Ukraine

Fidesz submits draft resolution opposing EU accession talks with Ukraine

Zelensky von der Leyen Brussels corrupt elite

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrat parties have submitted to parliament a draft resolution expressing their opposition to Ukraine starting talks on its accession to the European Union, Fidesz’s group leader said on Wednesday.

The European Commission cannot apply double standards, Máté Kocsis said in a post on Facebook, arguing that candidate countries had always had to meet all of the EU’s accession criteria. “There can’t be any exceptions because of current political or ideological considerations this time, either,” he said.

“We can’t have Ukraine overtake the northern Balkan countries awaiting membership, especially without having met the conditions for starting accession talks, including those concerning the situation of minorities and the use of their mother tongue,” Kocsis said.

He said it was unclear how Ukraine’s EU membership would affect the bloc’s budget or its cohesion and common agricultural policies, so EU leaders would have to discuss this “as a step zero”. Member states need to reach a consensus on this issue, but they aren’t there yet, he added.

Kocsis said that because it was impossible to take a responsible decision on the start of Ukraine’s EU accession talks, the ruling parties were asking the government to represent this stance in the European Council and EU institutions.

The proposed resolution published on parliament’s website says the European Commission’s proposal for starting accession talks with Ukraine is not well-prepared, inconsistent and does not take into consideration Hungary’s fundamental interests. It says parliament considers it necessary to hold a strategic debate on the EU’s Ukraine policy, adding that accession talks are “untimely” before this debate is settled.

The draft resolution adds that Hungary’s parliament rejects all forms of political and financial pressure attempting to force Hungary to change its sovereign position.

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Former Ukrainian President planned meeting Orbán but wasn’t let out of Ukraine?

Viktor Orbán

The previous Ukrainian PM was planning to meet up with Orbán, but they didn’t let him out of the country.

According to an article written by 444.hu, the Ukrainian Secret Service, also known as SZBU, didn’t let Poroshenko leave the country. It’s rumored that this was done to prevent him from meeting with Viktor Orbán.

Only an innocent vacation (meeting Orbán?)

Recently, the previous Prime Minister of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, requested and received his special permission to leave the country for Poland. This special permission is needed for all Ukrainian officials nowadays, since the border patrol will not let people cross without it. However Poroshenko’s special permission got revoked shortly once rumors about a supposed meeting got into the ears of the SZBU. Officially, the decision wasn’t reasoned for.

Secret plans exposed?

A day later, the SZBU stated on their Telegram channel that they have received information about Russian plans to reduce foreign support and increase internal tensions. According to their information, they plan on doing it by amplifying the need to have one-on-one conversation with Moscow, for the sake of a peace treaty. This is to further divide the Ukrainian population from the inside. The SZBU’s information also came with a warning. The Russian may use Ukrainian politicians visiting third-party countries to further their goals.

The dots connect

The SZBU explained that they were the ones to ask for Poroshenko’s special permit to be revoked in fear that in Poland, he would meet with Viktor Orbán. Orbán is known for his Russian friendly view on the war, vetoing the Ukrainian aid and taking a stance against sanctions against Russia. Poroshenko claimed that after his negotiations in Poland, he was planning on traveling to the United States. He didn’t mention any meeting with Viktor Orbán.

A final word

Hungary has no intention of assisting President Zelenskyy when it comes to Ukrainian political showdowns, Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for international relations and communications, said on Facebook on Saturday, commenting on information on the website of the Ukrainian SZBU security service suggesting that Petro Poroshenko, the former president, was barred from traveling abroad because he would have met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The SZBU said that if Poroshenko met Orbán, this would make him “a tool” of Russian security services. Kovács said such “political showdowns” also demonstrated that Ukraine was not ready for European Union membership.

Read more about the Hungary-Ukraine relations HERE.

Read more about European politics HERE.

Government: Who will pay for Ukraine’s EU accession?

Orbán Viktor

A senior Hungarian cabinet member has questioned who would end up paying for Ukraine’s EU membership and at what cost. “This is a serious question, and we haven’t yet got an answer,” Csaba Dömötör, a parliamentary cabinet state secretary, said in a video posted on Facebook on Saturday.

Top EU officials who were in Kiev in the past few days said that almost all conditions for accession talks to begin had been met, he said, adding that “this may be all very well, but how much is this going to cost?”

Noting that Ukraine “is a huge country” whose development was well below that of the EU average, the country would require “massive amounts of support”. Yet, he added, no one had attached a price to the policy.

Referring to a Financial Times article, he said a document leaked from Brussels indicated that all EU member states would have to pay more into the EU budget and receive less from it.

Ukraine would receive 61 billion euros from the cohesion fund with the consequence that under the mechanism for distributing funds “at least 9 member states” would no longer be entitled to cohesion subsidies, Dömötör said.

Neither would Ukraine’s accession have an insignificant impact on agricultural subsidies, he said. With its 41 million hectares, the country would be the EU’s largest recipient of farm payments.

So countries like Hungary would find subsidies per hectare falling by 20 percent. Also, Ukrainian grain would push down prices and lead the way to genetically modified imports.

“Besides, how can we be expected to give extra money when we haven’t received funding owed to us for years?” he said.

