Hungary will increasingly rely on Bulgaria’s gas transit capacities, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said after talks with Rumen Radev, Bulgaria’s president, late on Wednesday.
“Since we are planning to buy an increasing amount of gas from Azerbaijan and Turkiye, we will need Bulgaria’s transit capacities more and more,” Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook.
The minister said the Bulgarian president had assured him of his country’s readiness to cooperate.
Szijjártó and Radev agreed that the possible interruption of deliveries through Ukraine would increase the importance of the Bulgaria-Serbia-Hungary transit route.
Hungarian FM highlighted the Bulgarian president’s merits in the advancement of bilateral ties, and his crucial role in making Bulgaria a “reliable partner with regard to gas transit deliveries.”
Romanians, Slovakians, and Poles are way ahead of the Hungarians in terms of standard of living, a new research shows. That contradicts the Hungarian government’s communication that Hungary is an economical leader in Central Europe.
Only Bulgarians live worse than us
According to Szeretlek Magyarország, an average Hungarian spends 72% of the EU’s standard level on consumption, which is 16% less than an average Romanian does. Based on the survey by Eurostat, Hungarian food prices neared 90% of the EU’s standard in 2022.
According to the EU’s statistics body, the main reason for the EU-top Hungarian inflation is the skyrocketing food prices. For example, we had to pay 100% more for butter and bread in December 2022 than in January. August marks the 12th month when the Hungarian inflation is the European Union’s highest.
In 2022, food prices grew to 89.9% of the EU average. In Austria, they stand at 107%, and in Slovakia, at 102%. But in Poland, they reach only 74% while that exact figure is 72% in Romania. According to the GKI, we can buy less with Hungarian salaries compared to Romanians or Slovakians.
Hungarians do their grocery shopping in Romania – Read our article HERE
Romanian government made better choices
The research data also shows that the standard of living was only worse in Bulgaria in the European Union. Romania was well beyond Hungary in 2010. However, by 2022, they preceded Hungary concerning the level of salaries and, in 2023, that difference will continue to widen. And that is true of the Poles, as well. László Molnár, the CEO of the GKI Economic Research Co., said an average Hungarian spent 16% more on consumption than an average Romanian.
According to G7, a Hungarian economic news outlet, the development of the Romanian IT sector, aided by unprecedented state supports since 2001, contributed a lot to the catch-up process. Romania abolished the personal income tax for individuals working in the IT sector, which basically made Romania Europe’s IT hub. Today, Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca) in Central Transylvania hosts 13,000 IT companies.
According to calculations, the PIT the country lost returned with the investments of foreign IT companies. Hungary chose a different path. The Orbán cabinet is targeting to develop the processing industry. They aim to attract German carmakers and Chinese battery producers. However, the latter doesn’t create high-added-value jobs. Instead, the government helps them import Asian guest workers because skilled Hungarians leave the country to work in West Europe, many in the IT sector.
A recent survey has discovered that PM Orbán is more popular among Bulgarians and Slovakians than Hungarians. However, his popularity in Poland shows a changing tendency.
A recent survey made by the Slovakian organisation, GLOBSEC, reveals PM Orbán’s popularity in eight EU countries. Citizens of Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Hungary were polled in the questionnaire. People were asked about their opinion of Putin, the ongoing conflict, Orbán and other matters.
Orbán’s popularity in Eastern Europe
Népszava reported that PM Orbán has the most fans in Bulgaria and Slovakia. 48% of people asked in Bulgaria and Slovakia had a positive opinion of the Hungarian Prime Minister. In Hungary, this number is only 43%. This is surprising, as he had more support before the elections last year. Romania is next on the list, 32% of respondents like PM Orbán. In Czechia, 28% of the people have positive sentiments about Orbán. However, his popularity has fallen in Poland despite the two countries’s centuries-long friendship and brotherhood, which you can read about HERE. Only 18% of Poles sympathise with him. In Lithuania and Latvia, most people have a negative opinion about PM Orbán. The study concludes that Orbán is more popular amongst nations that do not approve of their governments. PM Orbán’s popularity also shows a connection to what people think of Russia.
One year after the breakout of the Russo-Ukrainian war, 32% of Bulgarians still like Putin, and only 60% of Bulgarian people are against him. 21% of Hungarians think of Putin positively, while 71% judge him for his actions. Thus, Putin enjoys greater popularity in Bulgaria than in Hungary. The report finds this interesting, as Viktor Orbán’s politics are openly pro-Russian.
