Visa-free entry to this European country ends from Hungary

Russia suspended an agreement with Hungary allowing visa-free entry for citizens having a diplomatic passport. The Russian news agency, TASS, announced the decision today.

According to 444.hu, the reason behind the Russian decision is that Hungary breached the relevant agreement signed in 2001. However, the suspension is only temporary, and the accord will enter into effect again when Hungary terminates the violation of the document. TASS shared no more details about the breach.

Based on the agreement, the diplomats of Russia and Hungary can enter and leave the other country or stay there visa-free for 90 days. The document clears that both sides may suspend the agreement for national security, safety or health reasons.

444.hu says that the Hungarian foreign ministry distributed diplomatic passports to many non-diplomats. Among others, Ádám Matolcsy, the son of the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, György Schadl, government-close businessman, advisor Árpád Habony, and footballer Balázs Dzsudzsák received one.

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Fidesz MEP: Sanctions hurting Europe more than Russia

The sanctions imposed on Russia are “a slow-acting poison that seems to kill the one administering it before their intended target”, Enikő Győri, an MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, said on Thursday. A year after the sanctions on Russia were imposed, it is clear that that they have failed to bring about the end of the war in Ukraine, and Europe “is paying a high price for them”, Győri said in a statement after a meeting of the European Parliament’s international trade committee (INTA).

The European Commission had expected the Russian economy to contract by 15 percent as a result of the sanctions, yet the slowdown is just over 2 percent, Győri said. She cited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as projecting a slight growth for the Russian economy in 2023. More than a hundred countries accounting for 40 percent of global GDP have not joined the oil embargo against Russia, she said, noting that Russia was exporting its oil to Asia. Meanwhile, the United States is making substantial profits from selling its liquefied natural gas, which could put Europe at a competitive disadvantage, she said.

In her address to the committee, Győri called for a clear and detailed impact study on the effect of the sanctions on European inflation, energy price increases and the burden they place on families and businesses. Győri expressed disappointment that the EC was not publishing such data. “If we do not know the consequences of the policy we have been pursuing so far, how could we keep going down this dangerous path?” she said.

Read alsoHungary tries to save Russian businessmen from the new EU sanctions

Source: MTI, 444.hu