Dobrev calls for ‘strong, honest army’

Klára Dobrev, the shadow prime minister of the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), said at a forum in the northern town of Gyöngyös that Hungary needed a “strong, well-trained and honest” military, and for that a “strong and honest homeland” was required.

Referring to mass sackings and changes to the pension system of soldiers, Dobrev insisted that the government had put the army in an “impossible situation” and had “humiliated soldiers”. Hungary, she added, had “ceased to be a predictable and secure European democracy”.

The security of Hungarians “should not be considered an ideological issue,” Dobrev said, outlining her party’s defence agenda late on Friday. “What we need is a patriotic security policy built on a national consensus rather than [policies] pretending to be Christian and right wing.”

Dobrev said Hungary’s membership of NATO and the EU provided a “security umbrella”, while the strength of the Hungarian army and patriotism were the pillars of Hungary’s security. The weakening of this alliance, she said, was the greatest challenge, adding that the greatest danger of all was Prime Minister Viktor Orban government’s “treasonous pro-Putin policy”.

Ágnes Vadai, DK’s shadow defence minister, said a priority would be to desegregate Hungary from its “international isolation generated by Orban’s security policy”. A new national security strategy was needed, she said, adding that DK was working out a comprehensive national defence strategy, and a key policy would be providing soldiers deprived of their service pension and those over 45 who were “sacked indiscriminately” after 25 years of service with “financial and moral compensation”.

Responding to DK on Saturday, the ruling Fidesz party said in a statement that it was “the dollar left” that would imperil Hungary’s security, and in obedience to their “foreign clients, the Gyurcsánys would plunge the country into war”, cut back the armed forces and “give away our weapons”.

The statement said the party of Ferenc Gyurcsány had already shown in government what defending the homeland meant to them, adding that his administration had “wasted our military assets and reduced the military staff to an all-time low”.

Even now, it added, defence would be headed by someone “whose goal is to make cutbacks to the army”.

Read also:

  • Truck drivers flooded Hungary, border crossing fell: queue lasts 48h – Read more HERE
  • PM Orbán: Hungary does not want Ukraine’s EU accession

Truck drivers flooded Hungary, border crossing fell: queue lasts 48h

Border crossing fundamental change

That comes after the blockade of the Polish and Slovakian shippers. As a result, lorry drivers heading towards Ukraine must come to Hungary, and their only option to cross the border is at Záhony.

According to portfolio.hu, the line of trucks to Záhony reaches 20 kilometres, meaning that more than 1,000 vehicles are in the queue. Some drivers have been waiting for days to get through. The reason is the blockade of the Polish and Slovakian truck drivers concerning all border crossings to Ukraine.

The Polish truck drivers began a protest because their Ukrainian colleagues could enter the Schengen zone without special authorisation after the start of the Russian invasion. That undermines the operation of Polish transport companies.

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PM Orbán: Hungary does not want Ukraine’s EU accession

PM Viktor Orbán Ukraine EU accession

Ukraine’s European Union membership and the start of accession talks “currently do not coincide with Hungary’s national interests”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday.

Orbán told public radio that a lack of consensus on the issue could be expected, “and then we break the European unity”. Unity can be preserved if the issues on which these is no consensus would not be included on the agenda, he added. Orbán said he had therefore proposed that talks on Ukraine’s EU membership are not started at the upcoming meeting of EU leaders in two weeks.

Ukraine’s EU accession not well-prepared

Orbán on Friday said it was a mistake for the European Commission to be pushing for EU leaders to put Ukraine’s European Union accession on the agenda, adding that the bloc should first sign a five to ten-year strategic partnership agreement with the country.

Orbán told public radio that these preparations did not mean “putting something to paper that everyone will read”, but rather that the EU should talk to everyone and align their interests.

“Once we see that we can cooperate, then we can bring up the question of membership,” he said, adding that this would only be possible “many, many years from now”.

The prime minister said that the legal and political systems of a country at war functioned differently, and it was therefore impossible to tell whether Ukraine met the rule-of-law conditions of EU membership. He said it also could not be determined how big Ukraine’s territory was, arguing that parts of it were under Russian occupation, or how big the population was given that people were constantly fleeing the country. It was also unclear, he said, what effect the integration of Ukraine’s agriculture would have on the common market.

Support for Ukraine should be provided outside EU budget

Hungary’s position is that support for Ukraine should be provided outside the European Union budget, in a transparent way, the prime minister said on Friday.
Orbán told public radio that a separate fund should be set up with intergovernmental agreement for supporting Ukraine, with every country making payments to it.

“We have granted very much money, over 100 billion euros to Ukraine, partly in the form of weapons and partly in cash,” he said. “If this money had been spent on Europe’s development, the European economy would be in much better shape,” he added.

“Europe suffers from economic problems and at the same time, it is throwing money away, sending train-loads of weapons and money to Ukraine,” he said.

He added that instead of the war, a ceasefire was needed. “Instead of the war, a ceasefire should be financed, and then peace,” he said.

2024 to be ‘hopeful year’

Next year is set to be a “hopeful” one, Orbán said on Friday, adding that Hungarians in 2024 would be working “so that things get better, not so that they don’t get worse”

In a radio interview, Orbán said inflation, sanctions and the energy crisis had made 2023 “the most dangerous year in a long time”.

