Germany
The operator of Budapest Airport will change: here is what follows
The Orbán government has been planning to buy Budapest Airport from its German-Canadian owners for a while. Since the price was too high, they sought a partner. At first, it seemed the second investor would come from the Middle East, but now it is clear that the French will be those who may acquire not only 49% of the shares but also the right to operate Hungary’s most crowded airport.
The price of Budapest Airport is high for the Hungarian state budget that is struggling with an economic depression. Based on the latest news, the offer towards the German and Canadian owners was around EUR 4 billion. The Hungarian government needs to find at least half of the price, while the other half will be covered by the French partners.
That is why the Orbán cabinet sold its shares in two insurer companies, the Alfa and the Union. However, that transaction may bring “only” EUR 480 million. Therefore, the government issued Eurobonds, and the talk is about a possible French loan. Despite the problems of the Hungarian economy, it seems the Orbán cabinet decided to acquire the airport, no matter the costs and the difficulties.
What will the transaction mean for us, passengers?
At first sight, not much. But, unfortunately, we cannot see many things.
According to the official gazette of the European Union, the French Vinci Airports and the Hungarian state (the Corvinus International Investment Ltd) will buy Budapest Airport. The European Commission will investigate the transaction in a simplified procedure. All third parties have the right to submit their remarks on the issue in the ten days following 28 November.
Interestingly, a Canadian pension fund (PSP Investments) and a German company owned the shares of the Budapest Airport. The European Union’s official gazette wrote that PSP Investments will get operation rights in the international airport of Athens through AviAlliance, a company they own.
The European Commission decided on the transaction. AviAlliance currently operates the international airports of Budapest, Athens, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Puerto Rico, turizmus.com, a Hungarian travel and tourism news outlet, wrote.
Read also:
Hungarian police beat a German national with a baton in Budapest?
The police took into custody the German national and the police officer who beat him. The charge against the foreign individual is assaulting an officer.
According to blikk.hu, a Hungarian tabloid, the investigation is conducted by the Investigative Prosecution Office of the Capital.
Budapest police officers brought a German national to a district police headquarters due to suspicion of crime. However, the man said it was too cold, so an officer let him out to take additional clothes. However, since his sweatshirt was stringed, the police officer did not allow him to take it on because he could harm himself. The German man became outraged and hit him on the chin.
The officer reported that, so another came to help him and hit the German with a baton several times. Even though the man was already on the ground, he continued to beat him, based on the suspicion of the prosecutors.
The German is charged with assaulting an officer, while the officers are charged with abuse in an official procedure.
Hungarian border control officers can be bribed?
More crime and Germans? Here is another shocking news. The German public broadcaster made a documentary movie about human smugglers and their migration to Europe. Among others, they could convince some smugglers to talk about their “work” and how profitable it was or is. An individual, Tamer Bakiner, who smuggles migrants from Türkiye to Germany, said his ‘fee’ is EUR 6,000 per capita.
Bakiner’s partner in Munich said he earned more than EUR 600,000 from the business. A driver who brings them from Serbia to Germany talked about EUR 80-90,000 revenue. He added that the Hungarian border guards let them through without a problem for EUR 800-1000, Nyugati Fény, an opposition media outlet wrote.
Read also:
- Germans, Slovakians, Chinese and Romanians buy up Hungarian property – Read more HERE
Featured image: illustration
Germans, Slovakians, Chinese and Romanians buy up Hungarian property
Foreign property buyers swarm Hungary’s property market. They buy up real estate at the Northern and Eastern border and in the Transdanubian region. Foreign demand for Hungarian real estate is already above the pre-COVID level. Interestingly, Budapest is not that popular because Chinese, Vietnamese and Israeli buyers have not returned yet in high numbers.
According to Pénzcentrum, the shock caused by the Covid pandemic is not over. However, foreign buyers returned to the Hungarian property market. 2018 saw 7,300 contracts, but in 2022, that number rose to 8,000. However, changes do not involve only numbers.
Four countries jumped out concerning foreigners buying property in Hungary: Germany, Slovakia, China, and Romania. Between 2018 and 2022, most buyers came from Germany, and their number doubled (2127). Chinese buyers disappeared because of the coronavirus. Fortunately, they came back by 2022, although their number remained only half the 2018 peak (814).
Romanian buyers engaged in 750 transactions, 25% less than in 2018. Slovakians did the other way around. They increased the number of property transactions by 45%. Thus, they became the second biggest foreign group in that regard, besides the Germans with 1,042 apartments acquired.
