Slovakia

FM Szijjártó: Hungary and Slovakia are better off if relations are good

szijjártó in slovakia

Hungary and Slovakia “are much better off when relations are good”, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Wednesday, inaugurating a new office building of the Hungarian Consulate General in Kostice (Kassa).

The government, he said, prized the steady development of cooperation and friendship with Slovakia, according to a ministry statement.

Szijjártó said an increasing number of Hungarians had “more and more things to do here” in Kostice, and this is why it had been right to open a consulate general. The development of economic, cultural and sports relations was also a primary task, he added.

Noting that the Hungarian-Slovak border stretches to 654 kilometres, he said that by year-end there would be 40 crossing points, up from 16 on 2010.

Slovakia is Hungary’s third largest trading partner, he noted, and the value of bilateral trade reached 17 billion euros last year, setting a new record.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian community there is half a million strong, and a large Slovak community lives in Hungary, he said.

“Today we can talk about what connects us, not about what separates us,” he said.

He said the Slovak electorate had put its trust in “the person with whom we have been able to recognise this” and “he may even have a chance to lead this country in the coming period.”

Szijjártó said Hungary was optimistic about future bilateral cooperation and both would act to jointly represent “our national interests and original European values”.

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Israeli students in Hungary in hunt for plane tickets to go home to fight

Israel

Israeli university students studying at the universities of Debrecen, Budapest and even East Slovakia and members of the Israeli military (all grown-up men and women) are in a desperate hunt for plane tickets to go home to fight. Meanwhile, Hungarians and other nationals would like to get home from the war-torn country brutally attacked by Hamas last Saturday.

According to Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, Israeli students would like to acquire plane tickets to their home country ready to fight against the invaders. They search for plane tickets on different social media sites and groups. Their post has already been shared more than 3,000 times.

“I’m ready if there is something to be sold”, another young man wrote. Another asked for the help of El Al Israel Airlines.

Hungarians stuck in Israel amid raging war

According to information by Hungarian authorities no Hungarian nationals have died or have been injured in the terrorist attacks against Israel, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday afternoon, advising Hungarians against travelling to the country for the time being.

He said Hungary’s diplomatic staff was staying in contact with 400 Hungarian nationals in Israel and kept them informed about the security situation and the situation at the Ben Gurion airport where several passengers have been stranded after the cancellation of most international flights. We wrote HERE that the military aircrafts of the Hungarian Air Force already carried to Budapest hundreds of Hungarians and 15 foreign nationals.

Szijjártó said care was provided and assistance offered to a group of 90 Hungarian tourists stranded at Ben Gurion and contact maintained with another tourist group of 30 whose members are currently “in safe conditions”.

Hungarian authorities are also staying in contact with another 12 Hungarians in the Gaza Strip, he said. Hungary’s foreign ministry and consular service staff are making all possible efforts to provide for the safety of all Hungarians, Szijjártó said, asking Hungarian nationals to register for consular protection. Szijjártó reiterated that Hungary condemns terrorism, the terrorist attack against Israel and stands by Israel. “Israel can count on us in these difficult hours,” he said.

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Minister: Escalation of wartime situation must be prevented

It must be prevented that the wartime situation in the Middle East should escalate, the Hungarian foreign minister said on Sunday. Péter Szijjártó said in a post on Facebook that he discussed developments that give cause to serious concern in the Middle East with Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, his Iranian counterpart, by phone.
Szijjártó said he reiterated to Amir-Abdollahian that Hungary firmly condemns terrorism and would not want the situation to further deteriorate in the Middle East. The foreign minister said he expressed hope that every country will act “responsibly” in the coming days.

BREAKING: Slovakia reinstates border control at Hungarian border from tomorrow

border-Hungary-slovakia-police

Slovakia decided to temporarily reintroduce controls on Slovakia’s internal border with Hungary. Border controls will be in place from Thursday 5 October until 14 October.

