A special unit of the national police force searched the Budapest headquarters of Ökotárs, a foundation coordinating the distribution of funds from the EEA/Norway Grants in Hungary, under suspicion of embezzlement and unauthorised financial activities.
The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has purchased a castle hotel in eastern Hungary and it will operate the facility as its own resort in the future, the financial website portfolio.hu reports on the basis of news from HVG released on Thursday.
A monument that the Hungarian government says is that of the victims of the Nazi occupation in Hungary was completed under the cover of darkness in downtown Budapest in order to avoid protests. The government says there will be no inauguration.
At a meeting in Luxembourg, the new Hungarian minister of foreign affairs and trade Tibor Navracsics said that Hungary was ready to undertake a role in a non-military mission by the European Union aimed at consolidating the rule of law in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced the names of his candidates for ministers of his next government in a letter sent to the Speaker of Parliament. Except for three people, the list includes same names as the previous government.
Less than 29% of the electorate voted at the EP elections in Hungary this Sunday. 12 of the 21 Hungarian seats were won by the governing Fidesz, with Jobbik, the Socialists, the Democratic coalition, the Together PM and LMP also passing the 5% threshold.
Hungary's new national assembly re-elected Viktor Orbán as prime minister on Saturday, with 130 votes (of his 133-strong 2/3 majority) in favor and 57 (of the 66-member opposition) against, after which he took the oath of office, and addressed Parliament.
Eight countries, including Hungary, participate in the establishment and start of operation of the European Institute of Peace, with the aim of contributing to the prevention of conflicts and the handling of crises emerging on the continent and other regions.
It is inconsistent with the regulations of the European Union that Hungary made it possible to distill 50 liters of pálinka (a fruit brandy) per year without the payment of excise duty. The Hungarian government tries to settle the issue with the EU.
The governing party Fidesz won the Hungarian parliamentary elections held this Sunday. It is yet to be seen whether Viktor Orbán's party can retain its two-thirds majority since a few constituencies are too close to call.
In a thoroughly substantiated opinion written for a recent issue of Diplomacy & Trade, constitutional lawyer György Kolláth is of the view that the new election rules introduced by the governing two-thirds majority clearly favor the governing party.
Hungarians go to the polls this Sunday to elect a new parliament under new rulesset by the current government and passed by the governing two thirds majority - rules that are considered by experts to produce more disproportionate results.
“Hungary's economy has produced the best results in more than ten years, with the country arriving at the threshold of a great era of prosperity,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claimed this Sunday. The opposition said his speech “lacked reality."
President János Áder announced the date for the 2014 parliamentary elections in Hungary: Sunday, April 6. The opposition parties are not surprised as the MPs of the ruling party Fidesz had inadvertently dropped a word about it already.
According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2013, Hungary ranks 23rd out of 31 European countries, which puts it in the top third of the most corruption-infected economies in Europe. The worst CPI score in Europe was given to Greece.
