Hungarian Conservative

‘Hungary is preparing for an exceptionally active EU Presidency,’ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán notes in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times. In the article Orbán outlines the priorities of the Hungarian EU Presidency, with a particular focus on boosting European competitiveness.

According to information from POLITICO, EU leaders and some member states want to punish Hungary by giving the country a weak portfolio in the next European Commission. Hungary currently holds the position of Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, but tensions between Brussels and Budapest are rising due to Hungary’s resistance to Ukraine’s accession.

After months of negotiations, the Netherlands now has its most right-wing government in the country’s history. The coalition, including Geert Wilders’ PVV, has committed to implementing the strictest asylum policy ever, according to the coalition agreement presented on Thursday.

In Poland’s municipal elections a significant majority of farmers voted for the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. As right-wing parties across the continent have consistently supported the farmers ever since the beginning of the Europe-wide protests, discontented farmers could play a key role in facilitating the long-awaited right-wing shift in the EU.

Despite concessions from the European Commission, farmer protests across Europe show no signs of abating. On 22 February, farmers from the Visegrád Group countries will hold a joint demonstration to protest against EU agricultural policies.

Orbán told public radio that Hungary only consented to financial contributions allocated towards efforts to prevent the collapse of the Ukrainian state at the Thursday Council meeting. He said peace was the crucial issue as regards the war between Russia and Ukraine but ‘the situation is not good in this respect, since Brussels is suffering from war fever’.

Similarly to the EU leadership, the Hungarian left tends to concentrate on issues of little concern for the people, and ignores the concerns of rural communities and farmers.

The Prime Minister expressed concern about the lack of proper respect for agriculture as a crucial element of the European economy within the European Union. He criticized unfavourable regulations imposed in several countries, making the situation difficult for farmers.

As tensions continue to grow in the wake of farmer demonstrations, agriculture is set to become a major issue across the EU ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, when the political right is expected to make significant strides toward a majority in the EP.

The MagosVölgy Ecological Farm in Terény, Nógrád County, produces
gorgeous vegetables from February to December for the 500-strong community around it.

When aiming for lower emissions, it is easier for EU politicians to shut down farms than shut down industries, because farming has a smaller impact and is less visible, which makes it an easy target, governance expert Richard J. Schenk argues.

The charity event was organized by the Bread of Hungarians Foundation, the National Chamber of Agriculture, and the Hungarian Association of Farmers’ Circles and Agricultural Cooperatives, reaching 19 counties and 15 organizations beyond the borders, with nearly 500 organizations receiving flour donations. Representatives of the beneficiaries also received certificates of support and symbolic sacks of the Bread of the Hungarians flour.

‘Today we still need a place to come together, to cherish our nationality, traditions, and customs. We need a place that is truly ours, that is a substitute for the Old Country, and that welcomes all our fellow citizens who approach us with goodwill. Today we still believe in the principles on which this organization was built, and to which we must continue to adhere if we are to survive.’

According to Viktor Orbán, EU institutions have been unwilling to side with the member states of the Union, and instead, have followed US interests with regard to the issue of Ukrainian grain.

If our goal is to prioritise food production, tradition alone is not enough; adaptation and modernisation are also necessary, stated János Lázár, to which János Áder added that the record number of applicants to the Mezőhegyes Agricultural School proves that young people find this modernised agriculture attractive and see a future in it.

The minister announced that the government has imposed a ban on 25 agricultural products from Ukraine, including grain, sunflower seeds, cooking oil, and specific meat products until 30 June. He also noted that while according to the European Commission, Ukrainian grain exports should be facilitated to ease the food shortage in Africa, these imports could ‘ruin the Hungarian agricultural market instead’.

Hungary reaches 15,750 signatures in citizens’ initiative to save honeybees.