The Slovak government decided on Wednesday to temporarily reintroduce controls on Slovakia’s internal border with Hungary, Paraméter reports. The temporary border controls will be in place from Thursday, 5 October, until 14 October. The 10-day measure may be extended.

“The checks will be carried out along the entire length of Slovakia’s internal border with Hungary, in a flexible manner depending on the current threat and the evolution of the security situation,”

the document presented by the Interior Ministry says.

The aim of the measure is to reduce the number of illegal migrants trying to reach other EU countries through Slovakia.

On 3 October, both Poland and the Czech Republic introduced temporary controls at their borders with Slovakia in response to increasing migratory pressure. The Slovak government may have reacted by reintroducing Hungarian border controls, Telex writes.

The measure will last for ten days for the time being, but can be extended.

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Hungarian government interfering in Slovak election campaign?

Slovakia flag

Hungary is not interfering in the Slovak election campaign, according to a foreign ministry official, who said on Facebook on Thursday that “the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs is surely joking”.

Tamás Menczer, the state secretary for bilateral relations said Czech President Petr Pavel had clearly stated that Slovaks should not vote for Robert Fico, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Slovaks to “vote for the party called Demokrata”, and the party advertised Rutte’s endorsement on their Facebook page. “And now they’re claiming that Hungary has been interfering in the Slovak election campaign!” he wrote. He said it was anyone’s guess whether the Slovak foreign ministry had summoned the Czech and Dutch ambassadors in response.

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EU affairs minister attends General Affairs Council meeting on enlargement

János Boka, the minister of EU affairs, attended a two-day informal ministerial meeting of the General Affairs Council that ended in Murcia on Thursday, held in preparation for an informal summit to be held in Granada on Oct. 6, focusing on the issue of enlargement, his ministry said. The ministers discussed how prospective enlargement may affect the European Union, community policymaking, the common EU budget and the bloc’s institutions, the ministry said in a statement.

Diplomatic interference? Hungarian ambassador to Slovakia summoned over Szijjártó’s words

slovakia flag

The Hungarian ambassador in Bratislava was summoned by the Slovak Foreign Ministry on Wednesday in reference to statements made by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, the Slovak ministry said, according to the Slovak public news agency TASR.

What happened? Hungarian ambassador to Slovakia summoned

Ambassador Csaba Balogh was asked to convey to the head of Hungarian diplomacy the Slovak side’s reservations about “interference in the Slovak election campaign and support for specific political subjects”, Portfolio reports.

The Slovak Foreign Ministry believes that such actions go beyond standard diplomatic communication, the ministry said, referring to statements made by Péter Szijjártó during his visit to southern Slovakia on 26 and 27 September. They added that Slovakia is interested in building normal neighbourly relations with Hungary.

What words triggered this?

Péter Szijjártó gave an interview to the Slovakian Hungarian newspaper and news portal Új Szó on Wednesday. In the interview, he said that he would like the Hungarian party in Slovakia, the Alliance (Aliancia-Szövetség), to be successful.

“We are rooting for the Alliance, not because we are interested in the Slovak domestic political outcome, but because we want good relations with Slovakia.

And in good Slovak-Hungarian relations, we always see Hungarians in the Highlands (part of Slovakia where Hungarians live – ed.) as a source of strength and a connecting link. We believe that if we have a strong representation of Hungarians from the Highlands in Bratislava, it will help us to maintain Hungarian-Slovak relations at the high level they are already at, or even improve them further,” Szijjártó said.

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MTI: Szijjártó says ‘not interfering’ in Slovak internal affairs

Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, has dismissed criticism of his visit to Slovakia ahead of the general election, saying it was legitimate to take part in a public event in the company of candidates of the ethnic Hungarian Alliance.

“I was invited to Slovakia to inaugurate a Hungarian government-funded investment that will create local jobs, and to formally open a new road … linking our countries,” Szijjártó said in an interview published in local Hungarian daily Uj Szo on Wednesday.

Expressing hope that the Alliance would be successful in Slovakia, Szijjártó said: “Interestingly, almost all Slovak politicians have expressed the same wish to me.”

