The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, is performing a delicate balancing act as Russian begins its invasion of Ukraine. While the government condemned the Russian military action and backed the sanctions proposed by the EU, Orbán made it clear that Hungary will stay out […]
The European Court of Justice delivered a historic ruling this week that ties EU fund payments to the rule of law. The decision allows Brussels to withhold funds from Hungary and Poland, two countries that Brussels has accused of failing to uphold democratic standards. Hungary has long been at loggerheads with the European Union over […]
With measures for the protection of the Union budget in mind, the Court of Justice, sitting as a full Court, dismissed the actions brought by the Hungarian and Polish governments against the conditionality mechanism which makes the receipt of financing from the Union budget subject to the respect by the Member States for the principles […]
Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave his annual assessment speech at Várkert Bazaar in Budapest ahead of the April elections. He mainly spoke about what he considers the achievements of his government and claimed that the opposition “attacked the country.” The prime minister described the pandemic as a test of strength, which put everyone […]
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said that Hungary’s general elections scheduled for April 3 should be monitored by a full-scale international election observation delegation. The unusual recommendation for a European Union member country comes after political analysts warned of the risk of rigged elections in the country, claims that were strongly refuted […]
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has proposed a full election observation mission to Hungary for the April 3 parliamentary elections, the major Hungarian blog on EU affairs, Eurologus reports. So far, only EU member country where such a mission was deemed necessary has been Bulgaria. The so-called needs assessment mission studied […]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán concluded extensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week as tensions simmer between Russia and the West. The Hungarian premier stressed that proposed sanctions against Moscow would be “pointless” and offered that the gap between Russia’s “security demands” and NATO members’ willingness can be bridged. After nearly […]
More than 20,000 teachers have taken part in Monday's nationwide teachers' strike, which is "a celebration of democracy in education," the president of the Teachers' Trade Union (PSZ), Zsuzsa Szabó said in Budapest on Monday, the state news agency MTI reports. At a joint press conference with the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ), she […]
As the world watches with growing concern the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, a number of countries have come forth supporting Ukraine with material donations or offers of cyber support and training. Hungary’s Foreign Minister called for a diplomatic solution and noted that Ukraine’s minority policies leave little room for Hungary to help its neighbor. […]
President János Áder has called the parliamentary elections for April 3, 2022, which is the earliest possible date for the election to be held, according to the law. As the state news agency MTI reports, the deadlines related to the election are set by decree of the Minister of Justice after the election is set, […]
Hungary will not change its immigration laws, defying a ruling by the European Union’s top court. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vowed to maintain the country’s existing laws on immigration despite a decision by the EU court that would require changes to these regulations. “We will maintain the existing regime, even if the European court ordered […]
October 23 is a national holiday in remebreance of the outbreak of the uprising against the Stalinist style regime on this day in 1956 and the ensuing revolution. Speakers at different rallies this Saturday used the occasion to speak to their supporters with view to the parliamnetary elections due next spring. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, […]
Hungary’s opposition parties, which have joined forces to fight next year’s general election, have elected a small-town mayor to challenge incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the 2022 polls. Péter Márki-Zay is expected to win over swing voters and disillusioned Orbán supporters as the opposition seeks to stop Orbán from winning a fourth term in […]
Péter Márki-Zay has won the opposition primary election for prime minister, the state news agency MTI quotes the Sunday evening announcement from the official Facebook page of the primaries. Márky-Zay, the mayor of the southeastern Hungarian town of Hódmezővásárhely, President of the All Hungary Movement received 371,560 (56.71%) votes, while his opponent, Klára Dobrev, Member […]
Hungary’s opposition parties are uniting against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to unseat the long-serving premier in next year’s general elections. The alliance is organizing to rounds of primaries to decide on a joint candidate to be Orbán’s challenger in the 2022 vote. Hungary’s six opposition parties have decided to unite behind joint candidates in an […]
