Tomb of Hungarian ancestor Hun king found in Romania?
The remains of the tomb of a probable Hun warrior have been found. The tomb was unearthed during the construction of a motorway in south-east Romania. The shrine is quite rich: it includes a gold-plated sword with precious stones. Could it be the tomb of Attila, the king of the Huns, Hungarians’ glorious ancestors?
Short history
Who were the Huns and how are they, if at all, related to today’s Hungarians? Over the centuries, a legend developed in Hungary based on medieval chronicles. Legend has it that Hungarians (and the Szekler/Székely ethnic group especially) are the descendents of the Huns. According to the legend of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin (Honfoglalás, around 895), under the leadership of Prince Árpád, the Hungarian tribes gradually conquered and settled in the Carpathian Basin.
However, there are some theories about a “double conquest”. According to the theory of double conquest, the ancestors of the Hungarians conquered the Carpathian Basin in two stages. The first phase was around 670, while the second phase is the well-known late 9th century entry. Before even the first phase took place, around 375, a people called Huns were living in the Carpathian Basin.
The discovery
Three construction workers were digging in a snow-covered field near the town of Mizil in south-eastern Romania, some 220 kilometres from the Black Sea, when they came across something unexpected, Live Science reports. Initially, they were not surprised, as this was the fourth archaeological site to be excavated since construction began.
Extraordinary discovery in Romania, perhaps found the tomb of Attila “the scourge of God” https://t.co/TFzW8rskCo
— Heal the Planet ✌✌🎸🎸 (@fwtoney) January 25, 2023
“The tomb is filled with more than 100 artifacts, including weapons, gold-covered objects and pieces of gold jewelry inlaid with gemstones,” Silviu Ene(opens in new tab) of the Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archeology in Bucharest, Romania, told Live Science. He is the lead archaeologist investigating the tomb.
The tomb dates back to the 5th century AD. At the time, the region was occupied by the Huns. Some speculate whether it is possible that Attila’s tomb was found. TheNews even made a video of the extraordinary discovery. You can see some of the finds in the video below:
- Read also: Lost emperor discovered in Transylvania!
According to Silviu Ene, the ethnicity of the warrior is not yet known. However, the rich tomb remains suggest that he belonged to the Hun ruling class. They controlled much of the territory west of the Black Sea at the time, including the region that is now part of Romania, he said.
The archaeologist also revealed that the tomb preserved the full skeleton of the warrior. His face was covered by a golden mask, the remains of which were also found. But so far only one leg and the head of his horse have been recovered, travelo.hu reports.
In the coming months, the bones and artefacts will be cleaned and examined, and will be put on public display.
Read alsoSensational discovery, PHOTOS: antique village remnants found under the Belgrade-Budapest railway
Agriculture minister greets 11th agriculture forum for Carpathian Basin
Agriculture Minister István Nagy on Monday greeted the 11th Cooperation Forum of the Carpathian Basin, an event organised in Budapest for agricultural professionals in the region, and said that the joint efforts of the past 12 years had successfully crossed the “borders between parts of the nation”.
The forum helps professionals to build networks and evaluate the sector’s possibilities together, he said.
Last year’s historic drought, the war in Ukraine and the sanctions, skyrocketing energy and produce prices will continue to weigh on the resources, Nagy said.
Hungary’s government has been supporting farmers across the borders with tenders and other programmes facilitating knowledge exchange and a strong cooperation between entrepreneurs in Hungary and across the borders, Nagy said.
“All those with a minimal understanding of economic processes and willing to take off their blinders will understand that the economic success of Hungarians and the Carpathian Basin will also serve neighbouring countries well, and improve competitiveness,” he said.
János Árpád Potápi, the state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad, said that the Hungarian parliament passed a law on dual citizenship on May 26 in 2010, starting “a peaceful reunification of the Hungarian nation within the confines of the current borders”.
Under the law, 1,170,000 people have so far been granted Hungarian citizenship.
Potápi said that the government’s policy for Hungarians abroad focused on creating the legal framework for their support during the 2010-2014 period. Later on, the focus shifted to supporting Hungarian communities economically and financially to help them thrive in their homeland, he said.
