Hungarian Conservative

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu on Friday, a day before Orbán’s speech at Tusványos. The discussions focused on bilateral relations between the two countries and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area.

In the short term, the process of de-dollarization is exploiting the current state of the business cycle in the US and EU. Just a small decrease in the number of transactions in which the dollar is denominated will cause a devaluation of the dollar and a prolonged state of higher interest rates in the US, together with quantitative tightening—all leading to a weakening of the economic position of the US, the EU, and the other G7 countries.

The Free Market Road Show, held for the ninth time, was organized in collaboration with the Austrian Economics Center and the Danube Institute. This year’s speakers discussed topics such as Central Bank Digital Currencies and the related issues of individual freedom and privacy, new economic strategies for a post-COVID world, and how global security threats, such as wars and migration, affect trade.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade described the Chinese President’s three-day visit with a 400-member delegation as historically significant. He explained that it has been twenty years since a Chinese President last visited Hungary; moreover, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Among other agreements, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced preparations for the joint development of a high-speed railway connection, aimed at enabling swift and comfortable travel from the Liszt Ferenc Airport to the centre of Budapest. In addition, the possibility of building an oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia will be explored with Chinese and Serbian partners, as well as the expanding of Sino-Hungarian cooperation to nuclear energy initiatives.

The political director of the Hungarian PM underscored in an interview with public media that the Chinese President’s visit also signifies that Hungary is becoming a key state in the region. He recalled that it has been twenty years since a Chinese president last visited Hungary, and during this time, China has become a superpower and one of the strongest countries economically, in leading positions in numerous technological industries.

During the interview, the Prime Minister remarked that Europe is playing with fire, teetering on the brink between peace and war. He criticized European leaders for two years of indecision regarding strategy and sanctions, drifting not from war towards peace but from peace towards war. He expressed deep concern for the future of Europe, stating it is extremely dangerous.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, following over three hours of negotiations, an agreement was reached to include additional Hungarian railway developments on the list of infrastructure projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The Ukrainian government is working on blacklisting 14 products by the Hungarian pharmaceutical company Richter. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó believes that this has no professional basis, only political, and spoke up against the planned bannings at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.

Borjana Krišto emphasized the good cooperation between the two friendly countries and welcomed the work of the Joint Economic Commission between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary, noting that there is significant space and demand for increasing bilateral trade.

Another, earlier-than-ever date has emerged regarding the completion of the Hungarian section of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line. As before, the source of the information on the new date is the Serbian President.

Following talks with his Thai counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó revealed that tourist traffic between the two countries has doubled, with more than 10,000 Thai tourists visiting Hungary last year, while more than 30,000 Hungarians travelled to Thailand.

The Hungarian price monitoring system, which will possibly be purchased by the Slovak government, is an online database developed by the government and the Hungarian Competition Authority. The system provides consumers with information on the selling prices of individual products.

The Hungarian Post issued its eleventh stamp series featuring motifs from the Chinese horoscope, celebrating the upcoming Year of the Dragon, which commences on 10 February.

With the daily flights, the airline’s parent company, China Eastern Airlines, aims to provide even better connectivity between Budapest and Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and Australia.

In a joint press statement with the Moldovan Prime Minister, Orbán described the eight years since Moldova signed the Association Agreement with the European Union as ‘offensively long’ and expressed hope that some of the lost time may be regained by speeding up accession negotiations.

‘If we disrupt the triple unity of competitiveness, preserving the quality of our created world, and ensuring food security, then the system will not be sustainable. Farmer protests draw attention to the fact that access to agricultural subsidies is too difficult, and with the prioritization of Ukrainian interests, European farmers feel that they are not receiving sufficient protection,’ Agriculture Minister István Nagy stated in a press briefing in Brussels.

According to the Hungarian Prime Minister, it is ‘easy to predict’ that Vietnam will emerge as one of the winners of the coming era. ‘Such transformations herald opportunities as well as risks. We see the new world economic era as an enormous opportunity for Hungary, since Hungarians are an Eastern people by origin,’ Viktor Orbán nailed down.

According to a statement released by Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday, a total of 4,419 Mercedes-Benz cars were registered in Hungary in 2023. Notably, a quarter of these models (639 units) were produced in Kecskemét, with the CLA (314 units), the A-Class (280 units), and the EQB (45 units) continuing to play significant roles in domestic sales.

The transformation of global supply chains has accentuated the importance of the Budapest–Belgrade railway. As a result, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may become profitable not in the widely reported 979 years, but in only a few years. If the project lives up to expectations, it will not only prove the success of Hungary‘s Opening to the East policy and connectivity goals, but will also position Hungary as a preferable investment destination.

The strengthening of the energy ties between the three neighbouring countries is set to enhance the efficiency and profitability of trading and reinforce Hungary’s energy sovereignty.

The establishment of the Hungarian-American Trade Chamber–Chicago was underscored as a pivotal moment in promoting Hungarian-American economic collaboration.

On the margins of the sixth China International Import Expo, Economic Development Minister Márton Nagy held talks with the leaders of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest commercial lender, emphasizing Hungary’s aim of becoming a regional financial hub in addition to being the meeting point for Eastern and Western capital and cutting-edge technology.

The National Assembly of Bulgaria passed a new, €10.2 per megawatt-hour tax on Russian gas coming through the TurkStream pipeline. President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary have condemned the decision.

Nestlé Hungária Kft.’s recent capacity expansion investment in Bük is set to create 280 new job opportunities, marking yet another milestone in Hungary’s impressive year of record-breaking investments, exports, and employment, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó made the announcement at the project’s inauguration ceremony.

In a radio interview, Minister István Nagy alleged that the European Commission was serving the interest of ‘US, Saudi, and Dutch companies and investors’ with their controversial decision, and not the small Ukrainian farmer’s as they claim.

The incompetence of the European Commission has caused enormous damage to the European farmer society. The huge quantity and uncontrolled flow of low-quality Ukrainian grain into the EU may even challenge the integrity of the common market.

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.

Instead of systemic competition, the Hungarian government supports strategic cooperation with China, Minister of State for Bilateral Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Tamás Menczer emphasised during the inauguration ceremony at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport on Monday.



The minister emphasised during a joint press conference with his Moldovan counterpart, Nicu Popescu, that the geopolitical significance of the Eastern Partnership has become even more valuable in the present circumstances.