Serbia

What are they up to? Hungary’s neighbours arm heavily

Hungary military Romania Ukraine

According to the latest report of the Global Firepower, all neighbouring countries made remarkable progress in armament. The institute regularly measures the military potential of different countries. Looking beyond the Central European region, it is interesting that Pakistan made it to the top 10 most powerful states in terms of military. Islamabad preceded not only Iran or Turkey but also Italy. 

According to Magyar Hang, only Hungary and Slovakia retained their 2019 places in the Central European region (55th and 58th). Taking the size and population of the states into consideration, it is not surprising that the army of Ukraine is the biggest in the region. Romania comes after Hungary’s northeastern neighbour. However, the latter fell back some positions on the list in the last few years. All the same,

Bucharest still has twice as many fighter jets and 15 times as many tanks as Budapest does.

In the case of Croatia, the trend is the same, even though they could not buy the MiG–21s they planned before. However, Zagreb managed to acquire Black Hawk helicopters and Bradley fighting vehicles.

Interestingly, Serbia showed significant progress in the last few years. Belgrade has been developing its army for years because, as a neutral state, they need to defend themselves. First, they bought Russian MiG-29s,

then they acquired Pancir-SZ1s, a modern air protection system. 

The Pancir system did very well in the civil war in Eastern-Ukraine, Lybia, Yemen, and Syria before offering protection against fighter jets, helicopters, and even autonomous robotic planes. Serbia plans to buy even the Sz-400 system from Moscow, disregarding American complaints and envisaged sanctions on the issue.

Hungary did not make any progress on the latest list of the Global Firepower, even though

the Hungarian army plans to buy the radar system of the Israeli Iron Dome air protection system

that is doing well against short-range surface-to-air missiles.

We reported before that, according to the German armed forces, Hungary is the first to join an international, but mainly military, air transport service. Index spotted on the website of Bundeswehr last September that Hungary is the first country to become a partner of the new Luftwaffe Multinational Air Transport Unit (MNAU). In 2017, the German Luftwaffe ordered 40 Airbus A400M propeller-driven military transport aircraft. After that, the German Federal Ministry of Defence proposed to establish a new, international air transport unit (MNAU).

“With the establishment of the executive group, the first proper positions have been formed at MNAU’s base in Wunstorf, which is an important milestone in the realisation of the multinational military air transport project. As the first officers of the Hungarian Air Force have been integrated into the project, the cooperation between the Hungarian and German forces has begun,” said Ingo Gerhartz, Lieutenant General of Luftwaffe, on the occasion of MNAU’s establishment. It is rumoured that another ten Airbus A400M aircraft will join the unit’s ranks.

Pfizer ampoules are overfilled, so allowed for the vaccination of six people in Hungary

pfizer-vaccine-hungary-semmelweis

The government has no plans to change the rules or dates related to school-leaving exams scheduled from mid-May to June, a government official said on Tuesday.

The government expects both written and oral exams to take place in the usual manner, with a deadline for applications for school-leaving exams and university admissions of Feb. 15, Zoltán Maruzsa, the state secretary for public education, said at a press conference of the operative body responsible for handling the coronavirus epidemic.

Last year, some 80,000 students sat their school-leaving exams in the spring and an additional 30,000 in the autumn, Maruzsa said, adding that this showed that the exams could be organised safely, even during a pandemic. No infection hotspots emerged as a result, he added.

Meanwhile, Cecília Müller, the chief medical officer, said Hungary has received vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna sufficient to inoculate 51,000 people.

The Pfizer ampoules have been “significantly overfilled”, and so allow for the vaccination of six people rather than five as originally expected, she said.

Lieutenant Colonel Róbert Kiss, a leader of the operative board, noted that

Serbia expanded travel restrictions at its borders on Tuesday.

Entrants will continue to have to show a negative PCR test result from the previous two days, or self-quarantine for 10 days, he said. The restrictions pertain to all travellers, regardless of citizenship, he added.

All parliamentary parties support the vaccines so vaccine acceptance is growing in Hungary
Read alsoVaccine against coronavirus acceptance growing in Hungary

Minister about how the Hungarian nation can survive in the 21st century

The Hungarian nation can survive only if all of its parts survive, the deputy prime minister in charge of nation policy, church affairs and Hungarian communities abroad said on Sunday. Zsolt Semjén told public radio Kossuth that opposition DK leader Ferenc Gyurcsany had ruined Hungary’s nation policy when he was prime minister. At the change of government in 2010, “the ruins had to be cleared up and a new nation policy built from scratch”, he added.

At the December 2004 referendum on granting Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders Gyurcsany proved himself capable of “manifest national betrayal” by campaigning against his own nation, causing a “spiritual Trianon” for those Hungarians living outside of the borders, he said, referring to the post-WWI Trianon Treaty.