China and the Russian war
When asked about the President of China, Xi Jinping, 36% of Bulgarians and 26% of Hungarians had a positive perception. The percentage of people against Xi Jinping was the highest in Czechia (68%) and Lithuania (62%). The positive perception of democratic leaders (Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden) was more significant than that of the autocratic leaders (Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping) in all eight countries.
When asking people “Who is responsible for the Russian war in Ukraine? ” only less than 50% of Bulgarians and Slovakians blame Russia. This number is slightly higher in Hungary. 85% of Polish people think that Russia is accountable for the war. The support for sanctions is the highest in Poland (76%), followed by Czechia (72%). 56% of Slovakians and Bulgarians believe that the sanctions are useless and ineffective.
The report also examines LGBT+ people’s rights. Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania and Bulgaria show the least support and tolerance towards LGBT+ people. The support is the highest in Czechia and Hungary. GLOBSEC notes that there is a contrast between the cabinet’s anti-LGBT+ narratives and the Hungarian people’s views on matters such as LGBT+ couples’ right to get married. For instance, the opposition is planning to submit a law amendment on introducing sanctions over “LGBTQ sensitisation” activities in the next couple of week. Details HERE.
Hungary sees the development of southeast European energy infrastructure as a priority, and Bulgaria as a reliable partner, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Thursday.
Péter Szijjártó told a press conference held jointly with Rossen Hristov, Bulgaria’s energy minister, that energy connectedness was a regional interest also supported by the European Union. Hungary is focusing on Azerbaijan gas production as the most important alternative, and Balkan capacity expansion is key in that project too, Szijjártó said.
Bulgaria and Hungary also have similar interests in nuclear energy, which they have both long used as a safe, cheap and environmentally friendly resource, he said. Hungary’s government refuses to support proposals of sanctioning nuclear energy, and such attempts are seen as attacks against the country’s sovereignty, he added.
He praised Bulgaria as a reliable partner in energy transport and as an EU member state where “politicians have kept their common sense.” Hungary is ready to continue cooperation with Bulgaria as an important partner, he added.
Hristov said that recent events had clearly shown that energy security was an issue of national security, elevating the task of becoming a transit country from economic opportunity to a great responsibility. Bulgaria aims to have a good partnership with all countries involved, and will remain a reliable transit country even in the hardest of times, he said.
Hristov agreed with Szijjártó on the importance of investments into energy diversification, and called on the EU to contribute to the project to transport Azeri gas to Europe.
Similarly to Hungary, Bulgaria would not support sanctions on nuclear energy, which they see as key to green transition, Hristov said.
Responding to a question, Szijjártó said Hungary was ready to cooperate with the new Slovak government on a foundation of mutual respect, and sees the country as of special importance, “connected to Hungary in a thousand ways”. Ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia are the bridge in that relationship, he said, adding that stability in its northern neighbour was in Hungary’s interest.
Regarding an attack on the Druzhba pipeline, Szijjártó expressed hope that the attack on NordStream will not be repeated. “It is scandalous that we still don’t know who was responsible, as if the will was missing to clear up the case.” Hungary hopes that important energy infrastructure is not threatened, as energy security is a matter of national security, he said.
Deljan Dobrev, an MP of the Bulgarian centre-right GERB, said in an interview that Hungary is the target of high-value transactions via a Bulgarian bank. He has the same family name as Klára Dobrev, former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány’s wife. She is the shadow prime minister of the Democratic Coalition, Gyurcsány’s party. But probably the identical last name is just a coincidence though such allegations can be handy for the opposition. Dobrev is a common Bulgarian name, as e.g. Smith in the UK.
According to Mr Dobrev, Russian oligarchs conduct money laundering in a Bulgarian bank and send large amounts of cash to Hungary. The Bulgarian MP did not name the bank but said it is not Bulgarian. He did not reveal the persons or organisations taking part in the alleged money laundering scheme in Hungary.
Interestingly, there are 24 commercial banks in Bulgaria, most of them in foreign hands. The second biggest is DSK Bank, which is 99.92 percent owned by the Hungarian OTP Bank. They reacted immediately, clearing that they were not concerned about the money-laundering issue and follow strictly local and EU rules. The Bulgarian bank market has several other foreign stakeholders: Americans, Belgians, Estonians, French, Greek, Dutch, Irish, Japanese, Lichtenstein, German, Italian and Turkish.