Chinese, Vietnamese and Israelis buy property almost only in Budapest. 9 out of 10 transactions happened in the capital in 2022. Meanwhile, the Dutch and Germans are a fan of the Hungarian countryside. In 2022, only 6% of their apartments were in Budapest. We wrote about a Dutchman who bought an entire Hungarian village to rent it out in THIS article.
Country villages and towns are becoming popular among foreign buyers
Romanians, Slovakians, Austrians, Belgians and Swiss also chose villages and towns outside Budapest. That is probably because they come only after they retire to enjoy the healthy Hungarian countryside, the relative safety here and the fact that everything is cheaper here than in their homes. Meanwhile, East Asians do not come here to retire but to work a lot.
In 2018, 42% of the transactions concerned properties in Budapest. That rate decreased to only 33% by 2022.
Austrians and Ukrainians paid 119% more for an average real estate in 2022 than in 2018. Meanwhile, the lowest price increase concerned French buyers with only 19%. That is because they turned to properties in the countryside. Romanians experienced a 25% rise because they bought property near the Hungarian-Romanian border.
In 2022, the number of buyers coming from the UK increased significantly. They bought thrice that many apartments and houses than when they were EU members. In Budapest, the British were the second biggest buyers community besides the Chinese in 2022.
Interestingly, Russians, Ukrainians and Romanians would like to buy expensive properties in Budapest’s elite Buda districts, Csaba Laczi, a regional director of OTP Ingatlanpont, said.
Read also:
- Huge success for PM Orbán? Tens of billions of euros may come to Hungary soon – Read more HERE
- Lots of foreigners buy property in Hungary: these are the most popular places
Visegrad Group interior ministers meet with the counterparts of Germany and Austria
By defending its own borders Hungary is also protecting the public security of other EU countries, Sándor Pintér, the interior minister, said on Monday in Szeged, in southern Hungary, where Visegrad Group counterparts met with the interior ministers of Germany and Austria.
At the meeting, he briefed his counterparts on how Hungary is going about protecting the external Schengen borders as well as forms of international cooperation the country is now engaged in and future related plans, he told a joint press conference.
Whereas Hungary “is ready to cooperate and accept proposals”, it will not agree to the mandatory relocation of migrants, he said, adding that this was a matter of sovereignty.
Czechia’s Vit Rakusan said joint action was required to handle migration and protecting the external borders was a common interest.
Given pressure from the Western Balkan migration corridor, law enforcement cooperation with third countries would continue, he said, noting that Czech police have been involved in border protection since 2015, and Czechia plans to continue this assistance in 2024.
The ministers agreed to hold regular meetings to evaluate migration processes, he said, adding that controlling internal borders was far less preferable than protecting the external borders. A common European solution was needed, he said, but finding a compromise “is not straightforward”.
Germany’s Nancy Faeser the pressures of secondary migration had led many member states to introduce internal border controls, even though all EU countries preferred open borders within the EU.
She said joint action against people smuggling was required and Frontex must be strengthened.
Protecting human rights was “the basis of European cooperation”, she said, adding that this was especially so in the case of migration policy and the defence of the external borders.
Austria’s Gerhard Karner said his visit to Hungary had highlighted the importance of protecting the external borders, noting that Austrian, Czech and Slovak police officers were assisting these efforts effectively.
Slovakia’s Matus Sutaj-Estok said his country stood ready to provide help in protecting the bloc’s external borders, and the state of affairs was “favourable right now” thanks to “the action of the Serbian authorities and the weather” but preparations were needed to handle what would inevitably be renewed migration pressure in the spring.
Poland’s Bartosz Grodecki, the deputy interior minister, said the Schengen zone was a core value of the EU that must be maintained.
As we wrote a week ago, Hungary resumes residency sales for the wealthy, details HERE.
- read also: Why do German pensioners flood Hungary? – VIDEO
Next Friday Budapest Airport may get a new owner: everything will change?
The government has to conclude the business, but there is not enough money. How will Orbán get the needed sum?
Buying up Hungary’s main airgate, the Budapest Airport, is one of the most important goals of the fifth Orbán government. Before the elections, we received only gossip and guesses about how the deal will be closed. Now we know more.