Hungarians this year “have been working so that things don’t get worse, so that they could protect their prior achievements”, Orbán said.

But he said 2024 would be a “hopeful year”, emphasising that “this time we’ll be working so that things get better”.

He said this was “not just wishful thinking”, but something that could be achieved. He vowed that the government would “definitely raise pensions by 6 percent even if it turns out that inflation is only at 5 percent”. The increased 13th-month pension will be paid out in February, and economic players have decided to raise the minimum wage for skilled labourers and unskilled workers and by 10-15 percent, he noted.

Only Hungarians can decide their own fate

Only Hungarians can decide their own fate, Orbán said on Friday, adding, however, that attempts were always being made to interfere in Hungary’s affairs.

Every political debate, at its core, is about sovereignty, Orbán told public radio. He said the government needed the support of everyone who valued Hungary’s independence and sovereignty, asking the public to fill out the National Consultation survey.

The prime minister said foreigners were trying to influence the decisions of countries of Hungary’s size, insisting that “the Americans, for example, are trying to press us into the Ukrainian war right now”. Economic lobby interests, he said, also tended to come up.

“Let’s not allow a repeat of a situation in which . the Hungarian people find out after the election that attempts were made to influence their decision through the left-wing parties,” Orbán said.

He said parliament needed to make some decisions in the interest of protecting Hungary’s sovereignty, and efforts to block attempts to interfere in the country’s affairs had to be taken more seriously in the coming years.

Read also:

  • Ukraine to restore Hungarian minority’s language rights – Read more HERE
  • PM Orbán re-elected, talked about the end of the European Union – Details in THIS article

Minister: Hungary does not support EU budget amedment, Ukraine accession

szentkirályi alexandra gulyás gergely

Hungary does not support the amendment of the European Union’s budget, nor the start of accession talks with Ukraine, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said at a regular press briefing on Thursday.

The government believes that the EU wants to amend the budget while it has not even implemented the current one, Gulyás said, adding that no impact study had been prepared on what effect the accession of Ukraine would have on the bloc as a whole.

Concerning problems in implementing the community budget, Gulyás mentioned the EU’s “failure to pay out to Hungary and Poland their due funding”, delays in payments from the recovery fund and a generally low level of payments. He added that the European Commission’s denying the funds from Hungary and Poland was unlawful.

Concerning Ukraine’s accession, Gulyás said no assessment of Ukraine’s complying with the EU’s entry criteria had ever been made. Furthermore, it is not clear what impact that country’s integration would have on the community’s cohesion funds, the common agricultural policy, and member states’ contributions to the common budget, he added. Meanwhile, the integration of the “much better prepared” Western Balkans is being delayed, he added.

On another subject, the minister said the government would extend interest rate freezes for small and medium-sized businesses, families and student loans. The rate freezes affect 30,000 businesses and 300,000 families, he said, adding that they needed to be protected from “high interest rates caused by Brussels’s ill-advised sanctions and the war”. The rate freezes are being extended until April 1 for SMEs and until July 1, 2024 for families and student loan holders, he said. Gulyás said the measures have so far helped businesses save 2.5 million forints each, and left 420,000 forints with each family.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said that the government would  provide companies a grant for setting up green energy storages.

The cabinet launched earlier a scheme with 70 billion forints for households to install solar panel systems and energy storage capacity he said, adding that so far several tens of thousands of families had applied for and received grants under the scheme.

The cabinet has now decided to expand the storage scheme for businesses, he said, adding that they could initially apply for central budget support and later for funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Businesses can submit their bids until February 5 next year and are required to complete their projects by April 30 in 2026, said Gulyás.

Answering a question, Gulyás said minimum wages would increase on December 1, but some of the benefits would only increase in January or February.

Concerning proposed changes to the election of the Budapest Assembly, Gulyás said both the current and the proposed system were democratic and district mayors would not be excluded from the assembly in the new system.

Answering another question, he said the government supported Sweden’s NATO accession, but added that “there have been many reasons for (ruling) Fidesz MP’s to have concerns” and parliament would vote “when (the bill) has sufficient support”.

Answering a question about the leftist opposition’s “attacking” the sovereignty protection law, Gulyás said “if somebody serves foreign interests and lets themselves be influenced by foreign interests they will not support an authority promoting the transparency of politics and ensuring its being free of influencing”. “There are international forces rather than (Hungarian) voters behind the Left,” Gulyás said, adding that critics of the new legislation could appeal to the Constitutional Court.

Answering questions about cooperative efforts by the opposition ahead of next year’s European Parliamentary elections, Gulyás said “on the left side Ferenc Gyurcsány continues to be the boss, it will happen as he wants.” He slammed the Momentum Movement for MEP Anna Donáth’s supporting Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony “also supported by Gyurcsany’s Democratic Coalition (DK)”, while Momentum had earlier rejected the possibility of cooperation.

“Momentum’s MPs and mayors are now switching over to DK one by one,” Gulyás insisted.

Government extends rate freeze for households, SMEs, student loans

Today’s cabinet briefing:

Hungary’s government has decided to extend interest rate freezes for small and medium-sized businesses, families and student loans, Gulyás said.