The Bulgarian MP advocates for strict anti-corruption rules
The politician announced his party would submit a draft aiming to put an end to such money laundering schemes. They want the bank in question to halt such practices. Dobrev estimated that, in 2-3 weeks, their proposal will likely be accepted. That is because GERB, Mr Dobrev’s party, is a government coalition member.
Earlier, the International Investment Bank was concerned with NATO and EU allies. In 2018, the institution moved to Budapest, and its staff received diplomatic immunity from the parliament. As a result, the number of Russians doing espionage in or from Hungary could be raised since they could travel freely in the Schengen area, rtl.hu wrote.
The United States and other Western allies were concerned because of the IIB. On 12 April, David Pressman, the USA’s ambassador in Budapest, announced that they would sanction the three leaders of the bank, including a Hungarian national and the institution’s VP, Mr Imre Laszlóczki. The Hungarian government stated a day later that they would leave the IIB. As a result, the bank will move back to Russia soon.
We interviewed the President of Corvinus University, Anthony Radev:
Daily News Hungary (DNH): Thank you for accepting the invitation to be interviewed. You are the president of Corvinus University, but there is also a foundation run by a president and then there is the rector of the university. Could you give us a little insight into each person’s individual role?
Anthony Radev: The foundation as operator is responsible for the institutional and financial functioning of the University. The Charter issues the Charter Document of the University, adopts its Organisational and Operational Regulations, Institutional Development Plan, budget and financial report, as well as makes proposals to the President of the Republic regarding the Rector of the University and appoints the President and Chancellor of the University. The operator shall perform its duties related to the functioning of the University in cooperation with the University and its citizens, considering in particular the Senate and the other bodies of the University.
The University is led by the Presidential Board of the Board of Trustees, and it is the decision-preparing, opinion-forming, strategy-making body of the University. It consists of three main positions: the Rector, the President and the Chancellor. The rector is responsible for the educational and scientific research portfolio, leads the academic work at the highest level. The Chancellor is responsible for the university’s financial stability, procurement and infrastructure. My position, the President of the University is responsible for the strategic management, the leading the institutional work organization of the University, and such strategic units as HR, international relations, accreditations, law and communication.
DNH: Corvinus was the first model-changing university in Hungary. How would you assess the change?
Anthony Radev: For Corvinus as the pioneer in model-changing, it is a great success – the first cycle of renewal is completed. We have the dominant market position, and we have massive results in internationalisation of education and international visibility. We have significantly increased the number of our English programs. The number of applicants for English language courses has increased by almost 50 percent. We tripled the number of research publications in the most prestigious scholarly journals. We were the first in Hungary to introduce the academic career model: with a predictable career- and quality-focused performance.
As we gained a strong, reliable budget and self-sustainability, we are building on operational excellence and we spend an average of HUF 2-3 billion per year on investments and improvements, i. e. a unique education and innovation centre in the Ménesi Street Campus. We have increased the base salary by an average of more than 70 percent, almost tripled the non-wage benefits and introduced a performance-related annual bonus. This year the average salary growth is an impressive 15-17%.
We have established the Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability Hub (ERS Hub) to support the alignment of the University’s ethics, social responsibility and sustainability initiatives and have evolved sustainability a priority in our investments and operations. We have digitized student administration, so most processes can be initiated online. We have launched the My Corvinus app, which was 2021’s App of the Year.
We do not lean back seeing our results, we continue looking for the best solutions and best practices in each area that is relevant for Corvinus.
DNH: What international accreditations demonstrate best Corvinus’ outstanding achievements? How do you score in international university rankings?
Anthony Radev: The Corvinus University of Budapest is the only university in Hungary in the field of economic sciences that has two international accreditations at institutional level: AMBA, and AACSB. We gained the AACSB accreditation (Association for Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) in 2022, which may place Corvinus among the top 900 business schools in the world. The AMBA reflects the quality of our MBA programs as it is the international accreditation of the Association of the MBA programs. In addition, we obtained several international accreditations for programs: EFMD Accredited, BSIS Label, EAPAA, the newest one is the ACCA which is a prestigious professional recognition of our MA accounting.