He said that after Fidesz and the Christian Democrats won the elections in 2010, their first measure was to extend the possibility to acquire Hungarian citizenship with

voting rights to all Hungarians, no matter where they lived in the world.

The current Hungarian government pursues nation-based policies, declaring that the purpose of the state is the survival of the nation and to improve Hungarians’ living circumstances. The Hungarian nation can survive only if all of its parts survive, including Hungarians in the motherland, ethnic Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin and Hungarians in diasporas around the world, he added.

It is enshrined in the constitution that beyond

taking responsibility for Hungarians abroad,

the state actively pursues this task. Schemes to support Hungarian communities abroad aim to strengthen their national identity, he said and cited the examples of Hungary operating the Sapientia University in Transylvania, the II Rákóczi Ferenc College in Transcarpathia and the construction and renovation of kindergartens and churches.

The government

supports ethnic Hungarian parties beyond the borders

as it iss not all the same whether there is a Hungarian representative or mayor in a given area, or a Hungarian organisation in the given country’s parliament or, in a fortunate case, a Hungarian party in government.

He said the Hungarian government’s economic support for ethnic Hungarian inhabited areas was unprecedented and added that

every forint invested abroad

resulted in half a forint GDP growth for the Hungarian economy and two forints for the affected areas.

He described granting Hungarian citizenship in a fast-tracked procedure as “the realistic response that could be given to Trianon today” and added that more than 1.1 million ethnic Hungarians abroad have received full citizenship with voting rights this way so far. Granting them Hungarian citizenship has been “historical justice,” and he said it was also his personal ambition, having a mother from Transylvania and understanding the problem of being forced to live as a minority in one’s place of birth.

Huge lines at the Hungarian borders like there is no pandemic

border koronavirus.gov.hu hungary

Due to guest workers returning home for the holidays and the modification of pandemic measures, huge lines of waiting cars were formed on Sunday morning at several border control points entering Serbia.

Those who wanted to leave Hungary at the border checkpoint of Röszke by car needed to wait 5 hours, and those travelling by bus had to wait 4. Meanwhile, buses entering the country also had to expect an entire hour of hold-up. Heavy traffic exiting Hungary was held up by 5 hours as well.

The situation was the same at the checkpoints of Ásotthalom and Tompa, too. At the former, cars were waiting for an hour while at the latter, they spent around 3 waiting. Moreover, at Tompa, heavy traffic was delayed by an hour in both directions, wrote autoszektor.hu

The whole situation was caused by the Serbian government strengthening pandemic rules that will enter into effect on Monday.

Starting from next week, foreign citizens who wish to enter Serbia need to present a negative coronavirus test, taken within 48 hours, at the checkpoints,

while Serbian citizens can return home without taking a test, but in this case, 10 days of quarantine is awaiting them.

There were huge jams on the borders of Western Balkan countries as well, due to guest workers heading home. It is not a big surprise, as the temporary control of the Schengen border was extended less than a month ago. 

Despite the strict measures and warnings with which they tried to avoid Western Balkan guest workers returning home for the holidays from their workplaces in Western Europe, many of them decided to travel anyway, causing huge jams on the borders at the weekend, reported the Serbian public service channel RTS on Sunday.

The record is held by the checkpoint of Slovenia-Croatia with 7-8 hours of standing in line,

but people wanting to cross had to be patient for several hours on the Croatian-Serbian and the Croatian-Bosnian borders as well.

As always, most of the Turkish, North Macedonian, Serbian, and Bosnian citizens chose their car as a means of transport to return home to relax and enjoy Christmas and the New Year. They usually spend 2-3 weeks or even a month at a time in their countries with their families.

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Read alsoEU to revamp Schengen system to strengthen border security

Foreign minister praises ties with Serbia

hungary serbia ties

Ties between Hungary and Serbia have never been as good as now, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday and noted recent efforts to improve those relations.

Szijjártó spoke after talks with Nikola Selakovic, his Serbian counterpart, and said that the two countries were closely connected through a shared history, a Hungarian community in Serbia, as well as joint projects.

The many existing ties between Hungary and Serbia mean that their economies will grow together over the coming years, Szijjártó said.

Hungary’s largest companies, including OTP Bank and oil and gas company MOL, also play key roles in Serbia’s economy, he said. Fully 24 Hungarian companies have lodged bids for investment projects worth a combined 49 billion forints (EUR 137.9m) in Serbia with support from the Hungarian government, the minister added.

Concerning the upgrade and extension of the Szeged-Subotica (Szabadka) rail line, Szijjártó said the two countries had agreed to have the project completed by the spring of 2022.

He said the Budapest-Belgrade rail line would be the fastest route for Chinese goods shipped into Greek ports to western Europe.