The rate freezes are being extended until April 1 for SMEs and until July 1, 2024 for families and student loan holders, Gergely Gulyás told a regular government press briefing.

The rate freezes affect 30,000 businesses and 300,000 families, he said, adding that they needed to be protected from “high interest rates caused by Brussels’s ill-advised sanctions and the war”.

Government to provide green energy storage grants to businesses

The government will provide companies a grant for setting up green energy storages, Gulyás said.

The cabinet launched earlier a scheme dubbed METarolo with 70 billion forints (EUR 184m) for households to install solar panel systems and energy storage capacity, Gergely Gulyás told a government press conference. So far several tens of thousands of families have applied for and received grants under the scheme, he said.

The cabinet has now decided to expand the storage scheme for businesses, he said, adding that they could initially apply for central budget support and later for funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Businesses can submit their bids until February 5 next year and are required to complete their projects by April 30 in 2026, said Gulyás.

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FM Szijjártó: Hungary’s viewpoints succesfully enforced in Brussels

european union eu flag hungary

Hungary’s viewpoints regarding the extension of NATO’s 2016 programme on providing practical support to Ukraine have been successfully enforced, the foreign minister said in Brussels on Wednesday, noting that under the programme non-lethal equipment can be provided solely on a voluntary basis to that country.

Péter Szijjártó told a press conference after attending a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council that the North Atlantic Alliance’s decision was still valid that everything had to be done to avoid direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. He said that despite “an atmosphere of war” experienced as dominating the meeting, the NATO decision was not called into question by any of the participants. “The allies in fact made it clear today that Ukraine’s NATO membership under the current circumstances is out of the question,” the minister said.

The meeting approved the extension of the NATO’s support programme for Ukraine which was launched in 2016, well ahead of the outbreak of the war with Russia. During the preparatory phase, the Hungarian government represented two major viewpoints. Those included the option of enabling each member state to decide whether it wanted to participate in the programme and allowing the delivery solely of non-lethal equipment, Szijjártó said, welcoming that those points had been successfully enforced.

The minister asserted that Hungary supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“It must be made clear however that the war raging in that country is not Europe’s war, it is not fought either for the continent’s peace or for its democracy,” he said, adding that Hungary highly appreciated Ukraine’s “heroic fight” for its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, but rejected any approach that considered the war that of Europe’s.

Concerning the matter of Ukraine’s NATO integration, Szijjártó said it was not timely for two reasons. One, he said, was that the alliance’s basic treaty disallows the integration of a country fighting a war because it would risk the outbreak of a third world war. The other, Szijjártó said, was that a country where national minority rights were being constantly restricted had no place in the alliance which is a community of values.

NATO has required from Ukraine the implementation of a reform programme in which, at Hungary’s initiative, provisions on observing the rights of the country’s national communities had also been incorporated, said Szijjártó . “The Hungarian government will monitor the enforcement of these NATO-level expectations as closely as possible,” he said, adding that Hungary had maintained its position ever since the restrictions including the Hungarian community’s right to the use of their mother tongue had begun eight years ago.

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Is a disaster coming? Shocking decline of Hungarians living beyond the borders

Hungarian children in folk clothes

The Hungarian population, not only within the borders of Hungary itself but also beyond, is facing a concerning decline. Regions such as Transylvania, Transcarpathia, Vojvodina and even Upper Hungary are witnessing a significant decrease in their Hungarian inhabitants.

Experts’ opinions

According to a report by 444, a conference addressing population decline in Central Europe saw insights shared by experts such as Irén Gábrity Molnár, László Józsa, Tamás Korhecz, Katalin Kovály, Patrik Tátrai, Péter Vataščin, and Valér Veres. The consensus among experts is that the declining Hungarian population extends beyond Hungary itself to Hungarians residing outside the country. In Transylvania, a striking trend emerged, with one-third of the Hungarian population disappearing over a span of 35 years. Transcarpathia witnesses a similar unsettling pattern, with only slightly over half of the population remaining compared to two decades ago. The 2022 census results in Vojvodina are deemed a demographic disaster. Even in Felvidék, where the situation is relatively better, the number of Hungarians is on the decline. This prompts the crucial question: Can the ongoing depopulation be halted?

Transylvania: vanishing identities

In Transylvania, a startling statistic emerges – one-third of the Hungarian population has vanished within a mere 35 years. The latest census data from Romania, however, is met with skepticism. According to Tamás Kiss, a researcher at the Institute for Minority Studies, methodological errors cast doubt on the accuracy of the figures. Kiss suggests that Romania has an interest in portraying inflated numbers, as the reality might lead to reduced EU funding. According to Valér Veres, the number of ethnic Hungarians is at 1.1 million, a figure steadily decreasing since the 1977 census, which counted 1.7 million Hungarians. Intriguingly, the loss of identity seems less significant in Hungarian-Swabian and Hungarian-Romanian relations but holds pronounced importance in Hungarian-Romanian relations. This phenomenon indicates a growing trend where native Hungarian speakers are increasingly identifying themselves as Romanian in census declarations.