Hungarian institutions have also been strengthened in the Carpathian Basin, he said, adding that programmes supporting Hungarian communities abroad would be continued and broadened next year.
Read alsoThis is how Hungary wants to spend the 13 billion EUR EU aid of the CAP
20 percent of Carpathian forest could disappear by 2050
Deforestation causes huge problems in the Carpathian mountain range. Despite nature protection measures, illegal tree felling is still prominent. Aggressive logging practices need to stop and to make this happen Greenpeace turned to the European Commission. If the current logging rates keep up, 20 percent of the forests could disappear by 2050.
Illegal logging is still prominent in the Carpathian mountains. In a recent report, Greenpeace found that aggressive tree felling was still ongoing. Based on satellite images, the organisation calculated that about 7,350 square kilometres of forests have disappeared from the Carpathians in the past 20 years. For comparison, this is the size of Paris, Berlin, Rome, Budapest and Brussels combined according to hvg.hu.
Illegal logging
The woods of the Carpathians store a lot of carbon, retain a lot of water and mitigate extreme weather effects. At a first glance, the importance of forests might not seem obvious, but they provide more than just green space. Forests help to control the climate, thus they help to avoid flooding or even droughts. As such, these woodlands are important, not just for environmentalists but also for local communities.
According to calculations from Greenpeace, if the current logging rates do not mitigate the damage will be immeasurable. Compared to forest coverage measured in 2000, by 2050 20 percent of the forests of the Carpathians can be lost. The organisation also initiated an international campaign and a petition to help save the forests. They called on governments and international authorities to urgently do something against illegal practices. To stop illegal practices an international action plan is needed. They also called on the European Union to provide the necessary funding to carry out this plan.
Irresponsible and illegal logging needs to stop, says the organisation. A ban should be implemented on new routes for forestry for about 10 years. This would allow the plan to be implemented and it would help preserve untouched, contiguous woodlands that are not crossed by any roads.
The forest of the Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains are the second-longest mountain range in Europe. They have one of the most unique ecosystems in the world. Outside of Scandinavia, the Carpathians is the largest area covered by old-growth forests. It has an area five times larger than the territory of Belgium. Despite receiving Natura 2000 status, logging practices did not change. This will have a profound effect on the European ecosystem and the biodiversity of the region could easily collapse. The forest needs time to regenerate, therefore, non-intervention areas are being proposed by Greenpeace.
Photo report: Bridal dresses from the Carpathian Basin
A bridal costume show was held in Cluj Napoca, Transylvania, Romania on 19 November. Visitors were able to see the precious costumes from the collection of folk costume collector and folk dance teacher Eszter Pitlik-Sipos. Below, you can see a photo report from the show.
In the city of Cluj Napoca, the János Zsigmond Unitarian College hosted a bridal costume show. The show presented the most beautiful pieces from the collection of Eszter Pitlik-Sipos, Veol reports. At the exhibition, visitors could get to know a costume ensemble from fifteen of the settlements of the Carpathian Basin.
The music and dance show, entitled Menyekező (“marrying”), gave a comprehensive picture of the bridal costumes fashionable at the turn of the century in Tótkomlós, Kálló, Ajak, Sárköz, Kalocsa, Gömör, Bukovina, Klézse, Magyarpalatka, Kraszna and Méra.
After the opening of the traditional exhibition, the audience could take part in a dance party.
Photo gallery
Read alsoDiscover the Hungarian folk dance! – VIDEOS
State secretary: Hungarian communities in the diaspora are fortresses of the nation
Hungarian communities in the diaspora are “fortresses of the nation” and key to its survival, Árpád János Potápi, state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, told MTI on Tuesday, on the occasion of Hungarian Diaspora Day.
“If the diaspora is weakened or disappears, the core of the nation will follow, that is why supporting ethnic communities is a top priority for the Hungarian government,” Potápi said.
Ethnic Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin make up nearly half of the Hungarians living outside Hungary, he said. Those communities were drastically reduced in number in the 20th century, but the past decade has “proven that no process must be declared irreversible”, he said.
