Hungarian development policy to focus on South
Development policy decisions in the near future will focus on southern Hungary, especially the cities of Pécs and Szeged, the regional developmental minister said in Szeged on Tuesday.
Addressing a forum of the Csongrád-Csanád Chamber of Commerce, Tibor Navracsics said measures in recent years had successfully given momentum to eastern and north-eastern Hungary. Policy decisions will now focus on the south, where demographic decline has coincided with slow economic development, he said.
At a Serbian-Hungarian government session in Palic, in Serbia, the governments coordinated projects of infrastructure development, he said. Among other plans, they discussed the construction of a motorway in northern Serbia which would ease the traffic on Hungary’s M5 highway and join the Hungarian road network at Mohács, he said.
While Hungary has successfully used sectoral development programmes to boost its economy, outstrip Greece and catch up with Portugal in the past years, “we have now exhausted the opportunities in centralised development policies”. A regional approach will have to return, he said.
The ministry is now working on “muster development plans” to submit to the government, he said. The regions impacted include Zalaegerszeg, the region of south-west Hungary, and the cities of Veszprém and Székesfehérvár, he added. A regional development plan is in the making for the southern regions of the Great Plain, he added.
A new construction and investment law will safeguard guarantees and high quality works, he said in response to a question.
New leader of the Hungarians living in Serbia chosen by PM Orbán?
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met the acting chairman of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians in his office on Friday, and they confirmed ties between the Hungarian government and the party, the prime minister’s press chief said.
Former leader István Pásztor, who had headed the largest ethnic Hungarian party in Serbia for 16 years, died after a short and serious illness at age 67 on October 30, Bertalan Havasi noted in a statement.
His son, Bálint Pásztor, a parliamentary group leader and head of the Subotica city council, will be acting chairman until the party’s next general meeting, he added.
At the meeting, Pásztor briefed Orbán about the election campaign in Serbia and discussed opportunities to further develop Serbian-Hungarian relations, which, the statement added, had improved significantly in recent years.
They agreed to continue an economic development programme in Vojvodina and were in agreement that the opening of a Szeged-Subotica railway link and the extension of opening hours at small border crossings were vitally important to ethnic Hungarians, and both sides would take steps to achieve them.
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- Orbán and Serbian President Vucic bid farewell to late leader of Hungarians living in Serbia – Read more HERE
Orbán and Serbian President Vucic bid farewell to late leader of Hungarians living in Serbia
“We cannot be grateful enough to István Pásztor, who reconciled the Hungarians and the Serbs, and showed the path on which the two peoples can move forward together,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his eulogy given at the funeral of the head of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), in Subotica on Saturday.
“We feel the weight of the political legacy left to us, we are central Europeans, so we know exactly how easily a friend can become an enemy, and how rare it is in this region for former enemies to become friends,” he said. About a decade ago it would have been unthinkable that the two nations could count on each other in everything, Orbán said, adding that “today it would however be unthinkable that we would not share in each other’s joys and pain”.
Orbán bid farewell to the Vojvodina Hungarian leader jointly with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Vucic said István Pásztor had been a historical figure, whose name would live on not only in Hungarian, but also in Serbian textbooks. He managed to connect the largest Serbian party and the biggest Hungarian party in Vojvodina, and Serbia’s leaders with the Hungarian government, the Serbian president added. Pásztor always worked for reconciliation, always protected both Hungarian and Serbian interests, and was willing to compromise because he knew that there is no progress without reaching an agreement, Vucic said.
Pásztor died on Monday at the age of 67 after a short, serious illness.
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- Why is today a National Mourning Day in Hungary, symbolised by Russian tanks? – Read more HERE
Here are some photos of the funeral:
Orbán to speak at funeral of Vojvodina Hungarians’ leader
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will speak at the funeral of István Pásztor, head of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), on Saturday, MTI reported.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Hunor Kelemen, leader of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), and Bálint Juhász, the head of VMSZ’s management committee, will also speak at the ceremony, Pásztor’s son, Balint Pásztor said on social media.
Pásztor died on Monday at the age of 67 after a short, serious illness. We wrote about it in detail HERE.
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Leader of Hungarians living in Serbia died today – UPDATED
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has paid tribute to István Pásztor, head of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), who died on Monday.
“He went the way of the warriors. God rest István Pásztor,” the prime minister said of Pasztor in a post on Facebook. Orban posted a photo of himself with Pásztor with the words “Farewell, my friend.” Pásztor died at the age of 67 after a short, serious illness, his son, Bálint Pásztor, said on social media.