DNH: Why do prospective students choose Corvinus? What differentiates Corvinus from other universities and in what fields does it stand out particularly?
Anthony Radev: In a nutshell, Corvinus is Hungary’s most eminent university in the fields of economic and social science trainings. Our medium-term objective is to become one of the best institutions of higher education in Central Europe, not only within the country. We prefer quality over quantity, we offer international professional environment with internationally recognised teachers and a vivid social student life, i. e. we have the oldest student organization founded more than 50 years ago, the Studium Generale where the members voluntarily prepare several thousand high school students to the admission exams.
And of course, we know, money talks: a Corvinus student with a degree in economics can expect to earn a total net salary of HUF 340 million over a full career path, which is HUF 110 million more than the national average for graduates in the same field. The source of the monetary advantage lies not only in the knowledge acquired, but also in the skills and competences that our students acquire here. According to our recently gained BSIS label, The financial impact of the activity of Corvinus University is over HUF 170 billion per year. No other Hungarian university in economic fields undertook such an examination. The label also pointed out that the majority of senior managers at large companies listed on the Hungarian stock exchange are the graduates of this University, so the Corvinus offers excellent career perspectives.
DNH: What further developments does Corvinus aim to pursue in the future? Which are the areas that need improvement in order to reach an even higher international rating?
Anthony Radev: As I mentioned before, our medium-term objective is to become one of the leading institutions of higher education in Central Europe, not only within the country. We want to open the doors even wider to international students and teachers and integrate them with the Hungarian community. We pursue excellence, both in teaching and researching, so we expect to grow our potential in scientific publications, and we want to improve our teacher-student ratio in order to focus better on the development of our students.
We aim to be more transparent and operate in a more sustainable way, and permanently continue to develop ourselves. In these months we are preparing the strategy for the next three years, and we want to bottom-up channel all the valuable initiatives.
DNH: Can you share some details about the upcoming new campus?
Anthony Radev: As part of the complex renewal of Corvinus University of Budapest – digital, infrastructural and educational – the institution will be equipped with a technology-intensive, inspiringly future-oriented and sustainability-oriented building complex.
Between 600 and 700 students will be able to work on the Campus at the same time, with all the educational and social spaces dedicated to creative collaboration. The building will house the University’s Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme and the Data Space, home to innovative data science projects.
Source: Corvinus University
There will be 3100 m2 for education, 2350 m2 for sports, dormitory places for 180 students, and a huge park in 11.000 m2. The renewable building complex will also meet Leed Gold’s stringent sustainability certification criteria, as well as AA+, the highest energy efficiency rating, for the first time in a higher education investment in Hungary. The Campus will have an energy system unique in Hungary, using the latest thermal insulation technologies and providing energy supply through solar panels and ground-source solar probes.
DNH: How many foreign students are currently enrolled at Corvinus? What is the number of foreign lecturers? I suppose that the Stipendium Hungaricum and Erasmus are decisive in terms of the number of foreign students.
Anthony Radev: Currently, we have 11.000 students and 20% of them are from abroad. Ten years ago, the ratio was only 10%. And yes, we are a popular destination for students both who gained the Stipendium Hungaricum and the ones who participate in the Erasmus program, several hundred young foreign people come to our university every year. Corvinus is among the Hungarian universities that have made the most of the Erasmus+ program, with around 500 students per academic year.
DNH: Moving on to another subject… You are known to hold several major positions in companies or associations. Can you share us some details about these responsibilities? How do you juggle the heavy workload?
Anthony Radev: My main task is to be the President of Corvinus. The other responsibilities do not require a full-time job, and these few hours per week can be inserted in my schedule. I have excellent collegues who are experts in their profession, which makes the work much easier for me.
DNH: I know that you have three nationalities. Can you tell us what these are? Anthony Radev: I was born in Bulgaria, studied and moved to Hungary, later on professionally settled in Germany.
DNH: This question concerns Anthony Radev, a private individual. Can you tell us a bit about your family background? How do you spend your free time? Do you have any favourite pastime or something that you are really passionate about?
Anthony Radev: I was born into a working family. Usually with the 3 F – Family, friends and football. I had a great childhood, fantastic young years, very satisfying midlife.
DNH: I am sure you have travelled a lot before. Which three destinations left the biggest impact on you and why?