15 November, the birth and death anniversary of Gábor Bethlen (1580-1629), prince of Transylvania, was declared Diaspora Day in 2015.
New Hungarian regional flights connecting Transylvania and Balaton
The test period was successful for the new Hungarian airline Aeroexpress Regional. The new airline aims to connect different regions of the Carpathian Basin. The idea is sympathetic to the government too. They are now preparing the schedule for spring when the routes will be extended to the western part of the country too. Soon, flights might be available to Balaton as well.
The Aeroexpress Regional is a new Hungarian airline. During the test period, it connected Debrecen and Budapest with Transylvania. Due to the success and growing interest in the airline, they already plan on expanding their routes. From December, their most popular lines will be available to travellers. In the summer, new routes are planned to be opened mostly in the western part of the country. Dániel Somogyi-Tóth, the co-founder of the company told VG.hu, that new routes might open up to the Balaton region, Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely) and Brașov (Brassó).
Early success
The Hungarian government sees potential in the new Charpatian Basin-based regional flights. The mother company of Aeroexpress Regional is BASe Airlines operates in Finland, therefore, the company has strong foundations. The route between Cluj (Kolozsvár) and Budapest will soon resume and by the summer new routes might open up.
Not just the government, but also people seem to be in favour of these new regional flights. Due to the growing interest in the flights, the test period was extended from the original September-October period to the middle of November. According to the co-founder, the number of reservations grew by 20-30 percent each week. A regional flight between Budapest and Kolozsvár was welcomed by passengers frequently travelling between Hungary and Romania.
The story of the company
BASe Airlines which owns half of Aeroexpress is a family business that was founded 31 years ago. The other half of the ownership is shared between Dániel Somogyi-Tóth and Dániel Vadász chairmen. BASe Airlines provides aeroplanes, which are produced in Brasil and have a 30-passenger capacity. The airplanes are based at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. They have been in operation for the past 17 years and have successfully landed more than 27,000 times. They provided service in various countries for public and touristic purposes.
The flight
During the test period, the prices moved between 30 to 90 euros. The Budapest-Kolozsvár route can be done back and forth in just one business day. This is very good news for businessmen and tourists who plan short visits. The airline filled in a long-standing hiatus because in the past ten years regional flights were not available since MALÉV went bankrupt. Regional flights provide easy access to places that can be hardly reached by land-based transport. This regional connectivity is very important for the Hungarian economy.
Read alsoNew Hungarian airline born: they plan to connect Central European cities
Hungarian Chief Rabbi also reacts to Orbán’s “mixed-race” speech
The national Chief Rabbi also reacted to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech in Tusványos, in which he said that we live in a mixed-race world, but Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin are not mixed-race.
The national chief rabbi also reacted to Viktor Orbán’s speech in Tusványos, which struck a chord with many. The Bálványos Summer Free University and Student Camp – better known as Tusványos – has become one of the main arenas of Hungarian politics. The Prime Minister was the keynote speaker at this year’s festival again.
There is a world where the peoples of Europe mix with those from outside Europe – a world of mixed races. And we have us, where people from within Europe mix, move, work and relocate. So, for example, in the Carpathian Basin, we are not a mixed race, we are simply a mixture of people living in our own European homelands, Viktor Orbán said in his speech. Read details HERE – Orbán: “Hungarians are not a mixed race and do not want to become one”
In response to this, Róbert Frölich, the national Chief Rabbi, shared a poem on his official Facebook page, in which he wrote that he thought of Attila József, Miklós Radnóti, Antal Szerb, Endre Gelléri Andor, Jenő Rejtő and many other names and faces, known and unknown, who “fell victim to the onion-headed theories of race”.
“Speaking of race. Many different species populate our planet. But there is only one species that lives on this earth, walking, working, talking and sometimes thinking: Homo Sapiens Sapiens. This species is one and indivisible. I commend the above to your attention”
– The Chief Rabbi said in his post.