Transcarpathia: the impact of external factors

The situation in Transcarpathia is complex, with external factors playing a significant role. The last census in Ukraine dates back to 2001, making it challenging to assess the current state accurately. However, since 2017, the estimated number of Hungarians has dropped, exacerbated by the Russian attack in February 2022. Katalin Kovály predicts a continued exodus, especially from Hungarian villages, due to the ongoing war.

Upper Hungary: resilience amidst decline

Hungary’s cross-border population is more resilient in Upper Hungary. Despite a decrease in Hungary’s overall population, the region has only experienced an 8% decline. Assimilation, rather than emigration or natural decrease, stands out as the main factor. Patrik Tátrai emphasises that, unlike in other regions, assimilation is more common among young men than women.

Vojvodina: Serbia’s alarming situation

While Romania faces a decline in the Hungarian population, Serbia, particularly Vojvodina, presents the most alarming scenario in the Carpathian Basin. The 2022 census indicates 184,000 Hungarians, a significant drop from nearly 500,000 in 1961. Emigration, natural decline, and assimilation are identified as the primary reasons for this distressing trend.

Can this concerning decline be stopped?

The data paints a grim picture of the Hungarian population’s decline beyond Hungary’s borders. As experts debate the accuracy of census figures and assess the impact of various factors, the pressing question remains: Can this depopulation be stopped? The future may depend on effective policies, international cooperation, and a commitment to preserving the cultural tapestry of Hungarian communities dispersed across Central Europe. For further insights, explore the government’s initiative to bring Hungarians living abroad back home by reading our article HERE.

Ukraine to restore Hungarian minority’s language rights

Ukraine and Hungary Cooperation

The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has proposed a new draft law that would improve the situation of minorities living in Ukraine. This could mean a lot in the coming months, especially now with the upcoming meeting between the European Union and Ukraine.

The new draft would grant more lenient rights to the education sector and would put an end to repressing the use of mother tongues among minorities.

The previous case

There has already been talk of an older draft law a while ago that would cause an even bigger rupture between Ukraine and Hungary. This older draft would limit the usage of minorities’ mother tongue and gradually increase the percentage of Ukrainian classes taught in minority schools, writes Telex.

This original draft would regulate the amount of Ukrainian classes in ascending order. This means that only in the first four classes can the mother tongue of the minority be spoken. After that, every four years, the number of Ukrainian class hours were to be increased by 20%. This means that by graduation, minority students could be studying in Ukrainian 60% of the time spent in school. The old law was mainly directed against the use of Russian, but it harmed the minorities greatly in the process.

The minority schools were all in danger of language restriction, which of course included Hungarian schools too. This restriction was one of the focal reasons of the Hungarian veto against Ukraine, which you can read more about HERE. Now, with the new draft in the motion, things have a chance of changing.

The new draft law

The new draft law would essentially eliminate some passages of the old draft. These old passages, according to the Hungarian government, make it impossible for the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia to learn in their mother tongue or use their mother tongue in general. The new draft law ensures that minorities can learn in their mother tongues until graduation.

There’s another new addition that the amendments specify, which is that the proposed provisions only apply to minorities that speak any official EU language. Thus excluding the Russian language, while improving relations with the other minorities that were badly affected by the previous law. The sanctioning of Russian is a goal for the Ukrainian government since 2014 and even more so since the start of the war.

What’s next?

Considering the war, Ukraine was granted candidate status last year on a proposal from the European Commission. Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said on the issue that “Hungary will never be able to support Ukraine’s transatlantic and European integration as long as Hungarian schools in Transcarpathia are at risk.” However, with the new draft law, all of the 71 Transcarpathian Hungarian speaking schools could keep teaching students in Hungarian until they graduate. In the long term, this means Ukraine is one step closer to the hearts of Hungarians and also to joining the EU.

Read more about Hungarian relations to Ukraine HERE.

New survey: Hungarians do not support Ukraine’s EU financing

Ukraine Hungarians support

Two-thirds of Hungarians reject financing Ukraine further until Hungary receives the EU funds owed to it, according to a survey by the Nézőpont Institute published on Friday.

Moreover, three-quarters reject handing over an additional 20 billion euros for weapons.

The survey of 1,000 adults from Nov 20 to 22 was conducted in connection with the latest National Consultation government survey.

Nézőpont noted that Brussels intended to hand over an additional 50 billion euros to Ukraine but the government refuses to assent until Hungary receives its EU funds.

And instead of extending 20 billion euros for weapons, the government would back initiatives promoting a ceasefire, the think-tank noted.

Fully 69 percent of respondents were against giving Ukraine additional financial support until Hungary’s EU funds are unfrozen, while 74 percent rejected the 20 billion euros for weapons.

Fully 95 percent of pro-government voters agreed with the government’s pro-peace stance while this was also true of 48 percent of leftist opposition voters.

Mi Hazánk voters were not keen on buying weapons for Ukraine, with 89 percent opposing this.

Read also:

  • Hungarian airline robbed, executives convicted – Read more HERE
  • Government sends home all foreign construction companies from Hungary

Hungary won’t compromise on its sovereignty

Zsigmond Barna Pál

The EU affairs ministry’s state secretary said on Wednesday that “the left in Brussels has taken yet another step towards increasing its own power while weakening the nation states” in the European Union.