As regards energy affairs, Szijjártó said gas supply was always a critical issue for Hungary and central Europe as a whole. New gas pipelines are being built between Turkey and Europe that will traverse Bulgaria and Serbia, he said, noting that the section linking the Hungary-Serbia border with the national gas pipeline network would be completed by October next year.

On another subject, the minister said Hungary’s economic development scheme geared towards Vojvodina has generated 116 billion forints’ worth of investments.

None of Hungary’s neighbouring countries respect the rights of their Hungarian minority communities more than Serbia, Szijjártó said. He noted that Serbia’s government has involved the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ) in its work and allowed the Vojvodina provincial parliament to have a Hungarian speaker.

This, Szijjártó said, made it “all the more unacceptable and outrageous” that Brussels “wants to lecture Serbia on the kind of rights it should give minorities”.

If Hungary’s European Union neighbours treated the Hungarian minority community living on their territory the way Serbia does “the Carpathian Basin would be a happier and calmer place”, he said.

Szijjártó called Serbia the key country of the Western Balkans, saying its accession to the EU was in the interest of not just itself but also Europe and Hungary.

In response to a question, Szijjártó said Serbia was prepared to open five EU accession chapters, adding that he saw no reason why they had not yet been opened.

Selakovic said that the two countries had recently built a “strong and excellent friendship”.

Selakovic said his country was grateful for Hungary’s support in the process of its European integration, saying Hungary had helped Serbia have its voice heard in Brussels. He also thanked Hungary for the help it had provided Serbia in protection efforts against the coronavirus epidemic.

On another topic, the minister said minorities helped connect Hungary and Serbia. Serbia aims to guarantee Hungarian minorities the rights they are entitled to by law, he said, praising Hungary for calling attention to this at every European forum.

Selakovic also said Serbia and Hungary have signed an agreement under which Hungary and Serbia could mutually deploy diplomats at the other country’s embassies.

hungary serbia
Read alsoForeign minister welcomes Vojvodina Hungarians’ participation in new Serbian government

Government working to reinforce cooperation with neighbours, says foreign minister

szijjártó foreign minister

Hungary is now working to deepen its alliance with “most of its neighbours which used to be enemies”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told parliament’s national cohesion committee on Thursday.

Ukraine, he added however, has “elevated its stance against Hungarian communities to government level”.

Speaking at his annual hearing, Szijjártó said that “it is clear that close cooperation rather than isolation is in the interest of all countries of the Carpathian Basin,” adding that both Hungarian communities in other countries and other ethnic minorities in Hungary were crucial for that cooperation.

The aim is for all countries cooperating with Hungary to have an interest in “our successes, just as we have an interest in the successes of those cooperating with us.”

“The Carpathian Basin’s fortune rests on mutual interest in our respective successes,” Szijjártó said.

Szijjártó said the resources should be provided to Hungarian national communities across the border so they may find their own way to strengthen themselves.

A 60 billion forint investment support scheme is available to Hungarian companies. Fully 465 companies have applied for funding and firms planning cross-border investments have lodged bids for projects worth 110 billion in total. As a result, 7,400 jobs will be preserved and 3,000 new ones created, he added.

Further, companies making investments and creating jobs in Hungarian-inhabited areas have access to government funds worth 63.5 billion forints.

Serbia, he said, saw the potential in strengthening the Hungarian national community in Vojvodina, with a commensurate positive impact on Hungary-Serbia ties. Serbia’s minority policy may be seen as an example to other EU countries, he added.

The committee is in close contact with a Hungarian national community in six of seven neighboring countries, he noted, adding that major successes have been built in five out of six countries this year. Examples include the new bridge in Komarom jointly owned by Slovakia and Hungary, Hungarian involvement in Serbian government work, a high voltage transmission line Hungary is building with Slovenia, and parliamentary representation for Hungarians in Transylvania and Szeklerland.

Meanwhile, the minister noted “incitement to hatred” against Hungarians and intimidation as the focus of Ukrainian government policy “reminiscent of the darkest Soviet times”.

The Ukrainian government’s pledge to make Transcarpathia a common Ukrainian-Hungarian success story was still “at the level of propaganda,” he added.

Even when Hungary has provided tens of millions of forints for Transcarpathian institutions, the Ukrainian state has continued to harass and intimidate Hungarians, he said, calling this “shameful”.

On the issue of the representation of Hungarians across the border, Szijjártó said Hungarian communities had a “stronger voice” wherever there was unified national representation. It would be desirable for unity to emerge in Hungarian politics in Slovakia, he added.