Several opposition parties and politicians have reacted to the speech. The Ukrainian foreign affairs spokesperson has also commented on the Prime Minister’s statements on the war, saying that Orbán’s speech is “a classic example of Russian propaganda”.
Read more about Viktor Orbán’s speech in Tusványos here – Orbán in Tusványos: Trump could have prevented the war in Ukraine!
Read alsoPM Orbán said which “races” Hungarians might and would not mix with
PM Orbán said which “races” Hungarians might and would not mix with
Below you may read Orbán’s full-length line of thought, clearing what the prime minister thinks about which peoples the Hungarians should mix with.
“Hungarians do not want to become a mixed-race”
The Hungarian prime minister talked about the future of the Hungarian nation yesterday in Tusnádfürdő, Central Romania. One of his statements, saying that “we [Hungarians] are not a mixed race, and we do not want to become a mixed race either” caused a huge public outcry in Hungary. Some opposition politicians said it just served the purpose of distracting public attention from the government’s financial restrictions. Anyway, you may read Orbán’s full-length line of thought on the issue below. The prime minister cleared yesterday what he thought about which people the Hungarians should mix with and which not.
Orbán said there was a trick of the international left, claiming that Europe has always been home to mixed-race people. But that statement is an illusion and a deliberate conflation of ideas.
There is a mixed-race world, but we are not part of it
Orbán said there were two worlds. The world of Europeans mixing with non-Europeans is the “mixed-race world”. Meanwhile, in our world, European peoples are intermixing, working and moving with each other. “We, in the Carpathian Basin, for example, aren’t mixed-race people, but simply a mix of the peoples living in their European homeland,” Orbán said. In more fortunate times, these peoples merged into a unique Hungaro-Pannonian “sauce”, creating a new European culture.
- Read also: Orbán: “Hungarians are not a mixed race and do not want to become one”
“That is why we ever fought. We are ready to mix with each other. But we [Hungarians] do not want to become a mixed-race,” Orbán cleared. That is why Hungarians stopped the Ottoman Empire at the walls of Nándorfehérvár (1456) and Vienna (1683). And that is why the French stopped the Arabic invasion on the battlefield of Poitiers in 732.
Today the Islamic civilisation is moving toward Europe. However, they acknowledged that the route leading through Hungary is not fit to “send their people” to Europe due to the Nándorfehérvár-traditions. Therefore, they come from the south.
Future generations may have to disregard Schengen
Future generations must be prepared to thwart the expansion of Islamic civilisation towards Europe, not just from the south but from the west as well, he said. At the same time, Hungary must be prepared to take in Christians fleeing the West. That already happened, Orbán added.
And those we do not want to take, we must stop at our Western borders, despite Schengen.
But this will not be the task of his generation, he added. Their aim is to prepare their children to accomplish it when the time comes.
Read alsoOrbán in Tusványos: Trump could have prevented the war in Ukraine!
Tusványos to be held again after two years, Orbán to attend
The large intellectual meeting of the Carpathian Basin dubbed Tusványos is a “unique workshop for national cohesion and the nation’s will to survive”, the head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee said on Tuesday.
Zsolt Németh told a press conference on the 31st Bálványos Free Summer University and Student Camp, to be held in Baile Tusnad (Tusnádfürdő) in central Romania between July 19 and 24, that up to 60,000 visitors were expected to attend. The meeting will feature around 400 events in 27 tents, he said.
Németh said Tusvanyos was a workshop for national identity and sovereignty and viewed as a platform for building alliances. Lasting alliances can only be built on a firm set of values, he added.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accepted an invitation to Tusványos, as well as Lászlo Tőkés, head of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania, Németh said.
Read alsoOrbán: The point of illiberal politics was Christian freedom
Deputy Prime Minister of Romania and president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania Hunor Kelemen will exchange views with Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga, he added. A roundtable of party politicians will also be held, with the participation of Zsolt Molnár of the opposition Socialists, László Lóránt Keresztes of opposition LMP, Lőrinc Nacsa of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, and Máté Kocsis of ruling Fidesz, he said.