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Belgrade–Budapest railway constrution in huge trouble? Xi Jinping rejected Orbán – Read more HERE
Speaker pays tribute to Vojvodina Hungarian leader
Speaker of Parliament László Kövér on Tuesday expressed his condolences over the recent death of István Pásztor, head of the parliament of Vojvodina province in Serbia and leader of the ethnic Hungarian VMSZ party. In a message to Pásztor’s son, Bálint Pásztor, Kövér referred to the deceased politician as “a revered representative of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin … who was an example to us all of perseverance and commitment.”
Pásztor worked to ensure education in Hungarian, a multitude of developments and preservation of historic monuments in his homeland, as well as to promote civilised political dialogue between Hungary and Serbia in the interest of preserving the rights of ethnic minorities, Kover said. He noted Pásztor’s achievements “in the process of a historic reconciliation between the Serbian and Hungarian nations.”
Belgrade–Budapest railway constrution in huge trouble? Xi Jinping rejected Orbán
The Chinese say no to Orbán’s big rescue plan for the Budapest–Belgrade railway line. There are quite a few complications with the construction of the railroad, and Orbán wants to take on Western contractors for the job. Xi Jinping does not.
The Budapest–Belgrade railway project started in 2014. That was when the government decided that enough is enough seeing the sorry state of said railway track. A year later, they came to an agreement regarding the reconstruction with the Chinese and Serbian leaders. However, the actual construction contract was only signed in 2019. The contract gave the project to a consortium of Chinese and Hungarian companies. According to Telex, the construction had a 750 billion Ft budget, which at the time was thought to be excessive, but actually turned out to be cutting it close to the bare minimum.
The 2019 construction agreement stated that the easier part in the division of labour, such as the laying of the tracks, would fall on the Hungarians. The more complex part of the work would be left to the Chinese. This involves the construction of complex safety and train control systems, which prove to be quite tricky. Especially in this case.
The European standard
The goal of the European Train Control System (ETCS) is mainly to avoid accidents and derailment and the like. For this reason, it has its own strict standards. The explanation for its complexity is the differing railway tracks and stations of each European country and region. Due to these, the ETCS requires every Member State to adhere to its standards. This way, every station has got to have its own circuits uniquely designed, approved and manufactured.
This the Chinese are not able to do. They do not have this kind of regulation system, because their railways are uniform in their region. For this simple reason, they don’t have the technology necessary to adhere properly to the European standards. It only complicates things that Hungary’s level crossing is connected to the safety- and train control system.
To conclude, they not only lack the expertise required for the safety systems, but level crossing is also foreign to them.
Read more about the topic HERE.
A multinational mistake
Now the construction has got to the stage where it’s time for these technologies to be implemented. However the Chinese can’t deliver, which obviously interferes greatly with the project of the Budapest–Belgrade railway. That’s why Orbán would like to go back on his word now, to try and salvage the future of the Budapest–Belgrade railway, by replacing the Chinese company with a European one.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán went to China partly to consult with Xi Jingpin about the modification of the contract.
However, in the end, it seems like Xi Jingpin didn’t approve of his plan.
Read more about Viktor Orbán’s visit to China HERE.
The big question now stands: Will the line ever be finished?
Right now, there are two main concerns about the impending completion of the project. The main is the European regulation. Since Xi Jinping probably won’t change his mind for Orbán, no matter how nicely he asks, and the Chinese can’t manufacture at a level accepted by the regulations, this is a huge uncertainty.
The other concern is the renovation of the Győr railway line. It is done by the same company as the Budapest–Belgrad line and it’s impossible to generate enough resources for both of them. That’s why part of the specialists had to leave to work on the Győr railway, leaving the Budapest–Belgrade railway understaffed.
With these concerns we honestly can’t be sure if the Budapest–Belgrad line will ever finish.
Read more about Hungarian railways HERE.
Hungary and Serbia protest Bulgaria’s tax on transit gas from Russia
The governments of Hungary and Serbia said a decision by Bulgaria to levy a tax on the transit of their gas from Russia was “an adversarial step” that put “the safe supply of energy at risk” for both countries, in a joint statement issued on Tuesday.
“This decision goes against European solidarity, endangering the energy security of a fellow EU member state and a candidate country,” the sides said in their statement.