Asked about Croatia, the minister said several corporate and economic issues overshadowed relations, but there were also many untapped opportunities. Hungary is ready for closer cooperation, he added.

hungarians in ukraine
Read alsoHungarian deputies in Transcarpathia are investigated on charges of treason for singing the national anthem

Latest coronavirus numbers in Hungary’s neighbours – Dec. 14

coronavirus-austria

Latest coronavirus numbers in Hungary’s neighbours: 

Austria reports 2,641 new COVID-19 cases

Austria reported on Sunday 2,641 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total caseload to 322,463, according to data published by the Austrian Interior Ministry.

To date, the country’s total COVID-19 death toll reached 4,473, while 281,106 have recovered in total, said the ministry.

Croatia: 3,363 new cases, 78 Deaths

Over the past 24 hours, Croatia has registered 3,363 new cases of the coronavirus infection and 78 related deaths, the national COVID-19 crisis management team said on Sunday.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 25,035.

2,864 COVID patients are being treated in hospitals, including 295 who are on ventilators. 

Romania reports 4,435 new COVID-19 cases

Romania reported on Sunday 4,435 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its total infections to 556,335, according to official statistics.

The country also reported 121 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll now stands at 13,385,

said the Strategic Communication Group, the official novel coronavirus communication task force.

Romania has decided to extend the state of alert introduced to contain the COVID-19 outbreak by 30 days until Jan. 13, the government announced on Friday.

Serbia reports 4,995 new COVID-19 cases

Serbia reported on Sunday 4,995 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 266,432, according to information released by the country’s Institute for Public Health.

The country also reported 56 new deaths from the virus, and the total death toll in Serbia reached 2,331, according to the same source.

Mirsad Djerlek, state secretary at the Ministry of Health, said recently that vaccination of the general population can be expected in the first quarter of 2021, while doctors, police officers and soldiers can expect it before the end of this year.

Slovakia records 505 new COVID-19 cases, 30 more deaths

Slovakia on Monday reported 505 new COVID-19 cases and 30 more deaths, according to the latest official data from the government website.

The national caseload has reached 133,489 with 1,205 deaths, and a total of 98,585 patients have recovered, said the statistics.

1 218 962 PCR tests for COVID-19 have been conducted, according to official figures.

COVID-19 death toll exceeds 2,000 in Slovenia

The COVID-19 death toll in Slovenia has passed 2,000, showed official figures on Saturday.

The country’s death toll rose by 43 in the last 24 hours to 2,041, while the total number of cases increased by 1,744 to 95,479.

The country conducted 6,127 coronavirus tests on Friday, with 28.46 percent of them turning out to be positive.

A total of 1,276 patients were being treated in hospitals, eight more than the day before, 193 of them in intensive care, three fewer than the day before.

According to the COVID-19 tracker site Sledilnik, there are currently 21,150 active cases in the country. The 7-day rolling average per 100,000 residents is 1,526.

Slovenia has been in its second lockdown since mid-October and restrictive measures have been tightened

Ukraine reports 9,176 new COVID-19 cases

Ukraine on Sunday registered 9,176 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national tally to 894,215, said the country’s National Security and Defense Council.

Meanwhile, the nationwide death toll rose to 15,154, as 156 new deaths from the virus were reported.

A total of 501,564 patients have so far recovered from COVID-19 in the country, said the council.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in his official Telegram channel on Wednesday that the government decided to introduce a lockdown throughout Ukraine from Jan. 8 until Jan. 24, 2021.

Poland reports 8,977 new COVID-19 cases

Poland confirmed on Sunday 8,977 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total caseload to 1,135,676, according to the health ministry.
The ministry also announced 188 new deaths from the virus, and the national death toll climbed up to 22,864.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said recently that Poland had signed contracts with various vaccine developers for the delivery of 45 million doses.

“The vaccines will be free of charge, voluntary and will require two doses,” Morawiecki said.

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Read alsoGermany to impose stricter lockdown over “exponential growth” in COVID-19 cases

Serbia toughens restrictive measures amid rising COVID-19 cases

serbia belgrade

More restrictive measures stepped into force in Serbia on Tuesday as the country marked dramatic increase in daily COVID-19 cases.

Over the past 24 hours, Serbia registered 5,067 confirmed cases and 38 deaths, raising the total caseload and death toll to 126,187 and 1,237 respectively, said the country’s Health Ministry.

According to a regulation published on the official website of the Serbian government, in the following 10 days starting from Tuesday, restaurants, bars, night clubs, bookmakers and shopping malls will have to close between 6:00 p.m. local time and 5:00 a.m. local time, while masks are obligatory indoors.

Public transportation should work at half capacity, said the government regulation.
Outdoor and indoor gatherings of over 5 people are both prohibited, excluding educational institutions and shops where there should be at least 4 square meters per person, it said, adding employees are advised to work from home.

Furthermore, Serbian authorities have also announced stricter self-isolation controls at home.

Srdja Jankovic, a member of Serbia‘s crisis response team, told national television RTS that the epidemic is not fading away, but further expanding instead, and that adhering to the new measures is the only way out.

