Hungarian Conservative

Many of the political leaders whose parties now make up the new Patriots for Europe group, the third largest faction in the legislative body in the European Parliament, attended CPAC Hungary 2024 in Budapest back in April, as the Center for Fundamental Rights points out.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel Israel Katz visited Hungary recently for the first time since he took up office. He met with President of Hungary Tamás Sulyok, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, and the leaders of the Hungarian Jewish communities. The main aim of the visit was to determine, with Hungary soon taking over the presidency of the EU, how Budapest and the Union would take action against anti-Israel efforts in the next six months.

Péter Szijjártó held a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz this Monday, where they discussed the horrific attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas on 7 October 2023, as well as the subsequent increase in antisemitism in the West.

At a press conference ahead of Day 1 of CPAC Hungary 2024, Director General Miklós Szánthó of the Center for Fundamental Rights shared that this year’s conference will be bigger than ever before, as the organizers are expecting a record number of 3,000 attendees, including 500 foreign guests. The event will attract 80 speakers from all six continents.

Tamás Sulyok visited Poland on the Day of Polish⁠–⁠Hungarian Friendship, marking the extraordinary and long-standing relationship between the two Central European nations.

Minister for National Economy Márton Nagy presented the new competitiveness strategy for 2024⁠–⁠2030 adopted by the government at a press conference held in Budapest on Monday. According to him, economic growth between 2 to ⁠3 per cent is expected this year.

Peter Pellegrini met with his Hungarian counterpart László Kövér, as well as President Tamás Sulyok, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He stressed that Hungary and Slovakia both oppose the removal of veto rights of EU Member States, illegal immigration into Europe, and sending troops to Ukraine.

The contract extension for the Hungarian Grand Prix Formula 1 race will cover the comprehensive renovation of the Hungaroring, currently underway and scheduled to be completed by 2026.

According to the ministry’s statement, the Hungarian Foreign Minister underscored that one of the main priorities of Hungarian foreign policy remains the acceleration of Western Balkan integration. Consequently, Hungary will dedicate particular attention to this goal during its upcoming EU presidency.

At the year-end press conference, PM Orbán explained why he chose to veto the €50 billion aid package to Ukraine at the recent EU Summit, how he views the potential Ukrainian and Swedish NATO accession, and what he believes the biggest struggles of 2023 were. He also talked about what hopes he has for the new year of 2024.

The government resolution to continue the development at Hungary’s most famous racing track, Hungaroring has been adopted. The next phase of the upgrade will bring the quality of the Mogyoród track to the expected level of Formula 1.

The Papp László Budapest Sports Arena will have a full house, with six tatamis set up. This time, 5,000 people will fit in the stands, and an additional 2,000 seats will be reserved for team members and coaches not currently competing.

While attending a meeting of European Union justice ministers, Minister Bence Tuzson spoke to journalists about a number of important issues, including the recent increase in the terror threat in Europe, the frozen EU funds due to Hungary, and the country’s upcoming Council of the EU presidency.

Tibor Navracsics claims the Hungarian government has fulfilled all the criteria set by the EU Commission to access the funds, and could be receiving actual money transfers from Brussels as early as November.

2RK, the newly established centrist political party, is headed by the former president of the once radical right-wing Jobbik, Gábor Vona.

The Foreign Minister stressed the importance of Azeri-Hungarian cooperation, which he claims has greatly helped Hungary in energy security in the past decade, and called on Brussels to ‘do more than nudging’ to help member states diversify their energy sources.

Spread across 76 hectares, this year’s festival was set up in three weeks. The maximum daily capacity is 90,000 people, including both festival staff and attendees, making Sziget the country’s tenth largest city for the six days of the festival. The main stage was constructed in ten days, with a floor area of over a thousand square metres and a six hundred square metre LED wall serving as its backdrop.

 ‘There are few Hungarian brands in the entertainment industry like the Sziget Festival, and we will forever be grateful to its founders for creating it. We are planning a grand celebration this year, which also signifies the beginning of a new era for us: we not only want to preserve the legacy of the past 30 years but also lay the foundation for the next 30,’ Tamás Kádár stated at a press conference in May.

The minister advocated for strengthening ties between the European Union and Central Asia, urging the prompt signing of the EU-Kyrgyzstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was initialled in 2019.

Zsolt Gyulay, President and CEO of Hungaroring Sport Zrt., described the preparation process for the race as ‘extraordinary’ because the company not only had to focus on organising the race itself but also on concluding the negotiations for the contract extension, which has been ongoing for several months and could reach a conclusion at the current 38th Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 2022 opposition prime minister candidate announced the official establishment of his new Mindenki Magyarországa Néppárt (Everyone’s Hungary People’s Party). At the scarcely attended press conference, he revealed that they plan on not taking any funding from the central government, and operating on donations alone; as well as eventually joining the European People’s Party.

Dodik expressed gratitude for the budgetary support provided by the Hungarian government earlier this year to the Bosnian Serbs, which enabled the institutions to function smoothly. According to the plans, the predominantly Serb-populated region of Bosnia and Herzegovina aims to work on the development of the electrical grid, solar energy, and hydropower, as well as construct a pharmaceutical factory and improve infrastructure.

Minister Gulyás announced that the maximum amount of the childbirth incentive loan (Babaváró hitel) will increase to 11 million forints. This change will come into effect in 2024 and will apply to couples where the woman is under 30 years old. also announced that the food price caps will be extended for one more month, but they will be phased out as of August as they have fulfilled their purpose. Forecasts indicate that inflation is decreasing. At the same time, food retailers mandatory discounts will be increased from 10 to 15 per cent.

At a conference on Monday, Justice Minister Judit Varga assured everyone that the separation between the judiciary and executive power is enshrined in law in Hungary. She also opined that the current ‘crisis of confidence’ between Hungary and the EU is caused by the continuous unjustified attacks on the country over the years, and not the supposed faults in Hungary’s justice system.

According to Fidesz deputy group leader in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Zsolt Németh the future of conservatism in Europe is bright, as right-wingers on the continent are ‘coming closer together’; and that therefore the slogan of the Budapest seminar could rightly be ‘Conservatives of Europe, unite!’

While officially, the conference’s main agenda point was the shadow rapporteurs on the current state of the rule of law in Hungary, more time was devoted to Hungary’s Council of the EU presidency set to happen in 2024, a concept none of the MEPs was thrilled about. The ongoing negotiations about releasing the frozen EU funds were often talked about as well.