Coming on the heels of a warning message from European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has now received another tough message - this time from no other than US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Governments of Hungary and the United States issued a joint press release on the occasion of the ninetieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Bilateral relations are "based on qualitatively new foundations" since 1989.

The Finnish Ambassador to Hungary, Jari Vilén hosted a reception Monday evening on the occasion of Finland's independence day, a national public holiday held on December 6 to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian Empire. As the holiday season is getting near, guests were entertained by a mixed choir singing in Finnish and Swedish. Since the 'original' Santa Claus is of Finnish origin by the name of Jolopukki, he was also present - accompanied by a female Santa Claus!

The Finnish Ambassador to Hungary, Jari Vilén hosted a reception Monday evening on the occasion of Finland's independence day,held on December 6 to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian Empire.

The Diplomacy and Trade Business Club ('The Club') held its latest networking event at the British Embassy in Budapest this Thursday to say farewell to the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Hungary, Greg Dorey.

Laurent Vandenameele, Executive Chef of Le Meridien Budapest's Le Bourbon restaurant was recently honored by the French President for his contribution to French gastronomy. The prestigious award was presented by HE René Roudaut, French Ambassador to Hungary.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Hungary's government bond rating by one notch to Ba1 from Baa3, and is maintaining a negative outlook. The Hungarian government considers the move as “a series of financial attacks.”

The newly opened Iberostar Hotel presented itself to the partners of Diplomacy & Trade. The Spanish Iberostar hotel chain opened its first city hotel in the heart of Budapest. The creations of the Spanish chef, Juan Carlos González were a great success.

“Nothing makes me more proud than serving my country in this capacity, it is a tremendous honor,” the Ambassador of the United States of America to Hungary, Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis tells Diplomacy and Trade.

Hundreds of guests gathered Wednesday evening in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest's Heroes' Square to celebrate the Day of Polish Independence at the invitation of Poland's Ambassador to Hungary, Roman Kowalski.

Hundreds of guests gathered Thursday evening in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest's Heroes' Square to celebrate the Day of Polish Independence at the invitation of Poland's Ambassador to Hungary, Roman Kowalski.

In his speech, Ambassador Kowalski stressed that "Freedom has always been for us, Polish people, a motor of activity, a priceless value for which we were and still are able to sacrifice a lot. That’s why this day – an anniversary of retrieving independence by Poland has a special dimension for us. Although it is a very joyful day, it also has a dimension full of reflection. It is also a day of remembering of those who paid the highest price for Polish independence."

He added that "93 years ago Poland returned to the map of Europe after 123 years and now how symbolic is 11th November 2011 when Poland is holding the rotating Presidency in the Council of the European Union and it turns out that in many aspects in Europe we are given as an ex ample to be followed. We are proud of this and we know that today the success of Europe becomes a guarantee of our independence."

Sunday, November the 20th, 2011 the Diplomatic Spouses of Budapest will organize a big Diplomatic Fair to raise money for its charity Institutions and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the organization.

11 Hungarian tourists were killed and 29 others injured when their bus overturned in the Egyptian resort city of Hurghada, 510 kms from the capital Cairo. Four of the injured - a man and three children - are in serious condition.

Hope and pride from one of the darkest periods of Hungarian history may also yield a permanent, positive mark in a new form of tourism, “Resistance Heritage Tourism,“ drawing largely on the Diplomatic Community of WWII Budapest.

A large number of guests gathered in the Museum of Fine Arts near the City Park in the Hungarian capital Thursday evening at the invitation of the Turkish Ambassador to Hungary, Kemal Gür to celebrate the Turkey's national day.