Hospitals across Serbia are almost full amid the pandemic, with 6,329 people currently being hospitalized, among which 216 are connected to respiratory ventilators.

coronavirus-hungary-ambulance-hospital
Read alsoCOVID-19 deaths top 4,000 in Hungary

UEFA Nations League: Kalmár keeps Hungary in hunt for top spot – VIDEO

Hungary-Serbia-Puskás-Stadium

Zsolt Kalmár was Hungary’s saviour as his equalising goal cancelled out Nemanja Radonjic’s superb run and finish, thus securing his team a point from their penultimate Nations League qualifying fixture against Serbia in the Puskás Aréna on Sunday evening.

Fresh from securing UEFA European Championship qualification in the same stadium on Thursday, Marco Rossi’s side – led from the bench by Zoltán Gera tonight in the absence of the quarantined Italian – faced an uphill task once Radonjic had given the visitors a 17th-minute lead but Kalmár’s intervention six minutes before half-time was just desserts for an impressively energetic first-half team performance.

Significant changes were made to the Hungary lineup that started against Iceland three days ago, goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz and debutant defender Ákos Kecskés replacing the injured Péter Gulácsi and Willi Orbán respectively, while joining those incomers in the starting eleven were Ádám Lang, Barnabás Bese, Dávid Sigér and Nemanja Nikolic – the latter as captain – in place of Attila Szalai, Attila Fiola, Roland Sallai and Ádám Szalai.

These six alterations were incorporated into an adventurous 3-4-2-1 formation which threatened to pay early dividends, Sigér and Nikolic both skying half-volleys over Serbia goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic’s crossbar when well-placed in the first 14 minutes, while Dominik Szoboszlai looked in menacing mood in his more advanced midfield role alongside Kalmár and behind lone striker Nikolic.

However, Hungary was caught with a sucker punch in the 17th minute when Nemanja Radonic latched on to a flick-on in the left channel, outstripped Kecskés on the defender’s first appearance for the full Hungarian national team and cut across the penalty area before skipping past Botka’s challenge and sliding the ball back across Dibusz and into the left side of the goal.

Falling a goal behind was the last thing an attack-minded home team deserved and they set about levelling matters with Szoboszlai an increasingly influential figure. Firstly, the RB Salzburg playmaker’s low, long-range free-kick tested Dmitrovic at his near, right post in the 23rd minute, then he advanced towards a retreating Serbia defence and shot just wide of the far-right post a few moments before unfortunately planting a diving header from Nagy’s cross straight at the opposing goalkeeper.

Hungary found a way back into the game in the 39th minutes though, Kalmár exchanging passes with Nikolic outside the penalty area before slipping the ball under an advancing Dmitrovic and wheeling away to celebrate with the inimitable Szoboszlai, whose clever diagonal run had freed up space for the Dunaszerdahelyi AC midfielder to burst into and equalise.

Parity was no more than the hosts deserved but Serbia was by no means a spent force, a point illustrated eight minutes after half-time when Radonjic’s diving header was deflected behind for a corner with a wrongfooted Dibusz forced to scramble across his goal to ensure no fresh pain was inflicted. The impressive Radonjic again went close in the 71st minute when the Marseilles winger surged in from the left and slammed a fierce drive high and just right of Dibusz’s goalframe.

Hungary Serbia
Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI

The match was now evenly poised but still open, home substitute Norbert Könyves curling the ball into Dmitrovic’s arms from 14 metres and Luka Jovic twice threatening to score, firstly with a low shot across goal that rolled just wide and then with a speculative close-range flick from a long ball which Dibusz did well to deal with.

Serbia substitute Gacinovic had the match’s last chance to score but Dibusz plunged his left to clutch the deflected shot from inside the penalty area and thus the teams were destined to remain deadlocked, Hungary now hoping they can beat Turkey at home on Tuesday and Serbia take can points from Russia so they can conclude an excellent week’s work and win this Nations League qualifying group.

UEFA Nations League
B League, Group 3, 5th matchday

HUNGARY 1–1 SERBIA

Budapest, Puskás Aréna, behind closed doors, 20:45 CET. TV: M4 Sport. Referee: Nyberg (SWE)

Hungary: Dibusz – Botka, Lang, Kecskés – Bese, Nagy Á., Sigér, Holender – Kalmár, Szoboszlai – Nikolic.
Head coach: Marco Rossi (due to a positive COVID test, Rossi’s place was taken by Zoltán Gera)
Substitutes: Hegedüs (GK), Hangya, Cseri, Nego, Varga, Schäfer, Könyves, Gyurcsó

After match interview: 

Zoltán Gera, Hungary coach on the night: “We also played well in the first 20 minutes of the second half, and then the team tired. The last fifteen minutes was end to end; it was difficult to hold back the players, because they wanted to go for goal. We’re disappointed with the result, but we respect it, and our opponents.” (uefa.com/uefanationsleague)

Zsolt Kalmár, Hungary midfielder: “I think we played a very good game. We had a lot of chances, and I’m a little bit sad because we could have won the match. We’re happy though because we played against a good team. We controlled the game and played good football.” (uefa.com/uefanationsleague)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpTF3T-ZQvg
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Read alsoHungary’s squad qualifies for EURO 2020! – Check out the goals!