He said Hungary relied on strong representation in Bratislava to help shape bilateral relations.

Based on experiences in Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia, Szijjártó said the Hungarian community’s  strong representation in those countries’ capitals advanced Hungary’s bilateral relations. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed for the Alliance party … because we want good relations with Slovakia,” he added.

Asked about his recent comments on Slovak domestic affairs, Szijjártó said that it was “hard not to notice” that every time a general election approached, conservative and patriotic politicians who endorsed national values “end up in court”.

“This has been the case in the United States and Czechia, too,” he said. “Of course it is entirely coincidental that a legal proceeding has just reached that phase in Slovakia.”

Asked why he had expressed support for the Smer party led by former prime minister Robert Fico, Szijjártó said: “I have never ever stood up for any party in Slovakia.”

“If Robert Fico becomes prime minister … then we will certainly have disputes, but there’ll also be issues on which we can cooperate…” He dismissed interpretions of his meeting with Fico as “a statement in support of Smer”.

Concerning the ban of dual citizenship in Slovakia, Szijjártó said: “It’s an issue which we never agreed on, and I don’t know if we ever will … We’ll never change our position on this, and I’m afraid the former prime minister won’t either, so this will surely not be an issue on which we could cooperate, or we could have mutual understanding.”

Asked about the large number of Middle Eastern asylum seekers amassing in southern Slovakia ahead of the upcoming elections, Szijjártó said: “Let’s not pretend that migration’s a new development … illegal migrants and people smugglers are armed, and Brussels continues to deny us any help in protecting the external borders of the EU.”

Answering a question about Poland, Szijjártó said their respective governments engaged in “extremely close cooperation regarding all European affairs” despite their different approaches to achieving peace in Ukraine, which had “driven us in different directions”.

Hungary and Slovakia to sign nuclear cooperation pact

Energy nuclear

Hungary and Slovakia will sign a nuclear industry cooperation agreement to coordinate participation in nuclear development projects aimed at the application of the latest technologies, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Bratislava.

The foreign ministry said Szijjártó would sign the deal with Peter Dovhun, his Slovak counterpart, on Wednesday.

“This will help us apply these new technologies in our own energy mix as soon as possible,” the ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying.

Increasing the capacity of nuclear plants is the best way to resolve Europe’s energy crisis, providing large quantities of cheap and safe energy, the minister said.

Szijjártó said, however, that “still there are serious ideologically and politically motivated endeavours to put nuclear energy at a disadvantage, and strip countries largely dependent on nuclear energy of using that option.” He mentioned Hungary and Slovakia for example, as countries for whose energy security nuclear energy was crucial. “Giving up nuclear energy would run contrary to our national interests,” Szijjártó said.

“It is in our interest to be part of the extraordinary technology developments of current times … so that we can utilise new generation nuclear technologies to contribute to our energy security in future,” he said.

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Hungary, Slovakia open new border crossing

Slovakia Hungary border

A new border crossing has been opened between Hungary and Slovakia, linking Nagyrozvágy and Velky Hores (Nagygeres), Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday.

Living along borders is always a “special living situation”, whose quality depends on whether that border is one that connects or divides, Szijjártó said at the opening of the 38th border crossing, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Hungary shares its longest border section with Slovakia, the minister said, adding that trade turnover across the 654km border section came to a record EUR 17 billion last year.

That is why it is the “strategic homework” of both governments to ensure that there are as many crossing points as possible along the border, he said.

Whereas in 2010 Hungary and Slovakia had just 22 border crossing points, they now have 38, and the opening of two more bridges over the River Ipoly will bring that number to 40 by year-end, the minister said.

The new border crossing, which cost HUF 1.3 billion (EUR 3.3m) to build, will shorten a 21km, half-hour detour to just a few kilometres and a few minutes, he said.

Szijjártó said the new border crossing demonstrated the two countries’ good cross-border relations and Hungary’s efficient utilisation of European Union funds.

Budapest and Bratislava both attach strategic importance to the development of bilateral ties, the minister said.