Anthony Radev: I’ve been to more than 70 countries in the world, I do not regret any one of those, to do a favorite list would be unfair, because I respect them all.
DNH: Let’s not leave out Hungarian gastronomy either. If you could order anything right now, what would be your instant pick for starter, main course and dessert?
Another European country is to withdraw as a shareholder of the International Investment Bank (IIB, Hungarian: Nemzetközi Beruházási Bank, NBB). Bulgaria will cease to be a member of the bank from August, MTI, the Hungarian news agency, reports.
Bulgaria withdraws, Hungary the only European shareholder
The Budapest-based IIB received official notification from Bulgaria on Thursday. The note said that the country will cease to be a shareholder in the bank from 15 August. Slovakia and the Czech Republic have already left the bank, and Romania will do the same on 9 June following aggression against Ukraine. This leaves Hungary as the only European shareholder, 444.hu reports.
At the end of January, 14.46 percent of IIB shares were held by Bulgarians and 8.94 percent by Romanians. Russia is the largest owner of the International Investment Bank with 45.44 percent, 24.hu writes. The country is followed by Hungary with 25.27 percent. Cuba holds 2.83 percent, Mongolia 1.8 percent and Vietnam 1.26 percent.
Founded in 1970, the IIB is an international financial institution. Its main activities are to support small and medium-sized enterprises in its member countries and to participate in the financing of socially significant infrastructure projects. The bank, which was revived by Vladimir Putin, announced in 2018 that it would move its headquarters to Budapest. A former counter-intelligence officer said the institute was typically used by the Russian state for intelligence purposes.
According to an earlier statement by the IIB, Hungary is one of the bank’s most active shareholders of the Russian financial institution.
Hungary’s natural gas supplies are secure thanks to reliable transit states like Bulgaria, as well as its suppliers, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Sofia on Monday, after talks with Nikolay Milkov, his Bulgarian counterpart.
Hungary received 4.8 billion cubic meters of gas through Bulgaria last year, Szijjártó told a joint press conference.
The double threat of the war in Ukraine and migration pressure from the south is making liable cooperation between the countries even more valuable, he said.
Hungary counts on further reliable deliveries, he said.
The strategic goal is to access new resources for projects such as infrastructural development to increase the role of Azeri gas in the region, he said.
“This is a European issue; I think we central Europeans are right to expect the European Union to support pipeline construction and infrastructure development to secure future gas supplies for central Europe,” he said.
Szijjártó thanked Bulgaria for fuel rod deliveries to the Paks nuclear plant via Bulgarian ports on the Black Sea since December, “when EU regulations made avian deliveries from Russia impossible”.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said the Western Balkans had become part of the most important continental route for migrants. “Due to Brussels’ pro-migration stance, central European countries have to make greater efforts to stop illegal migration,” he said.
Bulgaria and Hungary both “performed beyond their abilities” by building border fences and employing “enormous human resources” to stop illegal migration, he added.
“It is unacceptable and very dangerous to the EU’s security that Brussels refuses to support real border security and does not fund … border protection infrastructure,” he said.
He called it “shameful” that Bulgaria was “still not a member of the Schengen Area”. Hungary will not accept “double standards where clear and objective requirements set down in contracts are replaced by subjective criteria,” he said. Bulgaria has fulfilled the former, and so deserves Schengen membership, he said.
As we reported in December, Werner Kogler, the Austrian Deputy Chancellor expressed his views that Hungary should have been kicked out from the Schengen zone if they listened to the Austrian interior minister’s reasoning. The minister voted against Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen membership last year, so the two countries could not become a member of the Schengen zone, opposite Croatia. Now Orbán wants a tripartite summit that would allow Serbia, Hungary and Austria to tackle the migration crisis together.
The Austrian deputy chancellor said in December that there were issues with Hungary regarding migration. He estimated that tens of thousands of illegal migrants enter Austria through Hungary, which is unacceptable. The problem is not with Romania and Bulgaria but with Hungary, he highlighted then. His colleague, Gerhard Karner, Federal Minister of the Interior of Austria had already voted against Bucharest’s and Sofia’s Schengen zone membership, provoking extensive anti-Austrian demonstrations in Romania.
PM Viktor Orbán met Ivica Dacic, the new Serbian foreign minister, on Tuesday, and talked about the migration problems at the Serbian-Hungarian border. They discussed a possible tripartite summit with Austria, Hungary and Serbia. However, they have not set a date yet, index.hu wrote.