In a post on Facebook, Barna Pál Zsigmond said that “the federalist majority in the European Parliament voted to strengthen the powers of institutions in Brussels as a result of which the nation states, above all the small central European countries, will not be able to have a say when it comes to taking decisions on important matters”.

The leftist MEPs, supported by their Hungarian peers, demand scrapping unanimous decision-making which would also scrap the option of a veto, he said, adding that they “would bypass member states such as Hungary that want to represent the interests of their own nation, their own people”.

Consensus-based decision-making has always been “the core and the fundamental principle” of the EU, a guarantee of the equality and sovereignty of member states, the state secretary said.

Hungary “believes” in an integration based on equal member states, whereas Brussels envisions a federalist European superstate with lesser powers held by nation states, Zsigmond said.

“What Brussels wants is that member states should not take decisions on their own defence policy, migration policy, tax system or foreign policy issues,” he said, outlining a proposal submitted by the left to the EP.

The plan, if adopted, would require Hungary to scrap its utility subsidies, the freeze on interest rates, the windfall profit tax and the child protection law, and it would “force us to take in and finance the living of illegal immigrants”, he said. Hungary could not have a say on Ukraine’s EU integration and on sending additional funds and weapons to the war [in Ukraine], the state secretary said.

He called it important for Hungarians “to state a clear opinion” about the protection of national sovereignty in the ongoing National Consultation survey

Orbán cabinet: Hungary pays special attention to the Sahel

Daily News Hungary Logo Új

Hungary believes the European Union and its member states should conduct a strategic review of their approach to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians said in Brussels on Tuesday.

The EU has allocated more than 80 billion euros towards aiding Ukraine, Tristan Azbej told MTI after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council’s development configuration. “We believe it’s time to assess the effectiveness of this aid scheme and how it leads to what Hungary considers the most important objective: a ceasefire and peace,” he said.

Azbej said Hungary was undertaking the largest humanitarian aid and reconstruction operation in its history in connection with the war, adding, at the same time, that European policies and measures had failed to achieve their objectives in this area.

The state secretary said he had also stressed the importance of humanitarian aid, crisis resolution and peace in connection with the conflict in Gaza at the council meeting.

“Those who are suffering deserve humanitarian assistance regardless of which side they are on,” Azbej said. He said it was in this spirit that Hungary demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, including the Hungarian citizens, being held by the Hamas terrorist group.

Hungary, in cooperation with Egypt, provides support to the civilians who have fled Gaza, he said, adding that peace still needed to be the primary consideration.

An escalation of the conflict to an interstate war must be prevented by all means possible, Azbej said. He added that Hamas was a terrorist organisation and Israel had a right to defend itself and wage war against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Azbej said Hungary devoted special attention to the Sahel region.

“Hungary has recognised that what’s happening there doesn’t just determine the future of the African continent, but also impacts the future of Europe,” he said. “This region in Africa faces the challenges of climate change, slow economic development, a food and water shortage and political instability. Extremist ideologies are gaining more and more ground, and the persecution of Christians is also getting more severe.”

The situation in the Sahel could lead to a lasting humanitarian disaster on the continent, which, he said, the Hungarian government wanted to avoid in the interest of saving lives and preventing a mass migration wave.

The state secretary said Hungary Helps humanitarian agency will soon open a regional office in Chad to coordinate and carry out complex humanitarian projects and care for those forced to leave their homes. It will also carry out agriculture development activities based on Hungarian expertise with a view to tackling water and food shortages, he added.

As we wrote today, Chad security vitally important, Hungarian defence minister said.

Orbán government concerned that Soros will arrange Ukraine’s EU membership

George and Alex Soros

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz will ask the European Commission in writing about recent talks by George Soros’ son with Ukrainian leaders about Ukraine’s EU accession, MEP Balázs Hidvéghi said on Friday.

Referring to photos published by Alex Soros, Hidvéghi said in a video that “while there is a Ukrainian flag behind the Ukrainian prime minister, Alex Soros is standing in front of an EU flag, creating the obvious impression that Soros was having talks on behalf of the EU.”

“It is just not right that an American businessman, not elected by anyone, should have talks with Ukrainian government members about that country’s EU membership,” he said.

Hidvéghi also suggested that “members of the EC have regular consultations with the new leader of the Soros network.”

Read also:

  • Soros foundation leaves, Hungarian Liberal flagship NGOs in a mess? – Read more HERE
  • Hungarian man pays with fake money with a picture of George Soros in a pub

House Speaker: With Western Balkans, EU would be stronger, with Ukraine, EU would be weaker

Hungarian government parliament crisis Hungarian House Speaker

The European Union should integrate the Western Balkans “if it wants to be stronger”, László Kövér, the Speaker of Parliament, said on Friday at the 11th conference of the speakers of South-Eastern European Countries, but it will allow Ukraine to join “if it wants to be weaker”.

Kövér likened the EU to a ship “hijacked and adrift” that could “still be saved”. “Change can happen on the captain’s bridge” and the current EU leadership replaced in 2024, he said, adding that new members from south-eastern European countries, not only “old” member states, would be needed “to carry out restoration work”.

Kövér said Hungary welcomed south-east European countries into the EU and would continue to provide political and professional support. The country’s EU presidency in the second half of 2024 would be an opportunity to actively contribute to the cause of integration, he said.