Though there were times in the past when bilateral relations were plagued by expressions of hate, cooperation between Hungary and Slovakia has by now become “a real success story”, he added.

Slovak Alliance politicians ‘unifying’ ethnic Hungarian forces

Szijjártó Slovakia

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Tuesday thanked Slovakia’s ethnic Hungarian Alliance party for creating a unified Hungarian political force in the country after “years of division”.

Good bilateral ties are in Hungary’s interest, and the ethnic Hungarian community is the “bridge and an asset” in that process, Szijjártó told a press conference with Alliance leader Krisztián Forró in Borsa (Borsi).

“Its contribution to developing Hungarian-Slovak ties will be all the more robust if it has parliamentary representation,” he said.

He welcomed the emergence of an allied ethnic Hungarian party, and pledged Hungary’s continued support for “the joint Hungarian-Slovak success story”.

He thanked the politicians of Alliance, Most-Hid and MKP for “putting the interests of Hungarians first, even at the cost of personal compromise,” by entering and remaining in Alliance.

“We wish you success for Saturday,” he said, referring to the general election.

At the request of the ethnic Hungarian party Alliance, Hungary will continue to support its key programmes helping Hungarians living in Slovakia, he said.

At their meeting, Szijjártó and Forró reviewed the state of bilateral ties, the situation of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia and the upcoming general election.

“At the request of the party leadership, we agreed to continue key programmes supporting Hungarians in Slovakia. The Alliance’s success would significantly help the success of those schemes,” he said.

Noting that his Slovak counterpart had asked him to “behave” during his visit, Szijjártó called on all Hungarians to vote in the election on Saturday. “If Hungarians support the unified Hungarian parties, Hungarian representation can be restored in the Slovak national assembly,” he said.

A few years ago, the Hungarian government started an economic development programme designed to strengthen economic ties between northern Hungary and southern Slovakia, he said. Hungary has provided HUF 43 billion (EUR 110.1m) in support for some 4,000 companies and subsidising local investments to the tune of 82 billion forints, he said.

Another “joint success” was that 16 new border crossings have opened between the two countries since 2010, with their number set to grow to 40 this year, he said. The 38th border crossing will be opened later today, he added.

Hungary has also supported the construction and revamping of educational institutions and churches, he said. “We also gave education subsidies to 40,000 children, because we know they are the cornerstone of preserving our mother tongue and community,” he said.

Good ties with Slovakia are all the more crucial as it is Hungary’s third most important trading partner, and the two countries share a 654km border, he said, noting that around 500,000 Hungarians live in Slovakia.

Later in the day, the minister inaugurated an agricultural integration centre in Somotor (Szomotor), in south-eastern Slovakia.

Under the project, Agro-Somotor will provide small farmers with the equipment they need before buying and reselling their crops in foreign markets at competitive prices, according to a ministry statement. The Hungarian government has supported the HUF 3.5 billion (EUR 9m) project with a  HUF 1.7 billion grant.

The centre will integrate more than 100 farmers and open the door to selling tens of thousands of tonnes of products at competitive prices, Szijjártó said.

Ministry official: migration shows no signs of easing

Migration refugee camp EU migration pact

The migration wave shows no signs of easing, with the Hungarian authorities having prevented 125,000 people from crossing the country’s southern border illegally so far this year, a senior interior ministry official said at a farewell ceremony to a Hungarian police contingent on Tuesday.

The contingent being dispatched to serve in Serbia for the next month will also be protecting the Hungarian people, State Secretary Bence Rétvári said, sending off the latest group of officers.

He noted that Hungarian authorities thwarted on average 485 illegal border crossing attempts per day throughout this year so far with the number of violent acts totalling 168 at the country’s southern border.

Without Hungary’s help, the migration pressure on both Austria and Slovakia would be significantly greater, Rétvári said, relaying the Serbian authorities’ thanks for Hungary’s assistance.

He said the fact that migrants and people smugglers had been forced out of the better guarded areas was proof that border protection was working.

