government over the rule of law concerns. The Commission is interested in finding a solution, but it must be a solution that serves the interests of Hungarian citizens, Hahn said.

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 has vetoed the 11th EU sanctions package against Russia after it was revealed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly urged the bombing of the Druzhba pipeline, a crucial route via which Russian oil is transferred to Hungary.

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.

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.

Hungary and Bangladesh belong to the peace-loving global majority, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a joint press conference with Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in Budapest on Friday.

A major problem with the structure of the EU is that it is not fully based on representative democracy. A case in point, notwithstanding the fact that EU Parliament members are elected by the citizens of the member states, EU leaders picked Ursula von her Leyen to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the leader of the European Union’s executive branch behind closed doors.

The leaders of five EU member states, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania, requested in mid-April that the European Commission take action on Ukrainian grain entering Europe duty-free and causing harm to local farmers.

The Justice Minister announced on social media that the government will submit further, child protection-related legislative proposals to the National Assembly in the autumn. ’Hungary will have the strictest child protection regulations in Europe because there is no compromise in child protection,’ she wrote. She also pointed out that more and more evidence is emerging that the Hungarian opposition had accepted 4 billion forints in ‘mysterious’ foreign donations to represent foreign interests and policies in Hungary.

Monday’s negotiations were a very important milestone in building trust between the EU and Hungary, Judit Varga said, who added that she does not expect any new conditions from the European Commission regarding the Hungarian justice package.

Fidesz MEP András Gyürk emphasised that creating modern energy storage facilities is a costly endeavour, so he called upon the European Commission to ‘provide immediate access to each member state to the funds they are entitled to.’

Hungary will not allow a slew of agricultural products to be imported from Ukraine until 30 June. A spokesperson of the European Commission called the actions of the Central European countries ‘not acceptable’.

The two major European countries are the 14th and 15th to officially get behind the EU Court proceedings against Hungary for its 2021 law restricting the teaching of gender theory in schools.

In the past decade, Hungary has been able to reach the EU average in several respects in the fields of oncology, states Prof. Csaba Polgár, Director General of the National Institute of Oncology. An interview about ‘devastating’ OECD statistics, the Hungarian cancer strategy and the suspended EU funds.

Hungary’s commitments under the new rule of law framework should serve as a model for the whole EU, states State Secretary János Bóka. An interview about the so-called rule of law debate, the growing political pressure of the European Parliament and the Hungarian Child Protection Act.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasised that Budapest and Warsaw will join forces to protect the agricultural workers of Central Europe from the negative effects of ‘grain dumps’ coming from Ukraine.

Von der Leyen has become one of the closest allies of the United States, both when it comes to making an official stance regarding China, or when it comes to passing judgements in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Charles Michel, on the other hand, finds it necessary to create a uniquely European way of thinking, slightly distinct from that of the United States.

The payment of EU funds allocated to Hungary in the 2021–2027 budget cycle was suspended in December 2022. The suspension, however, does not mean a loss of resources. In other words, the path is clear for Hungary: defying the political headwind, it can set a model for the EU as a whole, as to how its financial interests can be protected by means of the rule of law.

‘The pro-peace stance of Hungarians remains unchanged and the majority reject proposals that carry the risk of making peace impossible,’ Századvég wrote in an analysis of the responses to their recent poll.

‘Today I filed a counterclaim to the Court of Justice of the European Union over the infringement procedure on Hungary’s Child Protection Act. We continue to stand by our conviction and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union that education is a national competence and that parents have the right to decide on the upbringing of their children,’ Justice Minister Varga announced on Facebook.

The mechanism of the Northern Ireland Protocol made the everyday lives of citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland significantly more difficult. Food supply, for example, proved to be particularly problematic, as the EU’s strict consumer protection requirements caused serious disruptions and shortages in Northern Ireland.

Around 125 billion HUF is estimated to have been invested in the five designated ‘spectator sports’ through the Hungarian government’s tax benefit programme in 2022.

PiS General Secretary Krzysztof Sobolewski warned that if ‘the Commission tries to push us against the wall…we have no choice but to pull out all the weapons in our arsenal and respond…eye for an eye’, including by wielding the right to veto EU policies.

‘What does the European Commission have to do with Hungarian education? In short, nothing. Education matters, both in terms of content and in terms of structure, are the responsibility of the Member States.’

Minister Navracsics warned in his letter that by cutting the Erasmus funding, the European Commission is violating Article 13 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The EU’s most recent corruption scandal—the second within a short period of time—is a reminder of the lack of accountability and popular oversight of Brussels.

Hungary is accused of being immoral for not agreeing to the newest Ukraine aid scheme. But it takes two to tango.

Minority SafePack might be over, but the fight isn’t. Even if Europe lets its indigenous ethnic minorities down, the Hungarian government, for one, will never stop being responsible for those beyond its borders.

On Monday, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán gave an extensive interview to Budapester Zeitung. He detailed how the government is complying with the European Commission’s requests, and how the Hungarian opposition weaponizes EU institutions.

The EC president would punish voters should the left not win the election in Italy this Sunday. How utterly democratic of her.