Many participants from the sporting world are expected to attend, including Marco Rossi, the captain of the Hungarian national football team, as well as Oszkár Világi (DAC), László Diószegi (Sepsi OSK) and Ferenc Zsemberi (Topolya), the owners of football clubs.
On this year’s main stage, the Petőfi stage, Transylvanium, Nagy Feró and Beatrice, Tankcsapda, Margaret Island, Kowalsky meg a Vega, Aurevoir, Bagossy Brothers Company, 4S Street, Blahalouisiana, Szabó Balázs Bandája and Honeybeast will also perform.
More information and official page here.
Day of National Cohesion: Several programmes will be organised in Hungary and beyond the borders
Several programmes will be organised in Hungary and beyond the borders to mark the Day of National Cohesion, the anniversary of the Trianon peace treaty concluding WWI, on June 4, the state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad in the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday.
National Cohesion Day this year will coincide with Pentecost, a traditional date of pilgrimage of Hungarians to Sumuleu Ciuc (Csíksomlyó), in central Romania, Árpád Janos Potápi told a press conference.
Prayer messages by Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin and in the diaspora who cannot attend will be delivered to the pilgrimage site with the Pentecostal horse-ride held for the fifth time, he said.
The motto of this year’s Csiksomlyó pilgrimage is “Pax et Bonum”, Potápi said, referring to the war in Ukraine.
Hungary’s parliament declared June 4 the Day of National Cohesion by Hungary’s in May 2010 to mark the anniversary of the Trianon treaty signed on this day in 1920, Potápi noted, adding that with the law the parliament reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment towards maintaining and nurturing relations between the members of the Hungarian nation and Hungarian communities.
“Despite of all the hardships of the past 100 years, we are here, we have survived,” he said.
Camps, study visits for Hungarians living in W Europe to continue!
The Hungarian government will continue its cooperation with Hungarian organisations in western Europe in 2022, dedicated as the Year of Acting Nation, the state secretary in charge of policies for Hungarian communities abroad in the Prime Minister’s Office said in Basel on Saturday.
Árpád János Potápi told MTI by phone that he had addressed the general assembly of the Western European Association of Hungarian Country Organisations (NYEOMSZSZ), an umbrella organisation with 17 members.
Potápi thanked the leaders of Hungarian organisations in the Carpathian Basin and elsewhere in the world for their active work in encouraging voters to cast their ballots in Hungary’s April 3 parliamentary election. “As a result, a record number of 318,083 Hungarians voted by mail, 50,000 more than in the previous ballot in 2018,” he said. Potápi welcomed that
close to 94 percent of them supported “the continuation of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat ruling alliance’s nation building policy”.
The state secretary noted that after the coronavirus pandemic, the government could re-launch its children and youth programmes this year.
The Kőrösi Csoma Sándor programme sending young Hungarians to teach diaspora communities around the world is scheduled start on June 15, Potápi said, noting that since its launch in 2013, the scheme has involved 661 grantees teaching in 29 countries.
Potápi said the scheme of weekend Hungarian schools will also be re-launched and camps and study visits to the Carpathian Basin for young Hungarians will again be organised.
The state secretary welcomed the establishment of the Hungarian Youth Council of Europe (EMIT), an umbrella organisation of young Hungarians in Europe.
Read also Camps, study visits for Hungarians living in W Europe to continue!
Hungary knew about the attack on Ukraine and wanted to take part of the territory, says Danilov
Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that Hungary knew about the preparation of an attack on Ukraine and wanted to take part of the territory, Ukraine Today said.
This is not the first time that rumours and speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has somehow offered Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja) to Hungary have appeared in the European press, and Russian politicians have made such insinuations, but
this is the first time that such direct statements have been made by a prominent Ukrainian politician.
History
The Hungarian tribes entered the Carpathian Basin from here, through the Verecke Pass in 895, and the lands of Transcarpathia were part of the Hungarian Principality from 895, which became the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000.
From 1867, it was part of the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution at the end of the First World War.
