The European Commission proposes starting accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday in Strasbourg. Issues being discussed at the European Parliament Plenary also include the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and European security, among others.
The Hungarian Ministry of Defence announced that due to Hungary’s increased involvement in foreign missions and the altered security environment, the Hungarian government has decided to procure an additional four JAS-39Cs to complement the current fleet of 14 Gripens.
The security of the Sahel is the security of Europe as well. If the EU and its Member States, including Hungary, want to avoid having to face irregular mass migration and terrorism at their immediate borders, we have to invest in the security of the Sahel, using all aspects of collaboration, from diplomacy to development and defence.
‘It is clear that the unhindered influx of masses of illegal arrivals, aided by criminals, and then the processing of asylum applications within the EU is a failure of failures,’ György Bakondi expressed on public M1 television.
Balázs Orbán observes that Brussels believes it is in the interest of European countries for the Russo-Ukrainian war to continue or possibly escalate. Hungary, on the other hand, is of a different opinion; this conflict has no military solution and a diplomatic resolution is needed.
Similarly to the French president, German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck also spoke sharply in his assessment of Europe’s place and competitiveness. In his view, the progress made in the first decades of the existence of the EU has made Europe complacent, ignoring the pace of development in the US and Asia, as a result of which it is far behind its competitors today.
The government’s primary focus for the current year is the restoration of economic growth while continuing to reduce the budget deficit and national debt.
Bence Rétvári declared that the ‘Brussels bureaucrats’ fear that anti-migration forces will advance in the European Parliament elections. Therefore, ‘in a panic,’ they resurrected previous migration-friendly proposals.
‘It may very well be that in a few decades’ time, it will become clear to all analysts that the US’s rise to being a hegemonic power has carried the seeds of its downfall, too.’
The Hungarian Prime Minister’s chief security advisor György Bakondi talked to the Hungarian television TV2, and explained why Hungary is not willing to comply with what is included in the European Union’s migration pact.
Speaking at the MEDays Forum international conference, the Hungarian foreign minister stressed that as a result of mistaken immigration policies, parallel societies have emerged in Western Europe. He remarked that what Europeans are seeing is ‘loud minorities exerting pressure on those who have lived there for centuries…and the threat of terrorism intensifying’.
At a press conference following her meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President Katalin Novák Novák ruled out the possibility of any ties between Hungary and Russia ‘which could undermine ties with its allies and commitments within NATO as well as in the European Union’.
In his speech at the Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, Viktor Orbán stated that Europe is facing difficult dilemmas, and the answers provided will have a strong impact on the relationship between the Turkic world and the continent. The PM emphasized that from a European perspective, global security is currently in the worst condition since the end of the Cold War.
Viktor Orbán declared that Hungary’s energy supply is a key issue and noted that it is important for Hungary to be able to receive oil not only from Russia but also from Kazakhstan. He added that the volume of this is not significant yet, but the channels have been opened, and this is a significant step for the country’s security.
Can Netanyahu survive as prime minister in the wake of the Hamas attack? Are Jews really safer in Israel today than in the Diaspora? Hard questions that need to be asked.
Speaking at a high-level international conference in Minsk, Belarus, the Hungarian foreign minister said Europe and Hungary had already paid a high price for a war they are not responsible for.
‘The path to peace in the Middle East is clear and straightforward, it’s about having the political will…If we can envision a world in which world powers actively check the Islamic Republic regime or even support the Iranian people in their quest for freedom to overthrow this regime and return to Iran’s ancient noble history, we could eliminate 90 per cent of the destabilization in the region. From there, we would work towards more peace deals between Israel and its Arab neighbours, building on the successful model of the Abraham Accords.’
In a recent Facebook post, Péter Szijjártó informed that he had a phone conversation with the South Korean Foreign Minister Park Joo, in which they discussed not only issues of bilateral cooperation but also the significant challenges facing international security.
Hungary’s commitment to national security remains unwavering in the face of 21st-century challenges, Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated at the inauguration of the new Cyberspace Operations Centre of the Military National Security Service.
An innovative continuous authentication solution of Cursor Insight, a Hungarian-founded cybersecurity firm, has been recognized as the Cyber Defence Product of the Year at the British National Cyber Awards 2023.
The Hungarian foreign minister emphasized that despite all efforts, global terrorism remains more severe than ever, claiming 6,700 lives last year due to various attacks. He opined that one of the reasons for that is that terrorism and illegal migration create a kind of ‘vicious circle’.
It is important that consumers who become victims of fraud receive assistance promptly, she said, stressing that if someone falls prey to a scam they should report the incident immediately, so that the circumstances can be investigated as soon as possible.
Szijjártó urged the start of genuine European Union accession negotiations for Albania and North Macedonia. He emphasized that Europe is facing extraordinary economic and security challenges, making the stability and peace of the Western Balkans more crucial than ever.
Szijjártó emphasized that Hungary wants a strong EU, but this is only possible if member states are strong enough. However, for this to happen, nations need to stick to their traditions, their history, and have the freedom to live their religion.
‘And here we come. Our time has come because by becoming the meeting point of Eastern and Western investments, we provide a life insurance for Hungary, we provide a guarantee that in the coming years, Hungary will be the winner of the big global economic transformation that the automotive revolution dictates,’ Péter Szijjártó said.
At an extraordinary press conference, the minister referred to this event as a great collective success for all Hungarians, highlighting that Budapest is now ready to host one of the world’s largest sporting events thanks to environmentally friendly, sustainable, and large-scale sports infrastructure developments.
Based on the latest data, nearly 4.8 million people are employed in Hungary, and the unemployment rate stands at 3.8 per cent, well below the EU average. The data reflects that the Hungarian labour market remains tight, and employment is in good condition, State Secretary Sándor Czomba stated.
Today we still often think of war in the Clausewitzian terms, as of the ‘continuation of politics by other means’, conducted by one state against another. However, as argued by Mary Kaldor, many armed conflicts have acquired a completely different, de-politicised nature, becoming a new social condition.
The CEO of BNP Paribas Cardif, Márk István Kiss, noted in the press release presenting the results of the survey that the rising prices and the challenging economic situation have not significantly impacted labour market processes, and the mood of Hungarian employees seems to be stabilising overall.
The recipe is kept secret and stored on a computer with high-level security measures, with a backup copy being held in a Swiss vault, the Hungarian energy drinks company highlighted in a statement.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.