Foreign minister welcomes Vojvodina Hungarians’ participation in new Serbian government

hungary serbia

Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, has welcomed that Serbia’s governing coalition remained in office after the elections.

“It is an even better news that the new Serbian government counts on the participation of Vojvodina Hungarians in the coalition’s future work,” Szijjártó told Hungarian public media during his visit to Belgrade on Thursday.

The Serbian parliament on Wednesday re-appointed the country’s next government composed of five parties including the ethnic Hungarian Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ).

VMSZ’s participation in the government is a guarantee that the opinion of Vojvodina Hungarians will continue to matter when it comes to the future of Serbia and ensures an excellent opportunity for close future cooperation between Hungary and Serbia in the areas of economy, trade, energy and prevention of illegal migration, Szijjarto said.

During his talks in Belgrade, Szijjártó underlined the importance of close cooperation in anti-migration efforts with a view to the fact that “as a consequence of Brussels’ ill-designed migration policy the western Balkans continues to face an increasing pressure posed by migration”.

Szijjártó called on Brussels to change its migration policy and disallow illegal migration which is also in Hungary’s interests in order to protect its southern borders.

As regards EU affairs, Szijjártó stated the Hungarian government’s steady support for Serbia’s integration endeavours.

“Belgrade is ready to open six chapters in accession talks, and Brussels must open them,” Szijjártó said, expressing regret over “the slowness of the EU” in the western Balkans’ accession process.

In terms of bilateral relations, Szijjártó noted the Hungarian government’s 9 billion forint (EUR 24.4m) support to nine Hungarian companies’ investments in Serbia in fruit processing, steel structure construction, drug packaging and logistics.

He further noted ongoing bilateral infrastructure investment projects that include the upgrade and extension of the Szeged-Subotica (Szabadka) rail line planned to be completed by 2022 spring.

As regards energy cooperation, Szijjártó welcomed progress made by the Serbian side in the construction of the interconnector that would allow Hungary to receive some six billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from the south as of next November. He called the project highly important from the point of view of Hungary’s energy security.

Vojvodina-Hungarians-VMSZ
Read alsoSerbia election: Vojvodina Hungarians scored a historic success, Orbán congratulates President Vucic

Nations League: Könyves claims three points for Hungary in Belgrade – HIGHLIGHTS

football

Paks striker Norbert Könyves scored a first-half goal on his international debut as Marco Rossi’s side edged to a hard-fought 1-0 Nations League victory against Serbia in Belgrade on Sunday evening.

Hungary had lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, Gulácsi in goal behind Attila Szalai, Ádám Lang and Endre Botka with a midfield five of Szilveszter Hangya, Dániel Gazdag, Ádám Nagy, László Kalmár and Barnabás Bese supporting a striking duo of Könyves and Nemanja Nikolic.

Rossi’s charges, fresh from an important European Championship qualifying play-off semi-final victory against Bulgaria in Sofia, started confidently and took a 20th-minute lead thanks to a swift counter-attack and battling play. Botka’s clearance from a Serbia cross was consolidated by Kalmár who won a 50/50 with a sliding tackle and fed Nikolic, who broke forward before passing back for Kalmár to send a long crossfield pass towards Hangya.

Stefan Mitrovic cut it out but then contrived to kick it back towards his own goal while grounded and after a brief meleé, Könyves emerged with the ball and evaded the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into an empty net from a central position 15 metres from goal.

Not only did Hungary edge in front but they held that advantage relatively comfortably thereafter, Serbia only threatening sporadically, especially after half-time when Gacinovic and Pavlovic had shots blocked, before Gacinovic wastefully volleyed over from ten metres after latching on to Lukic’s clever lofted pass.

Hungary were still very much capable of scoring another goal though, Kalmár’s 62nd-minute threaded pass setting Nikolic clear down the right wing and he stood a cross up for substitute Holender all alone on the far side of the penalty area 12 metres from goal, but he sliced his volley wide of the far right post.

The closest the hosts came to an equaliser came fifteen minutes from time when Serbia struck the post through Mladenovic’s smart volley from Dusan Tadic’s firm, low cross, but still the visitors didn’t fall deep and invite constant pressure but rather stayed in pursuit of a goal which would decide the destination of the three points, Attila Szalai leaping highest to connect with Botka’s deep cross in the 81st minute, only for his powerful header to fly straight at the Serbia goalkeeper.