Currently, Canadian and German firms own the shares of the Budapest Airport, so we can say that it is in foreign hands. After the deal, 51% of the shares will be in the ownership of the Hungarian state, while another 49% will be in the hands of Vinci Airports. The latter is the world’s nr 1 airport manager, operating 65 airports in 13 countries. We can say they have the know-how. That is probably why they will get the management rights. As a result, Budapest Airport’s operation will no longer be in the hands of a German but a French company, telex.hu wrote.
We wrote HERE why and how the Orbán cabinet would like to create a much more friendly relationship with the French. Apart from the fact that they would like to cooperate with Macron against the so-called American “conquest” of the EU, the Hungarian prime minister counts on his French partner to defend Hungary’s (the government’s) interests in the European Union, even against the European Commission. For example, they would like the French to help Hungary get the euro billions Brussels froze due to rule of law concerns. Probably that is why Hungary sent military and other help to Chad in Africa. In return, that is why Marcon said Orbán’s meeting with Putin in Beijing might become fruitful for the Western alliance.
A clear sign of the weakening German ties is that Construction and Development Minister János Lázár talked about sending home German and Austrian companies because the government would like to see Hungarians flourishing in the construction and building material sector.
Budapest Airport costs way too much: money collection started
We wrote before that the French might partner with the Hungarian government to buy the Budapest Airport. However, the business is not easy for Budapest because the state treasury is empty.
Therefore, the government sold its shares in two Hungarian insurer companies (Alfa and Union) for an estimated sum of EUR 480 million. One of the pressing questions is whether that money will flow into the budget by next Friday.
But that is not enough. We do not know how much Budapest Airport will cost. Sources talk about EUR 3 billion. That means the above-mentioned EUR 480 million is just 1/3rd of the needed money.
The rest may come from the government’s Eurobonds and allegedly a French loan. That would be the third big foreign loan after the Chinese for the Belrade-Budapest railway and the Russian for the Paks NPP expansion.
The question is whether Orbán can get enough money in time. We will know more by next Friday when the deal will probably be announced. Whether Budapest Airport will be better or worse after the French take its management is something for the future.
Read also:
Government sends home all foreign construction companies from Hungary
This was not the first time that Hungary’s construction and transport minister, János Lázár, talked about sending home all foreign companies active in the sector. Yesterday, he highlighted again that it would be better for them to just sell their subsidiaries and leave Hungary. War on the horizon between the Orbán government, the firms and their home countries, especially Germany and Austria?
According to Blikk, a Hungarian tabloid, János Lázár, Hungary’s construction and transport minister, cleared at a yesterday press conference that foreign companies had no place in Hungary. He added the government had to end that the Hungarian economy works with foreign building materials and a high import rate in the construction sector.
He said that the construction sector was strategic in Hungary. He added that between 2010 and 2022, the government invested in the sector more than HUF 28,000 billion (EUR 73.6 billion based on today’s exchange rate), but 50% of the money went abroad.
French, Austrian, German construction companies in trouble
The time is over that Hungary struggles from a French, German, and Austrian conquest in the construction sector, he highlighted. Furthermore, he said it was in vain for German, Austrian and French construction companies to lobby in Western Europe or Hungary. They should sell their subsidiaries to the Hungarian state or businessmen, and leave the country once and for all.
He said that 50% of the building materials come from imports. Foreign companies take 80% of the raw materials from abroad. Provided they do not import, most of the raw materials are produced by foreign companies in Hungary. That has to be changed.
He cleared that in Hungary, Hungarian entrepreneurs should use Hungarian building materials. That is how the country can become powerful.
Read also:
Lots of foreigners buy property in Hungary: these are the most popular places
The Hungarian Central Bank’s recent data reveals a sustained high in foreign property purchases, with nearly 8,000 transactions in 2022 and over 3,200 in the first half of 2023. The allure of Hungary is particularly strong in the five downtown districts of Pest, boasting a foreign property ownership rate surpassing 20%, while in the West and South Transdanubia, it holds steady at a respectable 10%. The big spenders on Hungary’s property scene in 2022 were the Vietnamese, Chinese, and Russians, splashing out between HUF 60-70 million (EUR 157,000 – 183,000).
Foreigner are charmed by Hungary’s property market
According to bank360.hu, the rate of foreign property buyers significantly grew in Hungary in the last 18 months. In Q2 2023, 6% of real estate sales, a total of 1,800 transactions, involved international buyers. That rate was even higher in Q3 and Q4 2022: 6.6% and 6.5% respectively.