“Hungary and Serbia will coordinate their positions and will not leave this hostile Bulgarian decision without a proper response,” they added.
Szijjártó: Gazprom will continue fulfilling gas supplies obligations
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the director of Gazprom have confirmed that the company will continue fulfilling its contracted gas supplies obligations in the direction of Hungary despite increased transit fees by Bulgaria, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.
The ministry cited Péter Szijjártó as saying in Beijing following Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Putin that the situation in Ukraine was an important topic on the agenda of talks. Hungary faces the negative consequences of the war on a daily basis, in the form of the migrant crisis, high inflation and soaring energy prices caused by the policy of sanctions, while ethnic Hungarians are among those that die in the fights, he added.
“The prime minister talked about the possibility of peace at today’s talks, as well, and stood up for peace,” Szijjártó said. “The answer we received and the message of the entire meeting, all that was said there, offer no reason for too much positive hope,” he added.
The other focal point of the talks was energy cooperation between the two countries because Hungary must maintain relations based on common sense and mutual respect in order to guarantee the security of supplies, he said.
“Whether we like it or not, Hungary’s energy security cannot be guaranteed without Hungarian-Russian cooperation,” he said. “The question of energy supplies is not a political or an ideological question,” the foreign minister added.
“Concerning energy cooperation, a review of the situation established that the country’s energy supplies are secure and Hungarian-Russian cooperation serves this,” he said.
Commenting on Bulgaria’s increasing the transit fees on Russian gas in a measure introduced without preliminary warning, he said the decision was unfriendly towards Hungary and Serbia because it threatened the security of energy supplies. The measures go against European solidarity and may violate community rules on the introduction of duties and the free movement of goods, he added.
Szijjártó said that he had held several talks with Serbian deputy Prime Minister Sinisa Mali about the issue and agreed to coordinate steps in the future.
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New bishop of the Serbian Reformed Church, László Harangozó, was consecrated
The consecration of a new bishop took place on Saturday at the Reformed Christian Church in Serbia. The recently elected Bishop, László Harangozó, received blessings from all the Reformed bishops of the Carpathian Basin, and a welcome speech was delivered by the President of the Republic, Katalin Novák, in Bácsfeketehegy, Serbia.
President of the Republic, Katalin Novák, attended the Episcopal Consecration Service of the Reformed Christian Church in Serbia, which occurred on Saturday in Bácsfeketehegy.
During her speech, Katalin Novák stressed that Christians increasingly seek answers from God regarding the boundaries of violence and terror, actions to take when the security of communities and families is threatened and how to uphold God’s commands in this world. “The solution to all these questions can be found in unity. It is imperative that members of a community are so tightly connected to one another that they cannot be separated,” she emphasised.
“Just as a mother clings to her child, the Motherland can also cling to its children, including Hungarians beyond its borders, as now is the time for Hungarians to support one another,” declared the President.
János Nagy, State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, read Viktor Orbán’s welcoming letter during the bishop’s consecration. The Prime Minister expressed that “those who have faith can achieve and persevere beyond their strength.”
According to reformatus.hu, László Harangozó, the newly elected Bishop of the Reformed Christian Church in Serbia and Pastoral President of the Synod of the Church, asked the community to pray for the realisation of the good wishes expressed during the service and for the vitality of a community that aspires to truly thrive.
Zoltán Balog, Bishop of the Reformed Diocese of Dunamellék, Pastoral President of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary, and Executive President of the General Convention, delivered the sermon.
As reported earlier, a survey indicates that three-quarters of Hungarians support Christian culture.
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Hungary beats Serbia, Hungarians almost surely on the European Championships
First-half goals from Barnabás Varga and Roland Sallai handed Hungary another inspirational victory under head coach Marco Rossi as they defeated Serbia 2-1 in the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
Rossi had opted to replace injured central defender Willi Orbán with experienced right-footed defender Attila Fiola in his starting line-up, Ádám Lang and Attila Szalai making up the three-man defensive line in front of goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz. A four-man midfield of Milos Kerkez, Ádám Nagy, Callum Styles and Loic Nego sat behind a dynamic front three of Roland Sallai and captain Dominik Szoboszlai just behind lone central striker Barnabás Varga.
