Hungarian Conservative

The annual Three Seas Initiative Summit and Business Forum was held with the participation of thirteen countries situated between the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic Seas, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Romania, Greece, and Bulgaria. President of Hungary Tamás Sulyok also participated in several bilateral meetings during the event.

The high-profile conference on education continued with its second day at the MCC Budapest campus, with another slew of illustrious expert guests sharing their knowledge and opinions regarding the role of family versus the role of a school in a child’s education, the role of philosophy in education, and the current state of print books.

The V4 countries convened for a summit on 27 February, a gathering of paramount importance regarding the future trajectory of cooperation. The leaders of the allied states reached a unanimous agreement on the necessity to uphold cooperation in areas of common interests, notwithstanding differences of opinion.

All indications suggest that Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy may soon be sitting down at the negotiating table. The parties have a multitude of contentious issues to discuss, beginning with the rights of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia.

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.

The growing threat of terror in Europe is a direct consequence of the migration policy forced by Brussels, which has resulted in parallel societies in a number of Western European countries, the Hungarian foreign minister said. He also noted the sanctions against Russia, which he said resulted in ‘a continual crisis of energy security’.

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.

Hungary’s interests lie in peace, the Hungarian foreign minister said, adding that this was the reason why the government considered it important to take part in the work of the OTS, as the Turkic states ‘always stand by peaceful settlements and reducing the risk of escalation’.

In his regular interview on public radio, the Hungarian Prime Minister pledged to defend Hungary’s borders, to resist pressure from Brussels aiming to change his government’s policies, insisted that Ukraine cannot win on the battlefield, and announced a new National Consultation.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó highlighted the natural mutual understanding between Qatar and Hungary as countries with patriotic governments focused on asserting national interests.

To date, six ethnic Hungarians have summited Mount Everest. The most recent attempt was made by Szilárd Suhajda, who got close to reaching the top alone without oxygen tanks. Tragically, he succumbed to the effects of the death zone, and lost his life when only 50 metres (164 feet) from the peak.

PM Orbán must have ‘run into’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the meeting, as some Hungarian media put it. However, conspicuously, Viktor Orbán did not post any photos of him and the Ukrainian leader to social media, as opposed to prominently featured pictures with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a Facebook post. In fact, no formal meeting has been held between the two leaders since Zelenskyy entered office. Although Orbán has been invited to Kyiv, the Hungarian government has made it quite clear that the Hungarian PM will not be travelling to Ukraine unless the rights of the Hungarian minority in the country are restored.

Austria’s Chancellor was the first Western leader to meet with Putin after the invasion. Now, despite strong criticism, Russian representatives were granted visas to Austria to attend the OSCE summit in Vienna in February.

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.

‘When I look at the European economy, strangled by over-regulation, over-taxation, ridiculous green agendas and the intrusive behaviour of the EU bureaucracy, it is clear that Europe cannot grow. It is doomed to stagnation,’ former Czech President Vaclav Klaus stated at the summit.

The Czech Prime Minister said at the joint press conference that he was convinced the V4 cooperation had a future. He underscored that the meeting in Kosice was important, as ‘an open dialogue can be held even on issues on which there are different views.’