In 2022, Hungary witnessed a surge in foreign interest, exceeding pre-COVID peaks (7,300 in 2018; 4.5%). Nearly 8,000 foreign nationals bought property in Hungary. The weak forint was a major player in this trend, with foreigners spending an average of HUF 43.3 million (EUR 113,000) to secure their own piece of Hungarian real estate. This is a significant jump from the average of HUF 25.2 million in 2018, MNB reported.
While 2023 brought a dip in overall property transactions due to economic uncertainties, skyrocketing inflation and interest rates, foreign buyers bucked the trend, claiming a larger share. Between January and September of this year, there were 89.3 thousand transactions, which is a 28% decrease on an annual basis.
The most popular places among foreign buyers
The downtown districts of Budapest, especially the 5-9th districts, saw a notable increase, with foreigners comprising 8.7% of buyers, which marks a significant rise from last year’s 7.8%. The same trend persists in Somogy County, where the reason for the growing interest is Lake Balaton. Furthermore, Germans, Austrians and Dutch nationals like to invest even in West and South Transdanubian counties where property is cheap.
Most property buyers are Germans. Their number grew by 69% compared to 2022. Every second property buyers in Somogy and Zala counties were German nationals last year. Vietnamese, Chinese and Russians spend the most on an apartment: HUF 60-70 million, EUR 157,000 – 183,000. Interestingly, the French also paid good money for property. Their average was HUF 51 million (EUR 133 thousand).
Slovakia stands in second place. The majority of the Slovaks coming to Hungary are above 65 years old. In Dunakiliti, Abaújvár, Gönc and Hidasnémeti, small Hungarian villages near the border, the majority of the real estate purchases involved Slovakian nationals. Of course, they might of Hungarians origin who spent their active years in Slovakia.
24% of the Germans were pensioners, while only 3% of the Chinese buyers were above the retirement age. It concludes that West and Central Europeans come to Hungary to retire, while East Asians arrive as employees or business owners. The most sought-after towns outside Budapest were Rajka, Battonya, Győr, Mosonmagyaróvár (in proximity to the border) and Hévíz (close to Lake Balaton).
Read also:
PHOTOS: Monument of the German-Hungarian millenium inaugurated in Budapest
Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, attended the inauguration of a monument dedicated to “the millenium Hungarians and Germans have spent together in the Carpathian Basin” in Budapest’s 16th district on Thursday.
“Germans living here belong to us Hungarians,” the minister said in his address at the ceremony.
At the new monument, paying tribute to Hungary’s ethnic Germans, Gulyás said “a country could be captured with weapons, but a homeland could only be won through one’s life”. “Those we are honouring are not strangers living among us, but people who have belonged to us,” he said.
Gulyás called the deportation of ethnic Germans from Hungary after the second world war “shameful”.
“Coexistence (with ethnic Germans) not only has a past but a present and future, too,” he said, noting that the latest census last year put the number of ethnic Germans to 142,000.
Julia Gross, Germany’s ambassador to Hungary, noted that the inauguration was held on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Read also:
- Why do German pensioners flood Hungary? – check out our article HERE
- German ambassador: German companies fear Hungarian government pressure
Here are some more photos:
Körber invests EUR 14.7 million in Hungary
Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, on Monday inaugurated an investment of German-owned Körber Hungaria in Pécs, in southern Hungary, and said that bilateral ties between Hungary and Germany would continue to develop “as long as they are rooted in reality”.
The 5.6 billion forint (EUR 14.7m) investment will increase the German-owned food and tobacco maker’s capacity and improve effectiveness, Péter Szijjártó said. The investment is supported by a 850 million forint government grant, he said.
The plant is the second largest of over 25 Körber centres on four continents, he said.
Bilateral trade with Germany, Hungary’s “number-one economic ally”, hit a record 67 billion euros last year, and is expected to reach 70 billion this year, Szijjártó said.
Germany has been the second largest investor in Hungary behind China in 2023, he added. That is thanks to German executives, who “make decisions based on experience rather than media coverage. As long as Hungarian-German economic cooperation is rooted in reality, it will thrive, as we can see here in Pécs,” he said.
As we wrote today, Orbán cabinet is proud that Hungary is the number one destination for Chinese investments in the field of CCE, details HERE.