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Ukraine files lawsuit against Hungary, Poland and Slovakia

ukraine eu flag

Kyiv sues Hungary, Poland and Slovakia for refusing to lift the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. Ukraine is particularly furious at Hungary for extending the list of agricultural goods banned.

The European Commission on Friday lifted the import restrictions on wheat, maize, sunflower and rapeseed introduced on 2 May. In response, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia introduced national bans on agricultural raw materials and foodstuffs from Ukraine, Economx reports.

Bulgaria has not extended the restrictions, Romania is waiting for Kyiv’s proposals on export restrictions.

Ukraine is suing Hungary, Poland and Slovakia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for refusing to lift the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products under their national jurisdiction, Ukraine’s deputy trade minister Taras Kachka told Politico.

“In our eyes these measures of Hungary and Poland is a statement of total distrust to the European Commission,”

Kachka said.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia’s open defiance of Brussels is not only an internal EU issue. It also raises the biggest systemic concern: whether international trading partners can trust Brussels to speak for the European Union.

While Slovakia has simply extended the EU’s previous ban on four cereals, Poland imposed a further ban on Ukrainian flour and fodder over the weekend. According to Kachka, Hungary is going even further:

it is banning 25 more products that were previously off limits, including meat.

According to the deputy minister, these arbitrary bans are ridiculous. He believes that Hungary has practically announced that it is blocking all trade with Ukraine, and is completely ignoring the decision of Brussels.

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Agriculture minister: Brussels’ manoeuvring on Ukrainian grain ‘unacceptable’

The decision on Brussels not to prolong the ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products in the five bordering member countries “is outrageous and unacceptable”, István Nagy, the minister of agriculture, said in Brussels on Monday.

After taking part in a meeting of EU agriculture ministers, Nagy told Hungarian journalists that the European Commission’s decision not to prolong the import ban had caused “serious problems”, and also raised political questions insofar as EC president Ursula von der Leyen chose to discuss the matter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rather than the elected leaders of EU member states.

Nagy said the interests of a third country appeared to be more important to the EC than those of EU member states.

The EU, he added, had allowed Ukraine carte-blanche over import controls, which he said was “laughable”.

The ban on the import of Ukrainian grain is a matter of EUR 6 billion for the five EU member states involved, he said. “Brussels refuses to understand this, which is why brave, tough and unilateral national measures had to be taken,” he said, adding that otherwise the countries would be flooded with Ukrainian grain before harvest.

The minister said the import ban must be reinstated, and if any country chose to relax it or request an exception, they were free to do so. The grain can be transported through solidarity corridors to third countries, but it must not end up in European markets, he said.

Nagy said financial support was needed for land transport so that the grain reached sea ports and on to traditional market in Africa. “We warned the commission that if Ukrainian grain does not arrive there, Russian grain may take its place,” he added.

Slovakia may close the Hungarian–Slovakian border next Tuesday

Border crossing fundamental change

Boris Kollár (Sme Rodina party), Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, has called an urgent session of parliament on the control of the Slovakian–Hungarian border for Tuesday. Sme Rodina and some other independent MEPs initiated the session. The southern regions of the country have been facing a serious amount of illegal immigrants. Some civils have initiated a petition asking the Hungarian government to take action in the situation.

Illegal migration

Új szó reported that Sme Rodina demands the government introduce temporary controls at the border between Slovakia and Hungary. In addition, they want adequate forces and means to prevent illegal border crossing. Realising this could involve the police and the armed forces as well. The Sme Rodina party has consistently criticised the government for failing to address the issue of illegal migration properly. Last week, they called for an urgent session on the issue. However, it did not happen as the parliament was unable to reach a decision.

Civil initiative

Új szó also wrote that Attila Baki and Tamás Bojtoš have initiated a civil petition (“Petition to the Government of Hungary”) in Ipeľské Predmostien (Ipolyhídvég in Hungarian). The initiators are seeking help resolving the refugee situation in the southern districts from the Hungarian government. They plan to collect signatures from every settlement that is affected by illegal migration. The signatures request the Hungarian government to take the necessary measures – with the help of its neighbours if necessary – to make the daily lives of people living there safer. Citizens think that illegal border crossers enter Slovakia via Hungary.