Hungary were well organised, combative and ruthlessly efficient on the counter-attack from the outset. Although Serbia dominated possession throughout, their only goal came via Pavlovic’s flicked header from Zivkovic’s right-wing corner, one which levelled the scores after Varga’s smart, low finish from Loic Nego’s 20th-minute cutback, but which was rendered immaterial just two minutes later when Sallai turned cleverly and lashed a spectacular 36th-minute volleyed winner high into the left side of the visitors’ goal from 20 metres, mlsz.hu wrote.
Read also:
- Dominik Szoboszlai: The sensational prodigy bringing the glory days back to Hungary – Read more HERE
- Official: Coach of national football team Marco Rossi acquires Hungarian citizenship
Not even a red card could stop us
An action-packed second half saw Serbia put the ball in the Hungary net twice within the first eight minutes, only for both to be ruled out for offside, as well as hit the right post twice from close range within a few seconds midway through the half as pressure mounted on the hosts. Hungary gave as good as they got though and managed to create numerous opportunities, one for substitute Bendegúz Bolla who shot wide when clean through on goal and several for the dangerous Varga, but the closest the prolific Ferencváros frontman came to extending Hungary’s lead came was when his looping header bounced off the crossbar in the 68th minute.
Although Serbia pushed hard in the remaining time, they couldn’t penetrate Hungary’s stoic defence and on the rare occasions they did, they came up against Dibusz in outstanding form, not least in the 93rd minute when he somehow diverted Milinkovic-Savic’s close-range header over the crossbar, an action which effectively secured victory for Marco Rossi’s team. Not even Zsolt Kalmár’s red card for a second bookable offence after the final whistle could dampen sky-high Hungarian spirits!
This hard-earned three points means Hungary now top their European Championship qualifying group on 13 points, three ahead of Serbia in second spot and five ahead of Montenegro on eight, meaning one more win from their next three fixtures will ensure qualification for EURO 2024 in Germany next summer.
Here is a video of the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg-Mpd6MeVM
HUNGARY 2-1 SERBIA (HT: 2-1)
Referee: Francois Letexier
HUNGARY (surnames first): Dibusz Dénes – Fiola Attila (Botka Endre, 74), Lang Ádám, Szalai Attila – Nego Loic (Bolla Bendegúz, 63), Nagy Ádám, Styles Callum (Kalmár Zsolt, 63), Kerkez Milos – Sallai Roland (Kata Mihály, 74), Varga Barnabás (Ádám Martin, 84.), Szoboszlai Dominik
SERBIA: V. Milinkovic-Savic – Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Erakovic (Tadic, 46.) – Terzic (Kostic, 46.), Sz. Milinkovic-Savic, Gudelj, Zivkovic (Radonjic, 75.) – Gacinovic (Djuricic, 67.), Mitrovic, Lukic (Ratkov, 84.).
Goalscorers: HUN: Varga Barnabás (21.), Sallai Roland (34.) SRB: Pavlovic (33)
Hungarian border guards will get permission to shoot on migrants?
There is anarchy at the Hungarian-Serbian border, different migrant gangs took control and regularly opened fire on the Hungarian border guards. Police got an order that they should flee, provided they are under fire. Therefore, we should acknowledge that the current system does not work, so Hungarian armed forces should return fire, according to a Hungarian opposition party.
László Toroczkai, the head of Mi Hazánk, the second-third biggest opposition party in Hungary, talked about that in yesterday’s plenary session of the Hungarian Parliament. He said that human smugglers should be put into prisons instead of releasing them, while migrants should be placed in closed camps.
Bence Rétvári, the interior ministry’s secretary, did not reply to Mi Hazánk’s radical initiative. He said that creating such camps would mean that Hungarian authorities must register migrants in Hungary, so the country should take responsibility for them, infostart.hu wrote.
Read also:
- EU Court: Hungary to pay compensation to a refugee for assault – Read more HERE
- Minister: Gunfire regular at Hungary’s borders
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, said yesterday in Geneva that some people smugglers and migrants were armed with automatic weapons and had fired at the Hungarian border guards several times. “This cannot be tolerated; just like the statements of certain politicians that we should put up with it,” he said.
Featured image: illustration
Orbán: Legally we are raped
European Union member states have no chance of reaching an agreement on migration, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, arriving at an informal summit of EU leaders in Granada on Friday.
EU leaders had originally agreed that regulations on migration would require unanimity, but this was changed at the last summit, Orbán said.
Since Hungary and Poland were “totally left out” of the new migration package, it is impossible to reach a new agreement because “legally we are raped”, the prime minister said.