Romania and Bulgaria have been working hard to protect their borders and have done a lot to rein in illegal migration, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Friday, adding that the two countries should have been allowed to join the European Union’s Schengen zone.
Referring to a Thursday vote in the European Parliament, Szijjártó said that Croatia had been granted Schengen status, while Romania and Bulgaria were rejected “whereas both were deserving”.
Szijjártó insisted that their rejection was due to a veto by Austria and the Netherlands, while “everybody else was in support”. He regretted that “wailing journalists of the liberal mainstream, Brussels bureaucrats, and ministers of liberal governments” were silent, whereas all new positions presented by the Hungarian government were met with “clamourous” criticism.
“If a central European country uses their veto, that is the end of the world and destroying European unity, while a veto by western Europeans is okay,” he said.
Hungary has been drawn in a five-team qualifying group for the 2024 European Championship, with four opponents exclusively from Central and Eastern Europe.
According to MLSZ, Marco Rossi’s squad will seek positive results against Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Lithuania as they aim to reach their third successive European Championship finals, due to take place in Germany.
Hungary will have good memories of recent matches against Serbia and Bulgaria, the former suffering at the hands of striker Norbert Könyves in Belgrade in 2019 and the latter succumbing in Sofia in 2020 during Hungary’s successful journey to a memorable Euro 2020 tournament.
“It could have been a more difficult group, but naturally I could have imagined an easier one too”, Marco Rossi admitted after the draw in Frankfurt.
“No one should be complacent just because we were drawn from the pot of top seeds. Serbia are ahead of us in the world rankings and have qualified for the World Cup, while we know Bulgaria and Montenegro from recent meetings and we can’t judge them on those results, because a lot can change in 2-3 years in today’s football. Difficult matches await us; we’ll need to take each match as they come and get the best out of ourselves in every game in order to be successful”.
After spending a luxurious week in an all-inclusive hotel in Bulgaria, the British couple, Steve Fludder and Emma Bradley (both 39) wanted to return to their home in Liverpool, United Kingdom. However, after their Wizz Air flight started to take off from the runway of a Bucharest Airport, it hit something. Minor damage was reported, and their hellish experience began.
Wizz Air plane’s engine damaged
According to stokesentinel.co.uk, Steve and his girlfriend, Emma, started their vacation at the Liverpool Airport more than one week ago. They booked a budget-friendly package holiday via Love Holidays, spending a week in an all-inclusive hotel near Varna, Bulgaria. Everything went perfectly until their homeward journey.
They wanted to get home on Tuesday, bought their ticket and occupied their seats on the Hungarian Wizz Air’s flight from Bucharest to Liverpool. However, shortly after the plane began to ascend, it hit a flock of birds.
The scheduled take-off of the plane was 6.15 AM. After the emergency landing, the Hungary-based airline updated the departure to 10.30 AM. However, at 10.25 AM, they asked all passengers to leave the aircraft. They added that their new flight to Liverpool would leave only on 8 October, so they have to wait for more than one week.
Afterwards, two hours passed until Emma, Steve and two other couples were taken to a hotel four hours away from the Bucharest International Airport. After they arrived, the nightmare continued since the hotel manager said they did not have any spare rooms for them.
They had to wait until 10.30 PM to get an out-of-service room. “It wasn’t used, it wasn’t a nice room,” Steve said. A spokesperson for Love Holidays said: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Fludder’s experience after Wizz Air cancelled his flight at short notice. We are in regular contact with Mr Fludder and are on hand to speak further to his airline, as required, to ensure his situation is resolved as quickly as possible.”
UPDATE – Wizz Air comments
The incident, inaccurately published by originally LancsLive and stokesentinel.co.uk, was in fact a rejected take-off on 27 September 2022 due to a bird strike. Minor damage was reported and the aircraft was immediately returned to service following maintenance. There was no fire and no flames. Consequently, the false article greatly damages the reputation of Wizz Air, the Hungarian airline wrote us in an e-mail.
László Palkovics, Hungary’s minister of technology and industry, on Tuesday said he had discussed the potential of rail freight transport as an alternative to sea shipping at the inaugural meeting of a Bulgarian-Hungarian-Serbian-Turkish transport working group in Istanbul.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has shown that modes of shipment that had earlier seemed realistic “will be less of an option now” and Ukraine will have to be bypassed, Palkovics told MTI by phone on the sidelines of the meeting.