Hungarian–Slovakian border

Economx wrote that according to the NGO, refugees are reaching Slovak settlements through the green border. Thus, they are asking the Hungarian government led by PM Orbán to strengthen border protection. The NGO urges a constructive solution to the serious situation and asks to stop the arrival of more groups of illegal refugees in the southern areas of Slovakia.

Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has demanded that police be mobilised along the entire Hungarian–Slovakian border if there is no other solution. István Hamran, National Police Commissioner, stressed that the hermetic sealing of the 517 km border would require more than 110,000 police officers. According to him, it is therefore not feasible. The police have neither the manpower nor the technical means to carry out such a task. In conclusion, it is very unlikely that the urgent parliamentary session would result in closing the Hungarian–Slovakian border completely. However, there might be other significant decisions and restrictions on the matter.

Hungary to start receiving gas from north

Natural Gas Refinery Gas Supply

Hungary has reached a political agreement on potential gas deliveries from a new LNG terminal under construction in Gdansk, in northern Poland, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Karpacz on Wednesday.

The entry of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL onto the Polish market and Polish peer Orlen’s presence in Hungary provides a good basis for energy cooperation between the two countries, Szijjártó said after talks with Anna Moskwa, Poland’s energy affairs minister.

Hungary and Poland intend to expand their cooperation from fuel trade to gas purchases, he said, adding that the construction of a new liquefied natural gas terminal in Gdansk that will be used to export an annual 4-4.5 billion cubic metres of gas provided a new resource for diversification.

Szijjártó and Moskwa:

This gives Hungary an opportunity to have a new gas delivery route, Szijjártó said, noting the existing interconnectors between Poland and Slovakia and between Slovakia and Hungary. This means that there is a possibility to deliver significant volumes of gas annually along this route, he added.

Hungarian state-owned energy company MVM had signalled its intent to contract capacity from the terminal, Szijjártó said, adding that the binding phase for booking capacity had started in September.

The minister said he and Moskwa had agreed that Poland would provide all the necessary political support to expanding bilateral energy cooperation to gas deliveries.

He added, at the same time, that there was a lot more to discuss in the coming weeks concerning the terms of delivery and the technical details.

“This adds to the country’s energy security, which is particularly important amid the current times of energy crisis in Europe,” Szijjártó said.

He noted that Hungary has also signed gas purchase agreements with Azerbaijan, Turkiye and Qatar, but it was clear that the energy infrastructure in south-eastern Europe did not have the capacity to handle these delivery volumes. “We hope this will change in the future,” he added.

Though the European Union is not willing to provide necessary financing, Hungary is working closely with the south-eastern European countries on expanding the capacities, the minister said.

Featured image: illustration

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Slovakia to send 500 soldiers to Hungarian border

Army Man Military Soldier Russia

The Slovakian government led by Lajos Ódor adopted several measures to reduce the wave of refugees coming from Hungary. One of these is to send soldiers to the border.

The cabinet adopted measures to deal with the refugee crisis. Prime Minister Lajos Ódor said that the most important goal is people’s safety, 24.hu reports.

“We do not want to make any compromises on this issue. We want them to not only be safe, but to feel safe,”

Paraméter quotes Ódor as saying.

Lajos Ódor understands that it causes fear in some people when they see a large group of strangers in their surroundings, but he emphasized that the refugees have not committed any crimes so far. The government’s goal is to provide people with more thorough information. If this is lacking, fake news spreads, which some parties can exploit in the political struggle, he added.

500 soldiers at the Hungarian-Slovakian border

In the future, according to the needs, up to 500 soldiers will be able to help the police work. The prime minister justified this by saying that at the beginning of the summer, a few hundred refugees arrived every week, but now, a few thousand come weekly. The decision can free up police capacity, which can speed up the administration of refugees, since they don’t want to settle, they want to go on to Western countries.

