Hungarian Conservative

The Prime Minister said the EU was in the habit of making bad decisions, and he listed the 2008 financial crisis and migration as examples, as well as the decision regarding the war in Ukraine to go ‘towards war and sanctions’ rather than in the direction of peace.

While talking to the Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet, Ákos Bence Gát of the Danube Institute criticized the hectic and unreliable way the withholding and release of funds is ruled on by the EU. He also talked about Ukraine’s potential accession to the Union, which is the main agenda point of the ongoing EU Council meeting.

Arriving for the two-day EU summit, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary’s position is very clear. ‘When we talk about enlargement, the Hungarian stance states that it is a merit-based, sophisticated, legal procedure,’ he explained.

Talks with Ukraine on possible EU membership ‘right now are absurd, ridiculous, and unserious’, and the government will not support them. Right now no one knows what Ukraine’s accession would entail or how much territory or population would be integrated into the bloc, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in the debate of the ruling Fidesz party’s draft resolution on Ukraine’s accession talks.

Meloni emphasized her familiarity with the views of the Hungarian Prime Minister, which diverge from those she holds concerning Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. However, she noted that, in her opinion, the inflexibility and strictness of the European Commission have led to the Hungarian Prime Minister’s perspectives.

Photographs and television footage from the inauguration revealed a meeting and exchange of words between PM Orbán of Hungary and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. According to the Hungarian PM’s chief press secretary, the two statesmen were discussing the ongoing negotiations about Ukraine’s potential EU accession.

Famous American political pundit Tucker Carlson interviewed the father of Gonzalo Lira, a Chilean-American political commentator imprisoned in Ukraine for his opinion. The father told Carlson he believes the US State Department is complicit in the plight of his son. Elon Musk himself spoke up in support of Lira after the interview, which prompted Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) to respond as well.

In the 11th century, three brothers moved from the Kingdom of Hungary to the Kievan Rus—while one of them died defending the Rus’ first two saints, Boris and Gleb, the other two later became Orthodox saints themselves as well, establishing a monastery that functions till this day.

When aiming for lower emissions, it is easier for EU politicians to shut down farms than shut down industries, because farming has a smaller impact and is less visible, which makes it an easy target, governance expert Richard J. Schenk argues.

The Security Service of Ukraine has confirmed that one of the concerns regarding Poroshenko’s trip was his planned meeting with Viktor Orbán, alleging that such encounters are exploited by Russian intelligence services to disseminate pro-Russian narratives.

The establishment of a common European defence ministry would not immediately resolve all problems. As no concrete details are currently available about the idea, significant conclusions cannot be drawn. What is certain, however, is that joint procurement, coordinated development and production could significantly enhance the competitiveness and capacity of the European defence industry, and a robust defence industry stands as the most crucial pillar of the continent’s security.

At the inauguration ceremony of the new unit at the Dunaharaszti plant of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó highlighted that US companies now constitute the second largest community of investors in Hungary.

According to estimates, in November Russia suffered over 900 casualties a day; thousands of Ukrainian civilians and more than 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of the invasion. It is clear that the cost of the war is becoming unbearably high.

A recent survey revealed that three-quarters of Hungarians (76 per cent) support the purchase of modern military technologies and the pay hike for soldiers, while two-thirds (69 per cent) are in favour of increasing the size of the defence forces.

Ukraine may amend its legislation restricting minority rights, and the new initiative appears to be a praiseworthy improvement. However, the draft regulation concerns only the recognized nations of the EU, intentionally excluding Russians and Russian speakers.

‘Washington and the EU need to take an entirely different approach, one that may actually work, and that is facilitate a ceasefire. Convincing Zelensky to consider this does not necessarily mean that Ukraine is to give up on restoring its 1991 borders or on holding Putin’s government responsible for the death and destruction he has caused since invading the country.’

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said it was a mistake for the European Commission to be pushing for EU leaders to put Ukraine’s European Union accession on the agenda, opining that the bloc should first sign a five to ten-year strategic partnership agreement with the country.

Building community and connection, keeping the memory of 1956 alive, engaging the next generation of Hungarian Americans, advocating for the interests of the Hungarian ethnic communities in Europe and building bridges between Washington and Budapest: this is the mission that Andrea Rice Lauer and HACUSA tirelessly pursue.

It is important to point out that, despite the extensive media coverage dedicated to the matter, Hungary is not one of the countries with the highest number of infringement proceedings. The Commission’s report on monitoring the application of EU law during 2022 shows that Hungary in fact occupies a mid-range place among Member States.

‘The fact of the matter is that this is the West’s stupidest war with Britain helping to lead the way: unnecessary, unaffordable, and unwinnable.’

No surprises expected: the Kremlin is preparing for the 2024 presidential elections with hand-picked candidates and restrictions.

According to the Hungarian government, ‘preserving the ethnic foundations is our joint responsibility’, and as long as that exists, the politics based on ethnic groups also has a future, the Hungarian prime minister said.

Minister of EU Affairs János Bóka of Hungary told reporters in Belgium on Wednesday that the EU’s policy of sending excessive military aid to Ukraine should be critically re-evaluated. The minister also declared that the EU must demand that the hostages held by Hamas be released immediately and unconditionally.

In a bizarre speech, Canadian Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen alleged, with no basis whatsoever, that the Conservatives in parliament oppose the modernized trade deal with Ukraine because one of them had a trip to London paid by the Hungarian Danube Institute last summer.

In his regular Friday morning interview with public Kossuth radio, Viktor Orbán addressed issues such as migration, the economy and Ukraine’s EU accession.

Ursula von der Leyen, presenting the report on the expected reforms for the EU accession of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, as well as the accession prospects for the Western Balkans and Turkey, announced that the European Commission recommends initiating accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, as soon as they meet final conditions.

Oleksii Arestovych, a former advisor to the Ukrainian president recently announced his candidacy for the Ukrainian presidency, the election for which is scheduled to happen in 2024—however, due to the martial law in force in the country, the elections might not be organized.

In a recent interview with POLITICO, Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak stated that it is unacceptable that some of Europe’s leaders and citizens are fatigued by the conflict in Ukraine. It is no coincidence that war fatigue was mentioned, as Russian prank callers recently extracted a statement to that effect from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

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.

‘All major US media outlets keeping quiet about the imprisonment of an American citizen for a political opinion—he was never even accused, let alone proven to be coordinating with the Russian state—is scary. How is it that not one journalist in American mainstream media is willing to write a single, factual, non-disparaging article about the plight of Mr Lira?’