Transcarpathia was briefly part of the short-lived West Ukrainian National Republic in 1918. The region was occupied by Romania by the end of that year, mostly the eastern portion such as Rakhiv and Khust. It was later recaptured by Hungarian Soviet Republic in the summer of 1919.
Finally, after the Treaty of Trianon of 1920 it became part of Czechoslovakia.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, there were about 150,000 Hungarians living in Transcarpathia, and although this area was not affected by the horrors of war, it is believed that half of the Hungarians came to Hungary to seek refuge. After the war, it is therefore expected that there will be a much smaller Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
Even before the Russian aggression,
there was a serious conflict between the Hungarian and Ukrainian governments over the use of the language and minority rights of Hungarians living in Ukraine.
Danilov: Hungarian government knew it
“Hungary openly declares its cooperation with the Russian Federation. Moreover, it was warned by Putin in advance that there would be attacks on our country. You saw its position,”
Danilov said.
According to him, Hungary had plans for part of the territory of Ukraine.
“For some reason, Hungary believed that they would be able to take her part of the territory. This will never happen. Well, we will see what consequences after this war will be for this country,” the NSDC Secretary stressed.
Earlier it was reported that Hungary is again threatening to block the oil embargo against the Russian Federation. This strong reaction may be due to the dispute over the oil embargo on the Ukrainian side.
As we wrote yesterday, Hungarian embassy reopens in Kyiv, read details HERE.
Romania Hungarians to declare nationality in census, says RMDSZ
Hunor Kelemen, head of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), called on Hungarians to participate in Romania’s ongoing census, saying that “if the Romanian state sees Hungarians in Romania as a robust community, it will have a different approach to them”, in Budapest on Monday.
Speaking to public news channel M1, Kelemen noted that in the previous census ten years ago, 1,260,000 respondents had declared themselves Hungarian. This year’s census results will determine the public policy decisions towards ethnic communities for the next ten years, including language use, education in the mother tongue and the level of state support, he said.
“It is most important that the Romanian state should see us as a strong community as much as we should also see ourselves as a strong community,” the RMDSZ leader said.
He called for filling out the questionnaire online by May 16 and answering every question including the ones on ethnic and religious identity.
Read more news about Transylvania and Romania
Hungary Election 2022: Many more Hungarians with dual citizenship registered to vote than in 2018
The number of Hungarians with dual citizenship registering for Sunday’s election was much higher than in 2018, Árpád János Potápi, state secretary for ethnic Hungarian communities, told a press conference on Monday.
According to the official figures, 456,129 Hungarians with no permanent residency in Hungary registered to vote, 78,000 more than for the election four years ago, he said. The National Election Office (NVI) has so far received 307,202 votes, 34,653 posted directly, while most came via representative offices in neighbouring countries, he said, adding that the numbers were not final. He added that
the number of mail-in votes were up over 40,000 compared with the 2018 election.
Potápi congratulated István Pásztor, leader of Serbia’s ethnic Hungarian VMSZ party, for its “nice results” in Serbia’s elections held also on Sunday.
Pásztor welcomed the outcome of the Hungarian election, saying the fact that the next government will be formed by the Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance was “crucial” for Vojvodina (Délvidék) Hungarians. He said
he “would be surprised if the ruling parties’ support were below 95 percent” in Vojvodina, adding that 20 percent of all mail-in votes by had come from Vojvodina.
Read more news about 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election
Bach festival to hold 150 free concerts in 7 countries
The Bach for Everyone festival will hold 150 free concerts in 60 localities throughout the Carpathian Basin and beyond between March 16 and 31, organisers said on Tuesday.
The concerts will be held in various venues from children’s hospitals to the Royal Palace in Gödöllő, in Hungary, while venues outside Hungary include those in Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia, festival director Zalán László Kovács told a press conference held in Budapest’s Erkel Theatre. One-third of the concerts will be held in neighbouring countries, he said.
The festival will be held for the eighth time this year, around the anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s birth on March 21, he said.
“The festival was held mostly online in the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, but still drew 200,000 people in 2021 alone,” he said.
