Hungarian Conservative

The Hungarian government blocking the latest round of sanctions comes only days after the Orbán administration vetoed the release of €500 million of military aid to Ukraine. The blacklisting of the Budapest-based OTP Bank by Ukrainian officials is behind both of these decisions.

The State Secretary said that since 2010, every year has been the year of families in Hungary. He added that the family support programmes in the country are still work in progress, with the government working dynamically on introducing new schemes as soon as possible.

Despite OTP’s continued support of Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention has recently classified the Budapest-based bank as an ‘international war sponsor’ for not shutting down its Russian subsidiary.

Answering the call of the representatives of Orthodox communities, Hungary recognised that the Russian Orthodox Church has some 100 million members worldwide, and the sanctioning of its leader would isolate religious people from their spiritual leader. The Patriarch is regularly prayed for and commemorated during church services in Hungary, too, as it is home to a Hungarian Orthodox community under the Moscow Patriarchate.

Four Central European countries, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, have announced bans on foodstuff imports coming from Ukraine. Meanwhile, Romania has joined them in demanding action from the EU to address these concerns. The five countries are estimated to have lost 417 million EUR combined due to cheap Ukrainian food imports.

Hungary has recently announced that it is leaving the International Investment Bank, soon after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the IIB and its leadership. But what is the story behind this controversial financial institution and what led to its demise?

‘So far, they have done everything, and they will continue to do everything in the future on behalf of the United States government to make Hungary change its position,’ the leader of the Nézőpont Institute, Sámuel Ágoston Mráz said in a radio interview.

The US Ambassador announced that three senior officials of IIB, including a Hungarian citizen, Imre Laszlóczki, and two Russian nationals, Nikolai Kosov and Georgi Potapov have been placed on the list of sanctioned individuals. IIB is a platform for Russia to extend its influence in the region, and is therefore a potential threat for both the European Union and its Western allies, Pressman stated.

Viktor Orbán stated that the war is becoming increasingly violent and brutal. He remarked that it would be natural for more and more people to stand for peace as a result, but he does not see this intention among the majority of EU leaders.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s approach to the Russian-Ukraine war is not Russia-sympathetic, but Hungarian-pragmatic. He has made it clear that Hungary condemns the Russian invasion into Ukraine and stands for Ukrainian sovereignty, but not to the point that agreeing to energy sanctions would crush Hungary’s economy.

At the meeting, the parties agreed to strengthen cooperation. They also shared the view that government support needs to be provided in order to protect Hungary’s strategically important automotive industry and preserve jobs.

‘Hungary must be a country that can have Hungarians do all the work that needs to be done in this country. If it’s uncomfortable or difficult, we need to pay more for it. If we have exhausted all of these options, then we can talk about guest workers. They can stay for a definite period, and their employment can be terminated if necessary, otherwise, we will lose our security,’ Viktor Orbán underlined.

‘Hungary’s political leadership is strong enough to keep our country out of the war. I say this in all humility, but also with confidence,’ the Prime Minister declared.

The Finnish energy consultancy company VaasaETT recently issued a report that shows Hungarian utility costs to be the lowest in the entire EU.

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.

The Hungarian economy performed exceptionally well in 2022, despite the economic crisis caused by the war and the harmful sanctions imposed by Brussels.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal recently stated that the country would like to join the EU in a two-year timetable. However, most member states think that this timeline for Kyiv’s bid is unrealistic.

On Sunday, the second phase of the sixth package of anti-Russia sanctions was introduced. The EU has now banned the import and re-export of processed petroleum products from Russia. The Hungarian government, however, managed to secure an exemption.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke about the war, the effect of sanctions and the intelligence report on the funding of the leftist parties during an interview on Friday.

The designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation would be a serious step by the EU since only Bahrein, Saud Arabia and the United States did so.

Although the war on the Ukrainian front is at a standstill at the moment, in the hinterland the West has won a brilliant victory in the heroic fight against Russian culture.

According to press reports, Poland officially objected to Hungary’s request on Wednesday to remove nine names from the list of Russian individuals to be sanctioned.

97 percent of Hungarians oppose sanctions that they believe would seriously harm the country, according to the results of the national consultation launched by the government last year.

‘We need the United States and NATO to say to Russia, “Okay, we get it. NATO will not enlarge to Ukraine and to Georgia.” In my view, that is not a defeat of NATO. That is just common sense.’

‘The Hungarian government has fulfilled its commitment: an agreement with Brussels has been reached, thus EU funds will be available to Hungary in 2023, and agriculture can also count on subsidies of an unprecedented scale.’

The concerns about financial security and the moderately enthusiastic assessment of overall life satisfaction by Hungarians in 2022 reflect the difficulties the country’s economy is facing, induced partly by the EU’s sanctions policy.

The Czechs and the Slovaks are growing increasingly dissatisfied with Europe’s sanctions policy that makes families bear the cost of the war.

Budapest’s iconic Hauer cake shop announced this month that due to the negative impact of the economic environment on the catering industry they were forced to close.

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.