The government would abolish the mandatory issuance of the so-called “Slovak residence certificate”. The reason is that refugees interpret it as a kind of residence permit, which authorises them to stay in the Schengen area. Because of the document, people smugglers only see themselves as passenger carriers when they take such refugees, 24.hu writes.

Number of refugees increased

Lajos Ódor admitted that the number of refugees had indeed increased. As he said, they are not coming from Mars, they are coming through Hungary, but the same number or maybe even more are trying to get into Austria from Hungary.

Ódor called the protection of the Schengen border and joint patrolling on the Hungarian side of the border important. The Slovak government does not want to introduce border controls, but there will be a greater police and military presence. According to the Prime Minister, a joint EU solution to the refugee situation must be found.

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Buying property: Romanians beat Hungarians

Budapest real estate

It takes more than ten years for a Hungarian to buy a 70-sqm property, provided they saved all their money. Meanwhile, that time is only six years when it comes to a Romanian. In Slovakia, the situation is worse: there, you have to work for more than 14 years.

According to liner.hu, Deloitte’s latest research shows that real estate prices increased by 21.2% in Budapest. That is Europe’s third-biggest rise, making almost impossible to buy property in the Hungarian capital. As a result, an average 70-sqm flat costs HUF 72-75 million (EUR 187,000-195,000). In Slovakia, you have to work 14 years to pay that, while in Hungary, that time is ten years. But in Romania, it takes ‘only’ six years, if you save all the money you earn.

Of course, nobody can save all their income, so, in reality, you have to work 20-30 years. That could have been reduced with loans, but considering the 9% interest rates, that option is not viable for most.

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Good news about Hungary’s economy

Moody’s has affirmed Hungary’s investment grade rating in spite of the crisis caused by the war and sanctions, the Finance Ministry told MTI late Friday. The ministry noted in a statement that Moody’s had affirmed Hungary’s Baa2 sovereign rating with a stable outlook. Moody’s delivered a positive assessment of the Hungarian economy’s return to a path of high growth next year, while the government significantly reduces the budget deficit and public debt levels, the ministry said.

The rating agency expects Hungary’s economy to grow 3% in 2024 on the back of strong exports, a high investment rate and a pickup in consumption supported by increasing real wages, it added. Moody’s pointed to Hungary’s skilled labour force, competitive tax system and developed infrastructure as factors underpinning the growth outlook, the ministry said.

Government acknowledged that there are too many conflicts between V4 countries

V4 countries cooperation Navracsics

Tibor Navracsics, Hungary’s minister for regional development, urged deeper cooperation among the Visegrád Group countries, at an international conference in Budapest on Friday.

In order for the central European grouping comprising Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to be successful, the four countries must deepen their cooperation, Navracsics told a panel discussion at the Visegrad Summer Academy conference organised by the National University of Public Service and the Waclaw Felczak Institute of Polish-Hungarian Cooperation.

The minister said that of the four members, Hungary had the strongest emotional commitment to the grouping. He said Czechia and Slovakia were members of the V4 for “pragmatic and geopolitical” reasons, while Poland was a member “on a pragmatic and emotional basis”. Navracsics emphasised that cooperation among the four countries was especially good when it came to handling the issue of migration, but the war in Ukraine and Russia’s aggression had brought “a number of disagreements and debates to the surface”. He noted that the Hungarian government urged an immediate ceasefire and a just peace in Ukraine. He said the V4 needed “symbolic gestures” and its political cooperation to be strengthened.

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The event was addressed in a video message by President Katalin Novák, who underlined that the conference’s young participants were the guarantee of the V4‘s future. She highlighted the significance of the Waclaw Felczak Institute’s activities when it came to the strengthening of Hungarian-Polish friendship and stressed the importance of regional cooperation among central and eastern European countries during the war in Ukraine. Marek Kuchcinski, head of the Polish Chancellery, said the war had caused Warsaw to increase its defence spending to 4 percent of GDP. He said the V4 needed to ward off the “divide and conquer principle being applied by Moscow and Brussels”. All wars strengthen regional cooperation, and this is needed between Warsaw and Budapest, he added.