Some countries in the region have been membership candidates since 2005, and most since the beginning of the 2010s, he said. “The EU must appreciate those efforts.”

Hungarians European Union
Photo: FB/EC

The EU, he said, needed the Western Balkans as much as the other way round but there were signs that some Eastern Partnership countries sought a political pact to join the EU, and in line with “Brussels double standards”, some would be integrated into the EU for political  not professional reasons, Kövér said. Meanwhile, Western Balkans countries would be kept out of the EU for so-called professional reasons, he said.

It went against common sense, Kövér said, to pursue a “geopolitically highly risky” bid to integrate a war-torn region while holding back on a decision to integrate a geopolitically consolidated region where war is absent.

If the EU wanted to be stronger, it would integrate Western Balkans states, he said. “If it wanted to be weaker, then [it would integrate] Ukraine.”

He said the EU’s integration policy was more prone to destabilise rather than stabilise the bloc. The same went for its policies on illegal migration, sanctions in response to the Russia-Ukraine war, “the intention to systematically make the lives of EU farmers impossible”, its climate policy and the “aggressive promotion of the LGBTQ obsession”, he said, “not to mention the increasingly open undermining of member states’ sovereignty”.

European Union Hungary Poland
Photo: facebook.com/EuropeanCommission

Olivér Várhelyi, EU commissioner for neighborhood policy and enlargement, told the conference that he had been working to put the issue of enlargement back on the agenda at the highest political level. He said the issue was not the fact of the expansion but its speed.

Noting that reforms under the accession process largely fell to national parliaments to carry out, he appealed for support for the plan to speed up the pace of enlargement and to help implement it as quickly as possible.

The idea behind the plan was that the accession process itself should be real and actual integration speeded up, Várhelyi said. Further, there should be predictability in terms of integration. “Wherever progress has been made [by a candidate country] . a decision on accession must be made,” he said. Now, once again, enlargement is seen by the European Council as a political priority, he added.

Várhelyi said, however, that there was “still much work ahead of us”, arguing that the population of the region should be far more involved in the process, and answers must be given to legitimate criticisms concerning the speed of enlargement.

The commissioner said the EU had already taken steps to speed up processes that respond to the region’s most important economic and social challenges. It did so with the aim of definitively linking the Western Balkans to the EU, creating a joint economic and investment plan to mobilise 30 billion euros to overcome the most important challenges facing the region, he said.

He said it was “unacceptable” that there are no road or rail connections between the region’s capitals, and energy sources were few and polluting. He also lamented deficient basic services such as broadband internet.

The region, however, was implementing the plan “very conscientiously and energetically”, he said. Fully 44 percent of all resources have been tapped, “making them leaders in the implementation of the EU budget”, he added.

In possession of a political and economic offer, the region not only not only wanted to take it up but knew how to, too, he said.

Read also:

Fidesz MEP calls for immediate peace in Ukraine

Németh Zsolt Bocskor Andrea

The war in Ukraine has strongly affected ethnic Hungarians in the country’s Transcarpathia region, they are deeply concerned over drafting to the army and the future of education in their mother tongue, Andrea Bocskor, a Fidesz MEP for the region, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bocskor said that in her address at the 8th Transcarpathia day hosted by the Hungarian Liszt Institute in Brussels she pointed out the Hungarian community’s concerns and underlined the importance of ending the war and brokering peace as soon as possible.

She said that the event gave an opportunity to call attention to the situation of Transcarpathia Hungarians, “the hardship of their daily life in the shadow of the war” as well as to present “a piece” of their fine art and theatre in Brussels.

“It is important that Brussels should not forget about the issue of the rights of Transcarpathia Hungarians and other national minorities in Ukraine,” she said.

Laszlo Brenzovics, leader of the Cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Sub-Carpathia (KMKSZ), said the survival of the region’s community could be thanked to the work and efforts of many people.

Tamas Ivan Kovacs, Hungary’s ambassador for Belgium and Luxemburg said that the importance of the Hungarian nation had increased since the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war.

“Being Hungarian, belonging to the Hungarian nation is not only a matter of nationality and not even of citizenship,” the ambassador said. He said that it was the language, culture and ‘common feeling” that created cohesion among Hungarians, calling Transcarpathian Hungarians highly important in the process.

Hungarian FM: Europe, Africa should step up anti-terrorism cooperation

Szijjártó Rabat

Africa and Europe should strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, as European security strongly depends on that of Africa, the foreign minister said in Rabat on Wednesday.

Speaking at the local United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), Péter Szijjártó said European security was the weakest since the cold war, having to face a war in Ukraine and one in Israel amid a growing threat of terrorism.

Europe has also seen a “massive flood of immigrants” in the past eight years, he said. Hungary thwarted 230,000 illegal entry attempts last year and 173,000 so far this year, he said. He slammed the EU migration policy as “irresponsible” for “practically encouraging illegal immigration and handling the protection of external borders as a human rights issue rather than a security one.

“We Hungarians see a robust and strict border protection as a necessity, an issue of sovereignty as well as security. We consider illegal entries as a crime and an attack on our sovereignty.”