The most important aim was of course to preserve their single-goal advantage

and that they managed to do with relative ease, thus Hungary take another important win and now lie second on six points in their Nations League qualifying group, one behind leaders Russia whom they visit on Wednesday.

football
Read alsoNations League: Könyves claims three points for Hungary in Belgrade – HIGHLIGHTS

These are the countries from which most immigrants move to Hungary!

abroad, living abroad, Germany, immigration, migration, labour market

The majority of immigrants moving to Hungary are Ukrainian, Romanian, German and Serbian citizens.

The Zsámbék Basin in the vicinity of Buda seems like a ’little Transylvania’. After World War II. Szeklers were moved here to replace the Swabians, and since then a large number of Hungarians from Transylvania still choose this area. Besides Zsámbék, Budapest and Csongrád county are also very popular target destinations among Transylvanians moving to Hungary.

Last year, more than 10,000 Hungarian dual citizens born abroad moved to Hungary; out of which the majority came from Romania.

This amount equals the average of the last three years. However, previously there were even more people registered; numerically, 17,000 in 2015. Furthermore, more and more Hungarians – who decided to try their fortune abroad – return to their homeland. Last year, 23,000 of them returned to Hungary; thus, for the first time in 2019, after a long time, more Hungarians moved to Hungary than left.

Read also: More German families move to Hungary because it is safer

What is unchanged is that the majority of the immigrants coming to Hungary arrive from Romania, Germany, Serbia and China.

  2017 2018 2019
Ukraine 6325 16699 21185
Romania 2934 2853 2713
Germany 2503 2525 2616
Serbia 1659 2917 2499
China 2259 1993 2354
      Source: KSH

There has been only one significant change in this area. After a real population catastrophe occurred in Ukraine, and 3.8 million people left the country in 10 years, the number of Ukrainian immigrants began to grow dramatically. Furthermore, this trend was reinforced by the fact that before the crisis, Hungary had a massive shortage of specialists.

As the Hungarian news portal Növekedés reports, the number of nearly 200,000 foreigners living in Hungary may seem significant at first sight; however, in Germany, for example, there are more than 10 million people who do not have German citizenship. In any case, there are still so many Ukrainians living in Hungary for a long time that they could fill a city larger than Esztergom together.

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Suspended prison for illegal migrants, international human trafficking organization caught

migration - Hungary border fence army

A local court in Szeged on Friday handed in a binding ruling one-year prison sentences, suspended for two years, to three Syrian nationals, respectively, for entering Hungary illegally in a recent attempt.

The three men, aged 30, 41 and 42, have been expelled from Hungary’s territory for a period of two years, according to the ruling.

The men were among members of a large group of migrants who attempted to illegally enter Hungary using violent means at the Roszke border crossing with Serbia on Tuesday night.

The migrants numbering 40 assembled on the Serbian side

and split into separate groups in order to climb the border fence using ladders. They pelted stones at the police officers, damaging surveillance cameras and two cars, local police said on police.hu on Wednesday. Police thwarted their multiple attempts to cross the border and arrested three migrants near the border.

The three Syrians admitted to the crime during the court hearing.

According to index.hu, Hungarian police officers helped their Serbian colleagues to catcsh a local crime gang

buying passports from Serbian individuals and selling them to Kosovan illegal migrants who wanted to get to Western-Europe.

Members of the gang got 3-4.5 thousand EUR in each affair while the Kosovan individuals could go to Austria or Germany in return. Thanks to the Hungarian-Serbian cooperation, 11 members of the gang are behind bars already.

Hungarian police prevent violent border attempts at Serbia border

röszke hungary border fence

Hungarian police stopped large groups of migrants who attempted to illegally enter Hungary using violent means at the Röszke border crossing with Serbia, police.hu said on Wednesday.

The 40 migrants assembled on Tuesday night on the Serbian side and split into separate groups in order to climb the border fence using ladders. They pelted stones at the police officers, damaging surveillance cameras and two cars, local police said on the website.

Police prevented their multiple attempts to cross the border and arrested three migrants, who said they were Syrian nationals, but could not present any personal identification documents,

Csongrád-Csanád County police said.

Criminal proceedings based on the charge of violence against an official are under way.

migrants Hungary border fence röszke
Photo: Police.hu

György Bakondi, the prime minister’s domestic security advisor, told public broadcaster M1 on Wednesday that attempts by migrants to break through the border were generally concentrated along the Hungarian-Serbian border.

He said international asylum laws required entrants to cooperate with the country’s authorities. “There was no sign of that here,” he said.

Bakondi said it was hard to imagine that such attempts to break through the border could have been planned by the migrants themselves, adding that the action must have been organised in advance.