“So after this, there is no chance to have any kind of compromise and agreement on migration. Politically it’s impossible. Not today, generally speaking, for the next years,” he said.
Concerning EU enlargement, Orbán said Hungary promoted expanding the bloc, but several member states were citing “enlargement fatigue”, which he said was “not fair” to those awaiting membership.
Orbán said Hungary backed Georgia’s accession to the bloc, and a joint government meeting will be held in Tbilisi next week.
Regarding Ukraine’s EU outlook, he called for a strategic review, saying the accession of a country at war would be unprecedented and this raised “too many questions”. First, the strategic foundations must be clarified, such as why integrating Ukraine would be good for the EU, what the consequences of doing so are and “how much money we’re talking about”, he said.
Also, he added, there were security questions in the areas of eg, cohesion policy and agriculture, and an entirely new type of agriculture would emerge.
Answering journalists’ questions, Orbán said Azerbaijan was a decisive country without which energy independence from Russia could not be attained, and Hungary already had a deal with Baku on gas deliveries.
He said the southern energy corridor was crucial for Hungary, especially after the terrorist disabling of northern routes, and guaranteeing its security was a priority.
Addressing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, the prime minister said Pristina must change its attitude. In the past two years, he said, the Kosovans had provoked the Serbs, rocking the region’s stability which depended on Serbia. Any sanctions against Belgrade would be “impossible” and “ridiculous”, he added.
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Shocking: Hungarian man breaks world record for highest blood alcohol level ever
In the Hungarian-majority town of Bácskertes (Kupusina) in Serbia, police took action against a drunk cyclist. After he managed to get off his bicycle, the man was given a breathalyser. The police could not believe their eyes when they saw the result. How is this man still alive?
The breathalyser given to the Hungarian man in Bácskertes showed an unbelievable number: the device showed an alcohol level of 5.67‰, Helló Magyar reports.
According to the alkoholizam.com portal, alcohol levels of 4.5‰ to 5.0‰ and above are fatal. The reason is that it paralyses the respiratory centre of the body, followed by paralysis of the circulatory system, which also leads to a fatal outcome. Death occurs 5 to 10 hours after the onset of unconsciousness, Délhír informs. A picture of the breathalyser can be seen in the article of Délhír.
According to experts, a blood alcohol concentration of as little as 0.35-0.45 grams per litre can cause death. This means that the amount of alcohol found in the man’s body is equivalent to 12 deaths. But that did not stop him from getting on his bike.
According to the Serbian press, the doctors were stunned as to how the man from Bácskertes could have survived. However, his health parameters were “within normal limits”.
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If you love Fortnite, buy cheap V-bucks here.
Orbán holds talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb leader Milorad Dodik
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with Milorad Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s autonomous Serb Republic, in Budapest on Monday.
Hungary considers Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb Republic its “honorary neighbour”, Orbán said at the meeting. Relations between Hungary and the Serb Republic remain “excellent”, and they “will do everything in the interest of strengthening their cooperation”, as reflected by their ongoing joint projects, the two leaders said.
Orbán and Dodik discussed the potential investment opportunities for Hungarian businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s financial, energy and telecommunications sectors. The prime minister made it clear that maintaining the stability of the Western Balkans was crucial for Hungary’s and the European Union’s security.
Hungary firmly opposes the attempts to put pressure on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnian Serbs through sanctions, Orbán said, arguing that this was counterproductive and would only serve to escalate tensions.
The prime minister expressed hope that Bosnia and Herzegovina could make further progress in its European integration process in the coming period. Hungary will aim to devote special attention to the integration of the Western Balkans during its presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2024, he said.
Travel time from this Hungarian city to Serbia will be much higher than promised
Strategic links are being built between Hungary and Serbia in the areas of energy and transport, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Belgrade on Friday. One of those links will be a passenger transport train. However, its travel time will be much longer than officials promised before.
According to Telex, the trains are scheduled to start carrying passengers on 24 October. However, their travel time will be 75 minutes between Szeged and Szabadka (Subotica), even though the distance between the two cities is only 50 kilometres. Meanwhile, the Serbian infrastructure minister, Goran Vesić, posted in August that the trains will complete the journey in only 35 minutes. Furthermore, Alexov Lyubomir, the Serbian representative in the Hungarian Parliament, also talked about 40 minutes in a 2021 speech.
