Hungarian Conservative

The Budapest Balkans Forum 2024 began with captivating discussions about the region’s future, featuring Hungarian government officials such as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, and Minister for EU Affairs János Bóka, among others.

Crucial milestones regarding the expansion of the nuclear plant in Paks are the construction of the containment structure and the reactor vessel, of which the former has been completed, while the manufacturing of the latter is set to commence shortly. It is expected to reach another milestone, the ‘first concrete’, by the end of this year.

According to a recent POLITICO article, EU member states should impose sanctions on Russian nuclear energy, but Hungary’s opposition makes this impossible. Meanwhile, several states in the EU are cooperating with Russian nuclear energy companies, hiding behind Hungary’s veto, and acting behind the scenes to protect their interests.

Allowing alternative sources of fuel to Paks is a step closer to diversifying Hungary’s energy resources. Meanwhile, the French company Framatome is the expected winner of the proposal to develop the control hardware of the power plant.

The conservative position in the United States is that American exports should be ramped up to secure European energy stability and American influence, pushing back Russia’s own power across the continent while questioning the validity of the environmentalists’ alarmism in the process. While U.S. policy is already moving in such a direction through its increased LNG exports, a possible conservative administration in 2024 seems to have its agenda set to push the effort into overdrive.

During a joint press conference with Alexey Likhachev, the head of the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, Péter Szijjártó welcomed the start of the construction of new reactors in Paks. He pointed out that the expansion is currently the largest nuclear project on the continent with a construction permit.

According to the ministry’s statement, Foreign Minister Szijjártó minister reported on the progress of the Paks project during a hearing of the Sustainable Development Committee of the National Assembly, welcoming the fact that the visible phase of the project is now underway.

US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman was quick to condemn PM Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on the social media platform X., suggesting the Hungarian prime minister was ‘pleading for business deals’. In response, Balázs Orbán pointed out that the US has in fact doubled its import of enriched uranium from Russia since the start of the war.

Hungary and Slovakia recently signed a cooperation agreement on nuclear energy with the goal of coordinating research between the two countries and making joint efforts to apply the latest technologies.

As Japan’s example continues to illustrate, hope and one’s true objective must never be forgotten, let alone given up. For Hungary, as for Japan, national interests and the progress of the nation constitute both the foremost goal and the means to achieve it.

According to the calculations of a study commissioned by two EP groups and those of the Hungarian Makronóm Institute show that the European Union’s energy policy is fundamentally flawed, and that the targets set, namely a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, can only be achieved by actively involving nuclear power plants.

The Hungarian justice minister stated that the cost of environmental protection should not be imposed on the poorest countries or the most vulnerable members of societies, but primarily borne by major polluting countries and corporations.

At a joint press conference held with his Slovak counterpart in Budapest, Minister Szijjártó said both Slovakia and Hungary insist that the composition of the energy mix of member states should remain a national competence.

‘Hungary has submitted the draft contract modifications to the European Commission, and we received the green light from them yesterday,’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced.

This year, the Hungarian academic community commemorates the hundred and twentieth anniversary of the birth of the second ‘Martian’ scientist, John von Neumann, with a variety of events, publications, and exhibitions.

The minister held talks with ministers and was part of an energy conference panel discussion, where he emphasised the importance of renewable energy, electric vehicles and nuclear power.

Europe and Hungary were fortunate to have a mild winter, but ‘a country’s leadership cannot make an unequivocal bet that this will always be repeated,’ Energy Minister Lantos warned. Therefore, the government has decided to raise the level of the security gas reserve. Previously, the country stored 10 per cent of its annual consumption as a security reserve, which was now raised to nearly 2 billion cubic metres, or 20 per cent of consumption, while consumption itself decreased.

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.

Last week’s invitation of the French President shows that despite Hungary having disputes with the European Union and the EU funds due to our country are being withheld, the Hungarian Prime Minister is not at all an isolated actor in European political life.

America went from being a net energy importer to a net energy exporter. Today, US energy sources are more diversified and abundant than ever before.

The war in Ukraine has been ravaging European economy for the past year. Marking the recent one-year anniversary of the invasion, this article looks at the economic sanctions imposed upon Russia and assesses their effect.

Gergely Gulyás spoke at a conference organised by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and stated that Hungary’s dependence on the EU is not due to its 1.4 per cent contribution to the Hungarian GDP, but rather because Hungary is a part of a unified Europe and Schengen area, and the common market is essential for Hungary’s economy.

The United States and the United Kingdom recently sanctioned Bulgarian citizens for their alleged abuse of public funds under the Global Magnitsky Act.

Energy Minister Csaba Lantos highlighted in a recent interview that the government would continue to subsidize gas prices for Hungarian households up to the level of average consumption.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó reaffirmed Hungary’s position that member states have a sovereign right to determine what energy carriers they acquire and in what quantities, from whom, and based on what price formula, following a summit of EU energy ministers at the end of October.

Warsaw has inked contracts worth billions of euros with US and Korean companies to build nuclear power plants.

For years, nuclear energy has received the same treatment as nuclear weapons: green movements and climate fundamentalists have been trying to prevent its proliferation.

As fears mount over the possibility of Gazprom further reducing gas flow, Germany is reconsidering its nuclear stance.

After a decade of distrust of nuclear energy, Japan is set to return to nuclear power due to rising energy prices and shifting public opinion.

Climate change is reducing output and raising safety concerns at nuclear facilities from France to the US. But experts say adapting is possible—and necessary.