Hungary migration Serbia tunnel
Read alsoAre illegal migrants still trying to get into Hungary? Two more tunnels discovered – video

Success! – Police tied up loose ends in international people smuggling case

The Hungarian police have wound up an international people smuggling network that handled illegal migrants from Arab and African countries via Serbia for payments of 500-1,000 euros per person in 2014.


The smugglers, Polish, Libyan, Tunisian and Syrian citizens, took migrants from Hungary’s border with Serbia to western Europe, the national police investigation office said on its website on Sunday.

Proceedings against the network’s organisers and suppliers have been concluded in Hungary and

the Austrian and German authorities have also prosecuted and convicted gang members.

Hungarian investigators identified a 34-year-old man who accompanied migrants to the Serbian-Hungarian border before the security fence was built. He was issued with an international and European arrest warrant but was convicted in Italy of other crimes in the meantime and served his sentence in a Parma prison.

The Italian authorities handed him over to the Hungarian police on Friday. He has been detained and questioned by Hungarian investigators on suspicion of crimes committed six years ago. A court will decide on Monday whether to place him in pre-trial detention, the statement said.

This Hungarian woman is one of the world’s best nail educators

Hungary nail world success

For some women, it would be unimaginable not to be able to go and hire a nail technician to make the desired nails for them. Some say that everybody can do it while others state that, like many other jobs, this is a profession, and one has to learn and experience a lot to be able to do high-quality work.

According to Bors Online, professional nail educators know that their job is unique, and they would like to become a member of the world union of nail educators because that means that somebody reached the top. However, one can become a member only if they receive an invitation.

Katalin Szikszai started her career 20 years ago, but she did not even dream about becoming a member of the world union after winning the world competition of nail technicians.

Today, globally, she is the 16th best in her profession and the first Hungarian who won.

Interestingly, the competition is held every five years, so winning it is an astonishing achievement. 

She told Bors Online that she heard about the world organisation and the competition two years ago for the first time. After some hesitation, she decided to compete and

went to Serbia to learn.

She had to make 6.5-centimetre-long nails for the competition, a French and a red one. She learnt the basics from Kostka Bojana, who is currently the world’s best nail technician. Afterwards, she practised it for weeks. But she was surprised when the world organisation messaged her in spring and offered her to take the exam. She was successful, so currently she is the 16th best nail educator and technician in the world, and she was invited to the next competition as well.

Are illegal migrants still trying to get into Hungary? Two more tunnels discovered – video

Hungary migration Serbia tunnel

Two more tunnels have been discovered below the fence along the Serbian border in southern Hungary, local police said on police.hu on Sunday.

A tunnel leading from Serbian territory below Hungary’s border fence was discovered during a field search in the area of Csikéria, in Bács-Kiskun County. Police officers will hold an on-site inspection at the opening and guard it until it is buried.

There is ongoing control along the border because migrants have been trying more frequently to enter the country illegally in the recent period. Another tunnel leading below the border fence was discovered by police in the outskirts of Mórahalom, in Csongrád-Csanád County, on Sunday, local police told MTI.

A police spokesperson said police officers serving at the border fence arrested twenty-six men who professed to be Afghan and Syrian citizens on Sunday afternoon.

The policemen then conducted a search and discovered a tunnel about 16 metres long, leading to Serbian territory under the border fence. The captured migrants entered the territory of Hungary through the tunnel.

After investigating the case in cooperation with the Serbian partners,

the authorities will restore the site to its original condition. In August, police in Bácsalmás found a tunnel near the border fence. At that time, 25 illegal immigrants were arrested on the outskirts of Kunbaja and the opening was discovered a few kilometres away during a search.

Official: Migration pressure increasing at southern border

hungary southern border

Migration pressure is still increasing at Hungary’s closely sealed southern border but the double line of defence there is protecting the borders of the country and Europe as a whole, a lawmaker of ruling Fidesz said at Hercegszántó, in southern Hungary, on Thursday.

Szilárd Németh, the state secretary of the defence ministry, chaired the meeting of Fidesz’s Anti-Immigration Cabinet held in the border town with Serbia.

Speaking at a press conference, Németh said that increasing pressure on the southern border is shown by the total of 15,009 illegal entrants arrested or stopped in 3,372 instances since the start of the year, well above the figures during the same period of 2019.

He said migrants must be stopped in order to preserve the functioning, peace and security of Hungary and Europe.

“Given the current situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, this is particularly important since most illegal immigrants would be coming to Europe from hotspots,” Németh said, adding that migrants must not be allowed “to bring in and spread” the virus.

Németh noted that Hungary’s 240km southern border section is currently protected by more than 1,000 troops helped by police officers making use of 180 vehicles, he said.

Read alsoPM Office: Europe should not repeat mistakes made during 2015 migration crisis