Palkovics said that at his last meeting with his Turkish counterpart six months ago, they had discussed a number of different topics, including coordination in connection with the Budapest-Belgrade rail line.
He noted that Turkey has set up a consortium to determine how the Turkish and Bulgaria-Serbia-Hungary rail line could best be used.
The European Union currently moves 20 percent of commodities by rail, and the aim is to increase this share to at least 50 percent by 2050, the minister said.
Palkovics said the working group’s meeting had centred on the infrastructure to be developed by the four countries, noting the importance of maintenance.
The working group’s participants agreed to start building the required trains, Palkovics said, adding that Hungary had already started doing its part.
The four countries also agreed to explore possible passenger transport developments, the minister said.
Whereas the shipment of goods from Europe to China takes 45 days by sea, rail shipment would take only 12 days, Palkovics said. Tuesday’s meeting created the possibility for considering alternative modes of shipping, he added.
The working group will next meet in October, he said.
An unidentified small plane from Hungary passed over the western part of Romania’s airspace on Wednesday evening, and two US Air Force fighter jets were alerted to intercept it.
Aircraft without permission
The low-flying, Beechcraft twin-engine aircraft took off without permission in the Debrecen area at 5.30 PM Eastern European time. Eight minutes later, it was intercepted by Hungarian Gripen aircrafts, but the small aircraft did not respond to radio calls or visual signals, according to 24.hu.
The unidentified aircraft, flying with its transponder switched off, entered Romanian airspace at 5.49 PM in the Nagyvárad (Oradea) region. At 5.58 PM, it was followed by two F-16 fighters of the US Air Force on patrol in the Romanian airspace.
According to the Romanian Ministry of Defence (MAPN), the small aircraft did not display any dangerous or hostile behaviour, but continued to fail to respond to the internationally used radio and visual signals of the fighter aircraft sent to intercept it, as 24.hu writes.
The plane continued its flight to Karánsebes-Szörényvár, crossed Serbian airspace for two minutes at around 7:00 PM, and then flew over to Bulgaria. In the meantime, the two American fighters returned to the Fetești airbase, while two Bulgarian F-16s took over the pursuit of the target.
Investigation
According to MAPN, Bulgarian authorities began a ground investigation on Wednesday evening in the area where the unidentified aircraft was last detected by radar.
The Romanian Ministry of Defence has no precise information on what happened to the small plane after it entered Bulgarian airspace, as it disappeared from military radar screens (which could indicate that it either landed or crashed in Bulgaria). Bulgarian authorities are currently investigating the area around the last known position of the target to identify the aircraft and establish the details, as Telex.hu reported.
What does interception mean?
Senior pilot Csaba Ugrik earlier spoke to Index about what the term interception means in this context:
“The idea is to approach with safety in mind, keeping your distance and signalling to the intercepted aircraft that you have ‘got them’. Then visual identification is done, reading the number on the vertical control plane, determining the colour, identifying the aircraft type, and we also try to take photos of the intercepted aircraft. When we are done with the VID, the collected data is passed on to the headquarters, where we get a response telling us whether to follow the aircraft or everything is OK, their flight is safe, we can return home.”
The Bulgarian and Serbian ministers in charge of energy affairs have confirmed that Russian gas supplies through Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia to Hungary were undisturbed and in line with contract, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade said in New York on Wednesday.
Péter Szijjártó said the Serbian minister had assured him that the contracted volume of gas arrived in Serbia and would partly be forwarded to Hungary, the foreign ministry quoted Péter Szijjártó as saying. Szijjártó said that Bulgarian energy minister Alexander Nikolov had confirmed to him that the contracts on transits would continue to be observed.
Checking the situation personally on Wednesday afternoon CET, Szijjártó found that everything was on schedule with the supply of daily 10 million cubic metres of gas to Hungary.
“For the time being, the operation of the transit route seems to be undisturbed but we will closely monitor the situation and keep in touch with our Bulgarian, Serbian and Russian counterparts,”
he said.
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Szijjártó reiterated that a significant part of gas supplies arrived in Hungary on the southern route and so it was a major development that Gazprom had recently stopped supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.