We wrote last week, new records in investments and exports in Hungary
Why do German pensioners flood Hungary? – VIDEO
Germans have been moving to Hungary for quite a while now. Historically, there have been multiple bigger waves of Germans coming to live in our country. These days, the number of nationalities are much lower than in those historical times.
According to the Central Statistical Office, there are currently 22,310 German citizens living in Hungary. A report made by the Hungarian Deutsche Welle lets us take a peek into the lives of these Germans who are currently living in Hungary.
Why Hungary?
The most common scenario is the German retirees moving to Hungary to live out their pensions here. Since the cost of living is much lower here in Hungary, even with the exorbitant inflation lately, they prefer our country. They still come out in a more financially beneficial situation than if they stayed in Germany. Instead of the expensive German rent prices, they buy a house here. The Hungarian overhead cut is a fifth of what the Germans have to pay.
All in all, it sounds logical that the retired Germans would choose to stay in Hungary. The area around Lake Balaton is the most preferred by them, near one of the popular summer vacation spots those Germans still in the workforce like to visit in the summer.
There are other aspects that contribute to these migrating patterns. One of such is the political trajectory of the countries. Some Germans are against their country’s migration politics or the measures taken against the coronavirus and opt to move to a place more aligned to their political values. (Read more about the Hungarian migration policy HERE.)
The Hungarian crew of the Deutsche Welle interviewed some Germans who have been living in Hungary for quite a while now.
Lives of the expats
One of them is Herbert. He has lived in Nemesvita for the last 16 years. He has established a Westernpark and managed to learn Hungarian. He talks about life in Hungarian while feeding his animals. He comments that he has found a real home here and how he loves Hungarians, although if he knew back then how complicated it is to start a business here, he probably wouldn’t have tried his hand at it.
Angela and Holm are retirees and were oscillating between Hungary and South America. In the end, they bought a house in the Lake Balaton area. They say they haven’t regretted their choice.
“We already are half-Hungarians. At least in our hearts, we are for sure.” They say.
Drawbacks of the plan
Surprisingly, the inflation doesn’t affect expats as much as one would expect, since their income is higher than those of the Hungarians. Since their house is much cheaper here, they can afford to spend more money on food and necessary items. Read more about the Hungarian prices HERE.
They admit though that there are disadvantages. The main problem is the language barrier they encounter in their official dealings. One of the biggest issue is in the healthcare system, when there aren’t any people who speak German or English. This is a real problem, especially when trying to call an ambulance. For this reason, many German retirees move back sooner or later to Germany. Additionally, the younger Germans are less inclined to move to Hungary because of the low wages and the above mentioned other concerns.
Here is DW’s video:
Hungary energy poverty below half of EU average
Hungary’s energy poverty is below the European Union average, András Gyürk, MEP of ruling Fidesz, said in a statement on Thursday, citing an annual report by the European Commission.
Gyürk said the figures were indicative of the success of the Hungarian government’s utility cap programme. He said “record high” energy poverty in the community was a result of the EU’s “failed sanctions policy”, adding that 10 percent of European families had not been able to properly heat their homes last winter. However, that ratio in Hungary was only 4.7 percent, he said.
According to the EC report, energy poverty in Germany is 6.6 percent, in France 10.9 percent, and in Romania 15.2 percent.
Gyürk insisted that “these facts will not prevent Brussels from demanding that Hungary should remove the caps from utility prices” and called the EU position “absurd”.
“Protecting households against high energy prices is an integral part of national sovereignty. we will continue to firmly support the utility caps programme,” the MEP said.
Hungarian railway system to be cut from Western Europe much longer than expected
Hungarian trains will remain cut off from the Western European railway system until at least December, a Hungarian news outlet wrote based on inside information from the Austrian railway company ÖBB. The original end date of the ÖBB’s drastic measure would have been October.
According to Magyar Hang, Hungarian trains will not be able to continue their journey to Germany and Austria until 10 December. Passengers will have to change trains in Vienna until then. The measure entered into effect two weeks ago because of the regular delays of the international trains in Hungary. The original end date was 27 October. Right now, it seems the Austrians decided to extend that period significantly. The measure concerns direct trains between Budapest and Munich, Linz and Salzburg.
The restriction’s reason is that János Lázár, Hungary’s construction and transport minister, ordered the renovation of the Budapest-Vienna railway line. However, the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) could not organise the punctual running of the international trains despite only one railway line being closed, as the other remained operable. After weeks of delays, the Austrian railway company decided to detach the Hungarian railway system from the Western European on 30 September.