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, said during talks with his Serbian counterpart that travel time may decrease significantly provided the border check ends. Before, construction minister János Lázár thought passport control might happen in Szeged, but that failed due to the obstruction of the Serbians. Therefore, trains will complete the 50-km journey in 75 minutes the least, which is not too competitive since you can do so in only 45 minutes by car.
Read also:
- BREAKING: Austria detaches Hungarian trains of Western railway network – Read more HERE
- PM Orbán in talks with the United Arab Emirates in Belgrade: Budapest Airport on the menu? – UPDATED
Minister: Strategic links being built between Hungary, Serbia
During the bilateral talks Szijjártó said Europe was currently facing some serious crises and the energy supply crisis especially stands out among these. Only those can feel safe that can create as many links in energy supplies with their neighbours as possible, he added.
The sides are in a good position with the launch of a regional joint gas trading company which has already been registered, he said, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Strategic links involve transport, gas, oil
“This is an important step forward from the point of view of the safety of our energy supply because practically we can harmonise Serbian-Hungarian gas purchases and Serbian-Hungarian gas trading, and the markets of two countries are far more interesting to international players than the market of just one country because together they are larger than either of them separately,” he added.
“This guarantees important security to us from the point of energy strategy,” Szijjártó said. The foreign minister said preparations for the construction of a crude oil pipeline between the two countries were under way. The pipeline will further increase the security of supplies, he added.
“We, Hungarians can sense this directly, since Ukraine and Croatia have increased transit fees several times,” said Szijjártó. Additionally, the capacity of the electricity grid connecting Hungary and Serbia was also being doubled with the project expected to be completed by 2028, he said. Szijjártó also said that the strategic links also involved transport, with passenger transport to start on the new Szeged-Subotica rail line on October 24.
PM Orbán in talks with the United Arab Emirates in Belgrade: Budapest Airport on the menu? – UPDATED
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday travelled to Serbia to attend a summit of Serbian, Hungarian and United Arab Emirates (UAE) leaders, the PM’s press chief told MTI.
Orbán is scheduled to meet Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian president, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, as part of the trilateral talks in Belgrade, Bertalan Havasi said. Orbán and Vucic will then hold bilateral talks after the meeting that will focus mainly on economic and energy issues, he added.
Before, media said that the Hungarian government would like to nationalize Budapest Airport with the help of Middle Eastern investors. News outlets talked about Qatar investors. But in the end, it might be UAE business people who will join the business.
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Orbán: Serbia, Hungary cooperation close, succesful
Serbia and Hungary maintain close political and economic cooperation, and their economic cooperation is particularly successful, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Belgrade on Friday. “One of us is in the European Union as a member while the other is not, but this is not a disadvantage, rather an opportunity,” Orbán told reporters together with Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian president.
Orbán and Vucic held talks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, in the Serbian capital. The aim of the trilateral talks was to present to the sheikh the economic cooperation of Hungary and Serbia, Orbán said, adding that their meeting served as an opportunity to explore cooperation possibilities. This was the first opportunity for him to participate at such a trilateral talk, he said.
Orbán said he was convinced that he and Vucic could effectively represent their two countries’ joint perspective before third countries and investors that are interested in the region. The Hungarian prime minister said the agenda of his meeting with Vucic later in the day includes migration, issues around Brussels, EU enlargement and related deadlines. He stated that Hungary did not support any kind of sanctions against any country and saw dialogue as the only solution to conflicts.
Budapest–Belgrade railway in big trouble, PM Orbán travels to Bejing to find a solution
The Budapest–Belgarde railway line is being built by Orbán-close Lőrinc Mészáros’ companies and Chinese partners. However, the Hungarian construction workers have now partially withdrawn from the site due to the renovation of the dilapidated Budapest–Győr line. The Chinese partners tried to take over but could not do the construction according to European standards. The cost of the project has also skyrocketed due to the insane inflation. According to VSquare, the Chinese have stopped working and funding the project. PM Orbán is flying to China to settle things in person in the autumn.
Railway line in trouble
Telex wrote that the construction of the Budapest–Belgrade railway line was decided by the government in 2014. In 2015, the Hungarian leaders agreed with the Chinese and Serbian parties. However, the construction contract was only signed four years later, in 2019. The line has been designed to allow trains to run at 160km/h, which requires the so-called ETCS train control system (which complies with EU standards) and safety equipment certified to EU requirements. According to the original contract, the railway line will be built by RM International Ltd., owned by Lőrinc Mészáros, and a consortium of two Chinese companies. As it seems, neither of them is capable of handling the ETCS system.
