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.

President Katalin Novák received Pope Francis with military honours in front of the presidential offices at the Sándor Palace, in the Castle District this morning. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and House Speaker László Kövér were also in attendance. The Holy Father arrived at the palace in a Fiat 500X accompanied by three hussars of the count Ferenc Nádasdy Hussar Regiment.

Zsolt Semjén said that for the whole nation, the Hungarian language is the ‘last stronghold’, so it is crucial that we preserve the mother tongue of communities living beyond the country’s borders.