As a result, passengers commuting to Germany and Austria from Budapest must change trains in Vienna, which means extra travelling time. However, the Austrians did not want their entire schedule to be crushed because of the regularly delayed Hungarian trains. Dávid Vitézy, Hungary’s former transport secretary, slammed MÁV because of the measure. He said MÁV’s failure to organise transport between Budapest and Vienna without delays shows that the institutional and professional control over the state-owned company ended.
You will have to change twice to get to Germany
The measure means that between 27 October and 18 November, passengers will have to change twice, provided they want to travel from Budapest to Linz or Munich. First, they will need to travel with replacement buses between Budapest and Tatabánya. In Tatabánya, passengers will have to get on the railjet. Then, they will have to change trains in Vienna. After 18 November, the trains will commute between Tatabánya and Budapest again, but you will have to change in Vienna until 10 December.
The measure does not apply to Budapest-Zürich railjet setting off at 6:40 from Keleti railway station and the Budapest-Salzburg railjet (5.40 pm, Keleti). Furthermore, it does not concern the Kálmán Imre Euronight (EN 462) train. All railjets coming to Hungary remain direct without a Vienna change. Of course, during the railway line renovation, you must get on a replacement bus in Tatabánya between 27 October and 18 November.
Interestingly, MÁV’s Elvira booking system does not show the change. According to that system, there will be direct trains between Budapest and Vienna, which contradicts the statement of ÖBB. Probably MÁV has not yet updated the system.
The closure and the train change means travel times will be longer. Before, the Budapest-Munich journey took 6 hours and 51 minutes. Now you should add one more hour to it. You could reach Salzburg in 5 hours and 13 minutes, but that will increase to 6 hours and 9 minutes. Furthermore, it will take 6 hours and 39 minutes during the entire closure of the Budapest-Tatabánya line.
Read also:
- Chaos comes? Multiple traffic restrictions, open Pest wharf this weekend in Budapest – Read more HERE
- Slovenia introduces border controls at Hungarian border
Record number of Hungarians study abroad, here’s why
In 2022, more than 16,000 Hungarian students went to university abroad. The main reasons behind this decision are better quality education and better career prospects.
The number of young Hungarians studying abroad has continued to rise. Most of them chose Western European institutions, according to a recent survey by Engame Academy.
At least 16,233 Hungarian students studied abroad, an increase of almost 3% compared to last year.
The main reasons why students choose to study abroad included higher quality education, better career prospects later on, and more modern learning methodologies and tools. In addition, language learning, independence and the domestic economic and political situation.
Austria is the leading destination country, followed by Germany and the Netherlands. The United Kingdom came fourth, followed by Denmark and the United States.
In Austria, free education and proximity are the main attractions. But the biggest change has been in the Netherlands, where the proportion of Hungarians has risen by 64% in two years. Here, there is a wide choice of English-language courses, ten Dutch universities are among the top 200 in the world, and it does not cost significantly more than in Hungary.
The head of education at Engame pointed out that further rearrangements are expected in the field of international higher education, so it is necessary to start preparing as soon as possible if you want to study abroad. “You should start from the 9th or 10th grade, for example by strengthening skills such as language skills, critical thinking, teamwork, which are essential for successful admission,” Népszava quotes Rita Nádas.
Hungarian FM: Attempts to sever eastern, western economy risky
Attempts to sever ties between the interdependent eastern and western economies are putting the jobs of millions at risk, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday in Beijing.
Speaking at an international forum of the Belt and Road initiative, Szijjártó said one of the most important morals of the crises of past years had been that cooperation was a more successful way to handle challenges than an approach based on animosity.
He called for reviving “mutual respect” and against creating blocks in world politics and economy, saying Hungary and central Europe “have always lost out” on the latter.
The joint interest would be in connectivity, he said.
Eastern and western economies are interdependent, and those that deny this probably based their stance on ideology rather than facts, he said.
Attempts to sever eastern and western economies are “extremely dangerous” and putting millions of jobs at risk, he said, citing Hungary’s efforts to become a meeting point of the two economies. The country is set to house manufacturing plants of all three German carmaking giants, and five of the ten largest battery manufacturers. That makes Hungary essential to Europe’s changing car market and guarantees economic growth, Szijjártó said.
If the world was divided into blocks again, “that would lead to global disaster”. At the same time, if connectivity and mutual respect is fostered, “then I am sure that a more peaceful, prosperous era is coming, and I think China’s role is of critical importance,” he said.