Problem with the Chinese technology
For some reason, the Chinese party thought that it would be acceptable to use Chinese technology. However, the Chinese system differs from the European in many ways, thus it does not comply with EU standards. Now, the Hungarian government has two options. One of them is to completely ignore the EU standards. In this case, trains will only be able to run at 100km/h instead of the planned 160km/h. The other option is to contract a new company to install the safety equipment and the train control system. However, this would delay the completion of the project by several years.
PM Orbán to travel to China
The issue of security devices has long been a source of growing tension between the Chinese and the Hungarians. We cannot know for sure exactly how far things have gone. However, according to VSquare, the Chinese have stopped financing the construction and experts have also stopped working on the project. The construction is 85% financed by Chinese loans and 15% by Hungarian state money, so the suspension of Chinese financing would be a major blow.
The conflict between the two countries has unsurprisingly reached diplomatic level. Despite that, it does not seem to have been resolved at lower levels. According to VSquare, PM Orbán will personally travel to the One Belt, One Road conference in China in October. Among other things, he will try to settle the issue at a higher level.
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VIDEO: Madman shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’ on Wizz Air flight, heroic passenger averts disaster
A madman went on a rampage on a Wizz Air flight from Israel to London. A heroic passenger averted the disaster and saved the lives of everyone on board.
A crazed man was pinned down by passengers after he tried to open the emergency exit on board a flight from Israel to London on Monday, 11 September, neokohn.hu reports.
The unnamed terrorist suspect was flying on Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air’s flight W9 4452. The man shouted “Allahu Akbar” until one of the passengers, 45-year-old Albanian Victor Troboloni, managed to restrain him.
“It was a very scary situation. I was thinking I might never see my mother again,” Jewish News quoted Troboloni as saying after the incident.
The heroic passenger said that the man had been acting strangely on the flight before, pacing back and forth from the entrance near the cockpit to the emergency exit at the other end.
“I saw him going up and down, maybe looking for weak points on the aircraft… checking seat numbers. I’m a plane engineer myself, I used to work in maintenance. So I know what’s going on mid-air, in flight at 30,000ft, 11km above sea level, you’ve got no escape,” Troboloni said.
“He tried to open the fire exit, he was sitting at the back and it’s easy to open a fire exit, just pull the handle and that’s it,”
he explained.
“I got the guy down. He was very heavyweight … I headlocked him and the stewardesses tied his hands with plastic cable ties … I had to do it. I held him for 10 minutes, he got out of breath, he got tired, he was tied up for 45 minutes to 1 hour before we landed in Belgrade.”
According to Jewish News, a Wizz Air spokesperson said: “The company is dealing with the onward flight of all customers to London. The safety and security of passengers and crew are the company’s top priority. The company regrets the inconvenience caused by this unexpected incident.”
The flight was eventually forced to make an emergency landing in Belgrade, Serbia.
You can watch the video of the incident below:
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Scandalous: Hungarian-language sign of Subotica in Vojvodina, Serbia vandalised
Unknown perpetrators have damaged the Hungarian Szabadka (Subotica) sign in Vojvodina, Serbia. The Serbian inscription close to it remained intact.
The Hungarian-language “Szabadka” sign at the Bikovo roundabout was vandalised. The Serbian inscription close to it was left intact, the Vojvodina-based Szabad Magyar Szó reports.
According to the portal, both of these signs have been vandalised before.
István Pásztor, President of the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina (VMSZ), published a post on Facebook about the incident. According to him, the perpetrators were sending a message to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who was awarded the title of honorary citizen of Subotica on 1 September, and who said on that occasion that he supported the display of Hungarian-language inscriptions in the colours of the Hungarian flag in Subotica, 24.hu reports.
“They sent a message to President Vučić, but it hurts us more. We will do our utmost to restore the signs with the word “Szabadka” to their former glory and to ensure that the perpetrators are punished with the punishment they deserve. Vandalism must stop, whoever it comes from. I hope that President Vučić understands the message that the perpetrators are sending him and that he will respond. And we will stay here and not go anywhere,” said István Pásztor.
Meanwhile, Bálint Pásztor, vice-president of the VMSZ, wrote the following about the restoration of the sign:
“It will be up again in a short time! And as often as it needs to again and again!”
According to Szabad Magyar Szó, it has since emerged that the Hungarian Szabadka sign was damaged not only at Bikovo, but also at Palić.
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