Szijjártó said terrorism and the “massive migration waves” created a vicious circle. Terrorism is both a root cause and consequence of migration, as terrorists may hide in the masses to travel around the world, he said. The foreign minister said illegal migration had resulted in growing threat of terrorism, creating “parallel societies” in several European countries, “no-go zones where the police can’t keep the order, and gang wars have become more frequent.”

Hungary has a vested interest in a successful fight against terrorism due to the double security challenge it is facing, one posed by the war in Ukraine and one through migration along the Western Balkan route, he said.

At the same time, the fight against terrorism is a global responsibility, he said, saying it was “unacceptable” that the UN covered only 3 percent of UNOCT’s budget, expecting member states to make up the rest.

He said he supported the Secretary-General’s proposal to increase funding.

Budapest is home to the second largest UNOCT office employing 24 experts, Szijjártó said. Hungary is also part of a programme aiming to filter out potential terrorists, he added.

The fight against terrorism cannot succeed without Africa, and European security starts with that of Africa, he said.

Surprising new turn: Poland may help Hungary get EU funds back

Orbán Viktor

Hungary has lost access to funds granted by the European Union, a withdrawal period that has prolonged considerably. However, the recent Polish elections might change this circumstance.

The Polish elections were won by Donald Tusk and his coalition, opposing the previous Orbán-friendly government in a tight race. Orbán may have lost an ally in illiberal politics, but he likely gained one in financial standing, as Tusk is striving to secure their funds as well.

Unlikely allies

The funds closed off from Hungary are also fenced off from Poland, and Tusk is vigorously fighting to change this reality. He has consulted with Brussels and is on track to reclaim the pending funds for Poland. If he succeeds, Hungary is likely to benefit too, as excluding Hungary while granting funds to Poland would be politically unwise. Particularly since Poland has not officially fulfilled any of the terms set by the EU for fund suspension, while Hungary, albeit reluctantly, has completed a substantial portion, albeit with a considerable number of necessary documents missing or falling short of the required quality.
Currently, all the funds Hungary would be entitled to receive from the EU since 2021, amounting to roughly 30 billion Euros, are inaccessible. Hungary’s strategy to regain access involves attempting to leverage their veto power against the European Union.

What can a veto do?

Hungary’s stubbornness with these vetoes could have negative repercussions. If other European Member States rally behind the idea of an inner club that denies access to funds for obstinate countries, the total inability to compromise may cease. According to this article, Hungary could potentially regain access to some funds this year if they refrain from vetoing the EU budget review. The European Commission is requesting 100 billion Euros from Member States, with half intended for Ukraine as aid and the other half reserved for unforeseen costs. Many net depositors, such as the Germans, Dutch and Danes, adamantly oppose increasing contributions to the European budget.

Read more about the budget issue HERE.

The Ukrainian question

Ukrainian aid is another potential target for a Hungarian veto. Orbán’s position weakens with the recent election of Slovakian Prime Minister Fico, another Orbán ally who is hesitant to support the aid, making it challenging for Orbán to use blackmail tactics for EU funds. Moreover, the majority of European countries have expressed readiness to aid Ukraine. Hungary could also veto negotiations with Ukraine regarding its potential European Union membership, but this would lack legitimacy as negotiations can only commence if Ukraine implements the recommendations of the Venice Commission on minority issues—precisely why Hungary opposed Ukraine initially.

Read more about the Ukraine war dilemma HERE.

What happens next?

All that’s left for Hungary now is to actually commit to the terms that restrict the access to the funds and consult with the European Commission regarding it.
The Commission is also set to prepare a report shortly on the state of the rule of law mechanism in Hungary, assessing the government’s efforts to access the frozen budget (55% of the three largest programmes).
While not all issues have been resolved, partial successes have been achieved, and further clarification on these restrictions is anticipated in early December.

 

Hungarian minister calls for ‘strategic debate’ on EU policy on Ukraine

Bóka EU

 The European Union’s Ukraine policy needs to be shaped through “a period of considering options and holding a strategic debate”, Hungary’s minister for EU affairs said in Brussels on Wednesday.

Janos Bóka said ahead of a meeting of EU affairs ministers that “without a strategic debate, we are not in a position to make decisions on further steps in Ukraine’s accession or the review of the multiannual financial framework.”

He said the debate would need to show the results the EU’s strategy of supporting Ukraine had yielded so far, including the resources provided, how those resources had been used and results achieved, and strategies of overcoming difficulties.

The sustainability of the EU’s strategy should also be up for debate, he said. The EU had built its course of action on the assumption that Ukraine would win the war and prompt a political reshuffle in Moscow, he said. Should that presumption become untenable, the EU should outline an alternative strategy with the aim of creating a functional security system in Europe, he said.

At the same time, the country report of the European Commission has also said that Ukraine hadn’t fulfilled all requirements to acquire the EU membership candidate status, let alone to start accession talks, he said. The European Council has said earlier that the accession process may advance only if those requirements had been fully met, he added.

Bóka welcomed the EC decision to offer a candidate status to Georgia, and said the Georgian government had done much to fulfil all requirements.

The EU’s enlargement is now taking place in the Western Balkans and in the east, Bóka said, calling for speeding up the former and for “careful consideration on the eastern front”.