Hungary struck a mega deal with the European Union this week to reduce the amount of funds the bloc proposed to freeze. In return, the Hungarian government lifted its veto on the financial aid package for Ukraine. Monday night brought a temporary resolution to Hungary’s biggest standoff with the European Union. Member states approved Hungary’s […]
Democracy remains the most important value EU citizens want Parliament to stand up for. 72% of respondents (78% in Hungary) believe their country has benefited from being an EU member, according to a new Eurobarometer survey. Democracy, human rights and free speech are paramount to EU citizens as they call on the European Parliament to […]
The Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU has found the required qualified majority to impose measures for the protection of the Union budget against the consequences of breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary, concerning public procurement, the effectiveness of prosecutorial action and the fight against corruption in Hungary. The […]
A new government decree has been published in the Hungarian Gazette, according to which the Hungarian government, citing the state of war, has authorised itself to rewrite the budget without the approval of Parliament. According to the decree, the provisions of the law on public finances "on the preparation, structure and content of the central […]
Following long lines at Hungarian gas stations due to the shortage of supply of capped priced fuel in the past few days, the Hungarian government announced late Tuesday evening that the capped prices introduced in November 2021 are scrapped as 23.00 hours local time. The Hungarian oil and gas company Mol, the only company supplying […]
The EU Commission will propose holding back some of the EU funds earmarked for Hungary citing the Hungarian government failure to implement rule of law and anti-corruption measures. At stake are more than EUR 7 billion, cash that Hungary badly needs at a time when inflation is above 20% and the economy is forecast to […]
The Minister of Technology and Industry, László Palkovics is to leave his post, and a new energy ministry is to be established, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, Gergely Gulyás announced at an extraordinary press conference on Monday. According to Minister Gulyás, the restructuring is justified by the war in the neighboring country and […]
Hungary opened a new front in its ongoing standoff with the European Union when it said it would not support the bloc’s plan for a support package for war-torn Ukraine. Hungary’s move comes as the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is running a popular campaign against EU sanctions on Russia. The European Union this […]
Members of the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament have concluded their visit in Budapest, having gathered insights into recent developments in the country’s cultural, education and media policies. In the concluding press conference in Budapest on Friday, the head of the delegation Sabine Verheyen (a German delegate of the European People’s Party) […]
Energy procurement and security is yet another matter where the Hungarian government and Brussels are taking diverging paths. Budapest has firmly rejected proposals for a mandatory joint EU gas procurement and a solidarity mechanism at the Energy Council in Luxembourg this week and the Cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is dead set against a […]
Unlike in the previous years, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán did not deliver a speech in Budapest on the national day of October 23 this time but instead, spoke in the southwestern Hungarian town of Zalaegerszeg to a group of invitees on the occasion of opening a memorial center dedicated to Cardinal József Mindszenty. October 23, […]
European Union Member States, including Hungary, have voted in favor of the next package of sanctions against Russia this week. The package includes a ban on imports of more Russian products, an extension of the list of persons subject to travel bans and asset freezes, and a price cap on oil shipments from Russia to […]
Thousands of people gathered on Kossuth Square in front of the building of Hungarian Parliament to demonstrate and show solidarity with the striking teachers. Participants demanded that the government improve education conditions, higher wages for teachers and the reinstatement of teachers who had been sacked for civil disobedience after the government changed the strike rules. […]
The European Commission, the quasi-government of the European Union, calls for an estimated EUR 7.5 billion in EU funding to be withheld from Hungary over corruption concerns that the Hungarian government failed to dispel. Referring to EC President Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union address earlier this week, EC Commissioner Johannes Hahn, in […]
The Hungarian government decided to set up an anti-corruption authority that will work together with non-government organizations to oversee the spending of European Union funds. The move comes as Budapest seeks to unlock billions of euros in EU development funds that Brussels suspended on claims of state-level corruption and a decline in the rule of […]