Performers include the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Danubia Orchestra, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra, the National Choir, the orchestra and choir of the Budapest Opera, as well as conductor Adam Medveczky, soprano Katalin Pitti and cellist Ditta Rohmann, among others, he said.
Events will run until the end of the year, Kovács said.
Read alsoExhibition at the House of Hungarian Music: Dimensions of Sound
Government: preserving national identity is a human right
It is vitally important that the issue of national minorities should be kept on the agenda of the Council of Europe (CoE), the foreign ministry’s state secretary responsible for security policy told parliament’s national cohesion committee.
Reporting on the Hungarian CoE presidency’s programmes focusing on national minorities, Péter Sztáray noted that during the Hungarian presidency between May and November 2021, 50 professional and 20 cultural events were held on the representation and development of the rights of national minorities. He added that the issue of national minorities
had got stuck in the Council of Europe,
which gave far more political attention to non-national minorities
Ferenc András Kalmár, the commissioner for neighbourhood relations, said the conferences held for ethnic research institutes and civil organisations focused on representing the interests of ethnic minority communities and legal practices in European institutions, as well as the guidelines determining future work.
Katalin Szili, the prime minister’s commissioner for minority rights, highlighted the
importance of recognising the right to preserve national identity
as a “fifth-generation” human right. In a statement, she called on the European Parliament to enshrine in a declaration the rights of “indigenous minorities”.
Read alsoEmbroidered coat, Szentesi paprika, traditional heasdstones inscribed on Hungarikum list
Embroidered coat, Szentesi paprika, traditional heasdstones inscribed on Hungarikum list
Szentesi paprika, the Hungarian peasant folk art-embroidered coat and traditional headstones from around the Carpathian Basin have been added to the list of unique Hungarian products, the minister of agriculture said on Tuesday.
István Nagy said after a session of the Hungarikum Committee that a list of 79 Hungarikums — a label denoting a product or way of life to be of significance according to Hungarian customs — had been expanded with three new items. He added that the collection recognised Hungarian treasures and the outstanding performance of Hungarians.
The European Commission entered Szentesi paprika in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in 2014 already
, he said. Bulgarian gardeners played a significant role in the farming technologies developed for Hungarian paprika and adding Szentesi paprika to the Hungarikum list is also paying tribute to their work, he added.
The embroidered coat was developed in the 19th century
and became part of the traditional clothing that young men would wear at weddings and when visiting families of potential new partners, he said.
Traditional headstones found around the Carpathian Basin prove the presence of Hungarians throughout the region.
Zsolt V Németh, ministerial commissioner responsible for the supervision of outstanding national treasures, said after the committe meeting that the depository of Hungarian treasures had also been extended by three items: Hungarian carriage driving, the Komárom fortification system and the traditional farming traditions in Komárom involving the use of horse-drawn carriages.
Hungary to unite the Carpathian Basin economically?
Thanks to the Hungarian government’s efforts to strengthen and connect entrepreneurs in the region, the Carpathian Basin is developing into a united economic space, a state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office told the daily Magyar Nemzet.
Árpád János Potápi said in an interview published on Friday that by 2015 the govenrment’s policy for Hungarians beyond the borders focused on economic support for Hungarian entrepreneurs with the aim of helping them to make a living in their homelands. Since then, “we have organised thematic years to support young Hungarian entrepreneurs and family businesses beyond the borders, launched tenders for SMEs and an economic development programme for the Carpathian Basin,” Potápi said.
As a next step, the Hungarian government is
supporting a mentor programme to help young companies build up their networks
and to get to know the legal and economic environment of their trade, Potápi said. The programme was launched late in 2019. So far, 330 young companies and 170 mentor companies have availed themselves of the scheme, he said.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s investment volume grew by an annual 12.4 percent in the third quarter, up from a low base, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Friday. In the base period, investment volume contracted by 11 percent.
The fresh data show construction investments increased by 14.1 percent and investments in machinery and equipment were up by 10.3 percent. Corporate investments jumped by 21.8 percent.
The fresh data show construction investments increased by 14.1 percent and investments in machinery and equipment were up by 10.3 percent. Corporate investments jumped by 21.8 percent.