Get ready: Western fuel prices approaching in Hungary

MOL fuel station

Of the 8 countries in the region, fuel prices in Hungary are the third highest. The tax increase in January could make matters worse. Overall, we are now in the middle range of the 41 European countries for petrol and diesel prices.

The price of fuel in Hungary is the third highest among the eight countries in the region, Népszava reports. According to the portal, the HUF 41 increase in excise tax from 1 January is likely to push up domestic prices even further in the ranking. As it turns out, out of 41 European countries, the current Hungarian petrol price is the 17th cheapest, while the gasoil tariff is the 23rd cheapest. In other words, the prices of both products are now in the mid-range.

Last week, the average price of a litre of petrol in Hungary was HUF 624 (EUR 1.63), and one litre of diesel was HUF 633 (EUR 1.65).

Meanwhile…

  • In Slovakia, the 95 petrol was more than HUF 30 more expensive at HUF 656 (EUR 1.71), but Austria was also significantly more expensive.
  • The best rate for fuel is HUF 499 (EUR 1.30) per litre in Ukraine.
  • Romania is in second place with HUF 557 (EUR 1.45) per litre, followed in order by Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

On the gasoil market, Serbia is the most expensive with an average tariff of HUF 653 (EUR 1.70), but Austria is only HUF 2 behind. The cheapest diesel market is also Ukraine, where the average price of HUF 493 (EUR 1.28) per litre is HUF 110 (EUR 0.29) cheaper than in Hungary. The second cheapest is Romania, which is around HUF 60 (EUR 0.16) cheaper than Hungary. Slovenia is next, followed by Slovakia and Croatia, where we can also save around HUF 23 per litre on diesel if we go from Hungary.

Government: Slovakia can be proud on Hungary’s first Christian king

Saint Stephen's room buda castle Saint Stephen

St. Stephen, Hungary’s first Christian king, is also a part of Slovak history, the state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad said in Velky Meder (Nagymegyer), in southern Slovakia, on Friday.

St. Stephen’s Day, the holiday celebrating Hungary’s statehood, is commemorated by Hungarians worldwide, Árpád János Potápi said, opening the August 20 festivities. The Slovak state, too, was based on the foundations laid by St. Stephen, and Slovakia can be just as proud of St. Stephen and his heirs as Hungarians are, the state secretary said. Concerning Slovakia’s upcoming elections, Potápi urged local ethnic Hungarians to unite and mobilise in order to ensure that the community has representation in parliament.

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Speaker: Hungarian nation’s existence in continuous threat

Speaker László Kövér

The key to the longevity of the Visegrád Group has been its members’ ability to focus on issues that are of a shared interest and on which there is a chance for agreement, Speaker of Parliament László Kövér said at the All-Hungarian University Students’ Camp in Satoraljaujhely, in north-eastern Hungary, on Monday.

The cooperation between Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia has been most useful in giving the four countries the needed political weight within the European Union thanks to central Europe’s economic competitiveness, Kövér said in response to a question after his lecture.

This, he added, also required the economic and infrastructural development of a north-south European axis in addition to the existing west-east economic links. The five-day All-Hungarian University Students’ Camp is being attended by more than 300 young Hungarians from 18 countries, its organiser, the Rákóczi Association, said. It offers lectures, trips and sports and cultural programmes, they said.

Kövér also said that the Hungarian government aims to secure the existence of the Hungarian nation because Hungarians are in a continuous threat. The cabinet would like the Hungarian communities abroad to survive and thrive. Without them, the homeland does not have a chance. He added that the nation’s existence is under a continuous threat because of the new world in which war is not unknown an phenomenon. The consequences of the ongoing war in Ukraine will be like the Ottoman rule in Hungary between 1526 and 1699, 444.hu wrote.