Civil groups and local Socialist Party activists organised a roadblock in protest of the new road toll regulations. The demonstrators blocked one lane on each side along a 1-km section on dual carriageway M86 near Szombathely, in western Hungary.

The Hungarian political elite, including governing and opposition parties as well as President János Áder and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has condemned the Islamist terrorist attack on the editorial offices of a French magazine in Paris this Wednesday.

The Palace of Arts in Budapest was the venue of the reception given by Hungarian President János Áder to ambassadors accredited to Hungary. In his speech to the diplomats, the President emphasized the importance peace and that of environment protection.

According to an internet survey conducted by the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (MME), the Bird of the Year in Hungary in 2015 is the hoopoe, which finished ahead of the blackbird and the robin in the voting.

The rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union is fillied in the first six months of 2015 by Latvia. On this occasion, Diplomacy & Trade asked the country's ambassador to Hungary, Imants Liegis, to share his views with our readers.