German ambassador: German companies fear Hungarian government pressure
Germany’s ambassador in Budapest spoke to RTL Híradó about government pressure. Ambassador Julia Gross says more German investors want to come to Hungary, but are concerned about “certain measures of the Hungarian government”.
Mixed feelings
444 writes that the diplomat said that German companies had a very strong presence in Hungary, employing more than 300,000 people. Thus, it really matters what kind of environment they can operate in. She added that it is in the common interest that these companies flourish. They are satisfied in many sectors, but not in all. She thinks that the various sectoral special taxes or issues relating to planning and licensing procedures affect certain sectors, which German companies object to. Gross said these problems are being brought to the attention of the Hungarian government and Brussels. These are not only concerns for Germans but also for other foreign investors operating in Hungary.
Special offers
Rtl reported that in April, German companies with interests in Hungary gave interviews to Spiegel. Many of them asked the paper not to disclose their names. They said that the period when the previous Orbán-led governments lured them to the country with various tax breaks and helpful government officials is over. Instead, they are now being squeezed out as German interests and are receiving “irresistible offers” from pro-government circles. The ambassador also said that she got in touch with the Hungarian government to resolve the problems. It is a common good to have great and successful German companies operating in Hungary. Gross thinks that there are many German businesses wanting to come to Hungary, but they would like to know what to expect exactly.
Discriminatory taxes
According to an August article in the Frankfurter Rundschau, “unbelievable things are happening in the middle of the EU”. More and more foreign companies operating in Hungary are reporting a politically-driven system aimed at expropriating them. To get a clear picture, the newspaper spoke to several companies in several fields. They cite, for example, discriminatory special taxes that only affect foreign companies.
Read also:
FM Szijjártó: Investors have unbroken trust in Hungary
Hungary has drawn investments worth EUR 13 billion this year, up from a record 6.5 billion in 2022, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at the inauguration of a new plant of Swiss-owned industrial mineral producer Omya in Eger, in northern Hungary, on Tuesday.
The HUF 5.7 billion (EUR 14.7 million) investment received a HUF 260 million (EUR 668,940) government grant, Szijjártó said. The new plant will require highly skilled workers, and will contribute to agricultural productivity in Hungary, he said.
The Omya plant is the third investment by a Swiss company announced within the past ten days only, Szijjártó noted, adding that Switzerland was the 11th largest investor in Hungary, with Swiss companies employing some 31,000 people. Bilateral trade jumped to over EUR 2 billion last year, he said.
Read also:
- Fidesz accuses European Parliament of trying to interfere in Polish elections
- FM Szijjártó: European environment poor, Hungarian economic outlook positive
Szijjártó marks Day of German Unity
Germany is an important ally and strategic partner of Hungary, with the ties connecting the two countries’ economies, localities, cultural, scientific and educational sectors, Szijjártó said at a gala event marking the Day of German Unity in Budapest on Tuesday.
The reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, when the former Communist German Democratic Republic merged with the Republic of Germany, was a “pivotal” event that changed the course of events in Europe, he said.
Szijjártó condemned the “blocks” built in the 20th century, which “separated families and friends, Germans from Germans, Hungarians from Hungarians, even Hungary from Europe,” he said.
Hungary and Germany both grasped the opportunities after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and forged a “rich and colourful cooperation” over the decades since then, he said.
“Of course, we don’t agree on everything … but accepting that Europe is a community of varied political views and traditions can help in cooperation as we go on our own way in sectors that are a national competence,” he said.
Interdependency has increased due to the recent crises, and so the closest possible cooperation is necessary in strategic goals such as improving European competitiveness, defence, international development, and the EU integration of the Western Balkans, he said.
Germany is Hungary’s most important economic partner, with bilateral trade coming to nearly EUR 70 billion last year. That record is expected to be topped this year, he said. German investors are the largest group in Hungary, employing some 300,000 people, he said.
The Hungarian government supported the investments of 187 German companies over the past nine years, he said.
The ethnic German community living in Hungary is an important link between the two countries, he said.
“The Pan-European Picnic, opening the borders, and the reunification of Germany have become a symbol of freedom movements. It showed that the people’s wish for freedom cannot be suppressed. That gives us a strong foundation to go further on the path of freedom and cooperation, to make Europe strong and successful,” he said.