However, operator of the Bulgarian network Bulgartransgaz has confirmed that transit supplies would continue to operate regardless of the move, he said.
Gazprom has also confirmed that gas to Serbia and Hungary would continue to be supplied over the pipeline, he added.
Gas deliveries continue to flow to Hungary on schedule, without obstructions and according to the country’s long-term contract with Russia, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Wednesday, commenting on news reports that Russia had stopped deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria.
Some 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas arrive in Hungary via Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia every year, which is a “significant” portion of the country’s annual consumption, Szijjarto said in a post on Facebook.
While Russia has stopped delivering the gas intended for consumption in Bulgaria, transits are untouched by the measure, he said.
“I would like to put everyone’s mind at ease: the suspension of deliveries to Bulgaria does not include transits across the country,”
Meanwhile, Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom has decided to request payments in roubles, in view of the sanctions hitting Russia due to the war in Ukraine. “We have found a solution where [Hungary] will pay in euros to an account set up at Gazprom Bank, which will then exchange it to roubles and transfer it to Gazprom Export,” Szijjártó said.
Slovakia has chosen the same method of payment, according to a statement of the Slovak economy minister on Tuesday, Szijjártó said.
The Russia-Ukraine war is “not Hungary’s war”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with NATO counterparts in Bratislava on Thursday. The Hungarian government will do everything it can to protect Hungarians from the conflict, he said.
Hungary is sticking to its policy of not sending weapons to Ukraine or allowing the transit of lethal aid across its territory, while opposing sanctions on Russian oil and gas, Szijjártó said. The foreign ministers of the Bucharest Nine countries — Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary — condemned the military aggression at the meeting, stating that they wanted to live in peace, Szijjártó said.
Szijjártó told his counterparts about
“an agreement between Hungary’s left wing and Ukraine”
which, he insisted, entailed weapons being sent to Ukraine if it won Sunday’s general election. “This is unacceptable and runs contrary to the interests of the Hungarian people and the country’s security,” he said, adding that the transport of weapons would risk Hungary being dragged into the war.
While “it is in Ukraine’s interest that Hungary should have a left-wing government that sends weapons”, Hungary must ensure security for its people, the minister said.
Szijjártó said there was a “strong pressure” on the European Union to impose sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports, and he was “aware that the Hungarian left wing would support those sanctions”, but this was a “red line” for the government, he added, as such sanctions could seriously jeopardise Hungary’s energy supplies and its economy.
The minister also said Hungary was implementing
“the largest aid programme in its history”
in which several hundred tonnes of food and toiletry products have been sent to Ukraine and 548,000 refugees have been accommodated in Hungary.
Hungary respects the decision of countries that send weapons to Ukraine, but in turn it expects them to respect its decision against facilitating such transports itself, Szijjártó said.
Hungarian-owned low-fare airline Wizz Air is launching three new services from June, the company said on Saturday.
Planes will fly from Debrecen in eastern Hungary to Burgas in Bulgaria and Corfu, Greece, it said. The Hévíz airport will have a connection with Dortmund, Germany, it said. Further flights are in the pipeline to Greece and Germany, Wizz Air said.
The low-cost company said that tourists could already buy tickets. The lowest price to Corfu and Dortmund is around HUF 7,690 (EUR 20), while Bulgaria’s Burgas costs HUF 5,690 (EUR 15). Based on their statement, there will be flights between Lake Balaton and the German metropolis twice a week, on Thursday and Sunday, from the first week of June onward. Between Corfu and Debrecen, Wizz Air will fly on Wednesdays, travelo.hu reported.
Before, Wizz Air announced that they would relaunch nine former routes between Budapest and London-Gatwick, Edinburgh, Oslo, Podgorica, Warsaw, Bologna, and Skopje. Moreover, they will reopen the Debrecen-Tel Aviv and Debrecen-Larnaca routes.
Hévíz, a small city near Lake Balaton, was very popular among Russian tourists. Since they cannot come because of the bans implemented after Putin attacked Ukraine, Wizz Air’s new flight to Dortmund might be a desperate attempt to bring German tourists to the famous Hungarian spa town.
As we reported before, it is almost certain that many spies, mainly Russian intelligence agents, have been guests of the world-famous Hévíz spa. Over the past decades, hundreds of Russian citizens have settled and become influential in and around Hévíz. The spa town has most likely become a major point of intelligence operations between the East and West.
