Hungarian Conservative

When asked about the news that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen allegedly suggested stopping the Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline, the minister said the Hungarian government has received no explanation from Kyiv regarding the rumours, but in his opinion, this is a matter of such significance that the President of the European Commission should personally comment on it.

The Hungarian President emphasised at the HLM on the review of the Sendai Framework in New York that despite Hungary being rather small, it always rushes to the aid of countries in need.

The Hungarian government has vetoed the 11th EU sanctions package against Russia after it was revealed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly urged the bombing of the Druzhba pipeline, a crucial route via which Russian oil is transferred to Hungary.

The prime minister emphasised that whether there is the possibility of a military resolution or the need for ceasefire and peace negotiations, Hungary stands on the side of peace, therefore supports any plan that leads to it.

At the Reykjavik summit on Wednesday the Hungarian President emphasised that the heads of state and government of the Council of Europe have an ‘extraordinary responsibility in promoting and ensuring peace for their citizens.’

The European Peace Facility was posed to transfer €500 million to Ukraine for artillery round purchases, but the aid was blocked by the Hungarian government. The official explanation for the move is that Budapest would like to see the off-budget EU fund focus on more than just Ukraine, but some believe the blacklisting of OTP Bank may be behind it.

Ferenc Kalmár said that unfortunately, in recent times, there has been regression rather than progress in the issue of national minorities on a global scale, and the Russo-Ukrainian war has further exacerbated the situation.

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.

Hungary and Bangladesh belong to the peace-loving global majority, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a joint press conference with Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in Budapest on Friday.

The prime minister talked about how Hungary has a vested interest in achieving peace in Ukraine, since the war diminishes the value of Hungary and endangers the ethnic Hungarians living in the area.

According to the law sponsored by the justice minister, an extended state of emergency is needed to handle the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war in Ukraine and to tackle the economic consequences of the armed conflict. The bill was designed to ‘ensure all means to assist and accommodate refugees, fence off the negative economic impacts.. and help the country leave behind the effects of the war as soon as possible,’ the draft legislation’s preamble said.

The leaders of five EU member states, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania, requested in mid-April that the European Commission take action on Ukrainian grain entering Europe duty-free and causing harm to local farmers.

Peter Maurer, former president of the International Committee of the Red Cross was invited to a discussion in Budapest by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. He shared some highlights of the ten years of his presidency and the challenges he faced during his tenure.

While talking to reporters on his flight from Budapest to Vatican City, Pope Francis revealed that the Vatican is engaged in a ‘peace mission’, which he has discussed with Prime Minister Orbán and Bishop Hilarion in Budapest. The Kyiv government has made it clear that it does not approve of such an effort.

Pope Francis thanked the Catholic church in Hungary for its charitable work. ‘You have built up a network that links pastoral workers, volunteers, parish and diocesan Caritas organizations, while also engaging prayer groups, communities of believers, and organisations belonging to other confessions, yet united in the ecumenical fellowship that is born of charity,’ he noted. ‘Thank you too, for having welcomed—not only with generosity but also with enthusiasm—so many refugees from Ukraine.’

Alexandra Szentkirályi reiterated that Hungary still does not and will not ship weapons to Ukraine nor will it allow other countries to ship weapons through its territory.

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?

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy, where he expressed his strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance. Viktor Orbán, who has been a vocal proponent of peace negotiations and is fully aware that such remarks are seen as a provocative move by Russia, took to Twitter to voice his strong dissent.

‘Hungarian-Serbian strategic energy cooperation is one of the guarantees that Hungary’s supply will remain secure in the next period,’ the minister said.

The minister announced that the government has imposed a ban on 25 agricultural products from Ukraine, including grain, sunflower seeds, cooking oil, and specific meat products until 30 June. He also noted that while according to the European Commission, Ukrainian grain exports should be facilitated to ease the food shortage in Africa, these imports could ‘ruin the Hungarian agricultural market instead’.

For over a thousand years, Hungarians and Rusyns have lived peacefully together. This shared history offers important lesson of cooperation and mutual respect.

Hungary will not allow a slew of agricultural products to be imported from Ukraine until 30 June. A spokesperson of the European Commission called the actions of the Central European countries ‘not acceptable’.

Budapest energy prices were the lowest among capitals that are part of the European Union. As far as Europe is concerned, prices were the lowest in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The PM opined that if the escalation leads to a world war, it is definitely going to be nuclear. He said that the situation in Ukraine is getting worse by the week, and the danger of escalation keeps increasing.

‘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.

‘We cannot look at the European Union as those who must be listened to and must always have the best solutions in a suitcase to Bucharest or Warsaw,’ Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki stressed in Bucharest.

Consul Ferenc Papp was among the distinguished guests attending the celebratory event. As he pointed out in his speech, in 2021 and 2022, the Hungarian government spent a total of nearly 5.2 billion forints on renovating the churches and religious facilities of Hungarian communities beyond the borders.

The foreign minister emphasised right after winter, ‘in Europe, it is fashionable to strut about with great bravado these days,’ but the International Energy Agency recently issued an ‘ominous’ report indicating that the most severe difficulties are expected to come in the next heating season when supply security will be critical.

The Hungarian foreign minister reminded that the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians have been systematically curtailed in Ukraine since 2015, and the most recent example of this is that minority schools have become impossible to operate since September this year.