Read also:
Thyssenkrupp to invest EUR 58.9m in Hungary base
Germany’s Thyssenkrupp is investing 23 billion forints (EUR 58.9m) in expanding its plant in Jászfényszaru, east of Budapest, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said on Monday.
The investment, which is being supported with a 4.6 billion forint government grant, will create 110 jobs. The company will produce two million rotary shafts for electric vehicles a year.
“Competition for these investments is always strong, and since Thyssenkrupp is one of the world’s biggest auto industry suppliers, employing some 100,000 people worldwide … many countries would have wanted to secure this investment for themselves,” Péter Szijjártó said said.
“This is another investment that clearly demonstrates that German businesses have retained confidence in Hungary and its investment environment, and is further proof that the relationship between the Hungarian government and German companies investing here is based on mutual respect,”
he said.
German businesses make up the largest investor community in Hungary, which 20 percent of foreign investments coming from Germany, Szijjártó said.
Hungary’s car manufacturing industry employs around 170,000 people directly and, indirectly, three to four times more, the minister said.
As we wrote a few days ago, LEGO is to invest EUR hundreds of millions in Hungary, details HERE.
European neo-Nazis to hold rally in Hungary in October
A three-day networking congress of European neo-Nazi organisations is scheduled to take place in Sopron from 6 October. Locals are organising protests, while the mayor has issued a statement clarifying that there is zero tolerance for all forms of anti-Semitism. All the while, local hoteliers are explaining themselves to their guests, saying that they are not aware of any such event.
The Austrian press had already reported in May that Europe’s neo-fascists were organising their 1st Gerd Honsik European Congress in Sopron. Nevertheless, the news blew the fuse in the city this week after an anti-fascist blog post about it appeared online. The residents of Sopron were practically united in their outrage, with the unexpected event even bringing the city’s Fidesz leadership together with the opposition, Telex reports.
Far-right groups coming from all over Europe
According to the information available on the telegram channel of Infokanal Deutschösterreich (German-Austrian Information Channel), which the newspaper cites as one of the organisers’ sites, far-right groups will gather in the western Hungarian city between 6 and 8 October. Although the detailed programme and the exact location are only available via email, it is clear from the information so far that the three-day event, which costs EUR 25 and is open to the public, will include lectures by Der III.Weg (Germany), the Nordic Resistance Movement (Scandinavia), Casa Pound (Italy) and one of the founding leaders of the Nouvelle droite/New Culture.
What are neo-Nazis doing in Sopron?
This is not the first time since the regime change that they have chosen to meet in the city. In the early 2000s, they met at a “musical gathering” in Harka, near Sopron. Moreover, the man after whom the far right named their congress, Gerd Honsik, had lived in the town for years.
Gerd Honsik’s father died in WWII, and his mother raised him in a “patriotic spirit”. He was, in fact, considered one of Austria’s best-known Holocaust deniers. The Austrian neo-Nazi was jailed several times. At the age of 70, he was released early from his last prison sentence, and shortly afterwards moved to Sopron, Hungary. The city’s proximity to the border and Vienna may have prompted his choice. He died there in 2018.
Hungarian press was brimming with reports that the neo-Nazi martial arts gala, European Fight Night would be held in the Hungarian capital. The event in question caused a lot of tension at the time as well, so the venue had to be changed. The new location was Csókakő, where the local authorities didn’t know what and who they had agreed to host.
Read also:
- Secret neonazi festival held in Hungary?
- Commemorations to be held on WWII anti-Soviet defenders of Budapest in Buda Castle
Another reason why Hungary may be considered a friendly location is because of the international meetings of the Day of Honour (Tag der Ehre in German). Every year in February, the European Nazis hold an international meeting (considered important by them) in Buda Castle, where far-right groups commemorate the joint breakout attempt of Hungarian and German troops on 11 February 1944.
By invitation only
Registration for the congress in Sopron was open until 22 September and the invitation was available on their Telegram channel. The exact location of the meeting, which is scheduled from 6 October to 8 October, is only revealed to those who buy a ticket. The site is no longer available. Several hotels in Sopron complained that they keep having to explain themselves: no, they were not aware of a neo-Nazi conference on their premises on 6 October.
Mérce wrote that Fidesz mayor Ciprián Farkas distanced himself from the far-right event. While the opposition Momentum party in Sopron is organising a counter-demonstration in front of the hotel where the event is supposed to take place on 7 October. They call on the mayor to prevent the conference.