Visegrád Four

V4 defence ministers meet in Slovakia

v4 defence

The countries of the Visegrad Group (V4) have a vested interest in peace being restored in Ukraine as soon as possible, Hungary’s defence minister said on Tuesday.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said after a meeting of V4 defence ministers in Banska Stiavnica (Selmecbanya), in southern Slovakia, that the sides had been in agreement that every effort must be made to prevent the escalation of the war and the involvement of the V4, the European Union and NATO in it.

The meeting focused on the war, the current and future cooperation of V4 countries in defence and the defence industry, army development and the Western Balkans, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.

Hungary’s position on helping Ukraine has remained unchanged, he said, citing the largest humanitarian scheme in the country’s history to help refuges and assist in caring for the injured, and in demining and training in military first aid.

“We condemn Russian aggression and maintain the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he added.

Hungary, Poland to remain strong military allies
Read alsoHungary, Poland to remain strong military allies, says defence minister

Hungary-Poland ties forward-looking

Hungary Poland

Hungarian-Polish relations are forward- rather than backward-looking, Zsolt Németh, the head of Hungarian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said on Wednesday, declaring an interest in finding solutions to problems instead of dwelling on them.

Addressing a panel discussion on Polish-Hungarian ties at the 31st International Economic Forum in Karpacz, in south-western Poland, Németh welcomed recent comments by President Mateusz Morawiecki on reviving bilateral and Visegrád Group cooperation “in the current difficult economic and political situation”.

In response to Morawiecki’s interview in the Sieci weekly, Németh told MTI that Hungarian-Polish relations had passed through a period of crisis in the past six months.

“We in Hungary, however, have always underscored that we will not allow the war [in Ukraine] to destroy Hungarian-Polish relations,” he said.

He dismissed Hungarian press commentary suggesting that Morawieczki’s change of heart was linked to the issue of blocked EU recovery funds for Poland as “utterly ridiculous”. In disputes with the European Union, Poland and Hungary had always “stood shoulder to shoulder” despite differences over the war in Ukraine, he said.

Varga Judit Justice Minister
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He noted President Katalin Novák’s meeting with Andrzej Duda, her Polish counterpart, in Warsaw in May at which they had agreed to jointly press Brussels “to treat us as equal partners and release funding we are entitled to”. “We stand together against any kind of political blackmail,” Németh said.

Addressing the panel discussion, Ryszard Terlecki, the deputy marshal of the Sejm, reiterated Morawieczki’s position on the need to revive cooperation within the Visegrád Group in areas on which viewpoints are broadly shared. He called the EU’s future such an issue, underscoring that both the Polish and Hungarian government rejects the concept of “a centralised, federalist-type union”.

Terlecki also called for renewing the Visegrád cooperation primarily in economic matters. “We must also return to our alliance formed on EU matters”, he said, adding that concerning the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia the two countries’ positions “may differ slightly”. “But let’s come to terms with the differences and let’s forge ahead,” Terlecki said.

Hungary, Poland to remain strong military allies
Read alsoHungary, Poland to remain strong military allies, says defence minister

Hungary, Poland to remain strong military allies, says defence minister

Hungary, Poland to remain strong military allies

Hungary and Poland are strong military allies and will remain so, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said on Tuesday after talks with Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak in Kielce.

Based on the two countries’ historic alliance and along their common interests and values, relations between Hungary and Poland remain close, strong and effective, the ministry quoted Szalay-Bobrovniczky as saying.

Hungary-Poland military cooperation is excellent under the arrangements of the European Union, NATO and the Visegrad Group, the minister said. Major army development programmes under way in both countries will provide further opportunities for cooperation, he added.

NATO members decided at their Madrid summit to strengthen the alliance’s eastern flank, and Hungary has taken on a big role in this regard, he said.

The minister warned against ignoring the effects of the war in Ukraine on illegal migration, adding that this issue must be kept on the EU and NATO agenda with a view to maintaining regional and global security.

The minister granted an Alliance Award to Poland’s Chief of Staff Rajmund Andrejczak in recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations. He also attended the opening of the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce.

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Hungarian word ‘puszi’ pronounced ˈpusi’ is this foreign star’s dearest

Puszi Hungarian kiss

The meaning of this Hungarian word is simple: a light kiss (e.g. peck on the cheek). Nevertheless, it is the favourite Hungarian word of a world-famous Croatian musician.

According to Blikk, Stjepan Hauser, a well-known Croatian cellist, joined the judges of the Virtuosos V4+ last year. The classical music contest can be entered by contestants from the V4 countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Poland) and Slovenia.  

The show’s classical music talents (instrumentalists can apply up until the age of 18, singers up until 24 yrs old) have the chance to perform with world stars, buy instruments and take masterclasses through the Young Virtuosos Foundation and its sponsors. The competition has a total prize fund of €100,000, which will award one winner per country. Furthermore, there are audience prizes and special prizes, virtuosos.com writes.

The shootings for this year’s show started, and the Hungarian selection phase will be on screen from November. The Croatian cellist, Stjepan Hauser, said that Hungary was his second home. He has a lot of Hungarian friends, including his manager.

“I am addicted to gulyás soup and the Hungarian girls”

– he added. He appreciates the musical culture of Hungary and respects Ferenc Liszt, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály.

“I think I know the most important Hungarian words: szeretlek (I love you), köszönöm szépen (Thank you), bocsánat (I’m sorry). But my favourite is the ‘puszi’. But I won’t tell why…” – he laughed.

 

Budapest Keleti railway station
Read also5 sentences to learn before coming to Hungary! – Part II.

Minister: Brussels “inspire” the arrival of more migrants in Europe

The Russia-Ukraine war “won’t end anytime soon” as there “isn’t a trace” of negotiations, Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian foreign minister, said in an interview with daily Magyar Nemzet on Saturday.

Szijjártó reiterated that the government’s most important tasks are ensuring Hungary’s security and preventing the country from being dragged into the war. He pointed to “extraordinary difficulties” facing the European economy amid the environment of persistent inflation resulting from the war, the impact of sanctions and the dramatic rise in energy prices. He said uncertainty on energy markets has affected foreign exchange markets, too.

As long as there’s no peace, sentiment in the European economic environment will not be positive, he said. Addressing Hungary’s ties with Ukraine, Szijjártó said differences over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine had been “temporarily shelved” because of the wartime circumstances, but he added that the issue will need to be resolved at some point.

He said “shameless accusations” against Hungary are “unfair” and “must be firmly rejected”. Szijjártó said Hungary has condemned the aggression against Ukraine, while undertaking a humanitarian campaign of unprecedented scale, taking in over 830,000 refugees. “We’re not doing that for thanks, we’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do,” he added.

Commenting on a recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union finding Lithuania violated EU rules when it defended its border with Belarus against illegal migration, Szijjártó said

Brussels’ immigration policy would “inspire” the arrival of more and more migrants in Europe.

Szijjártó said the war had put cooperation among the Visegrád Group – Hungary, Czechia, Poland and Slovakia – as well as between Hungary and Poland “to the test”. He added that there had always been issues on which viewpoints differ, but areas on which there was agreement were always strengthened.

Interpretations in the West that these differences spell the end of the Visegrád cooperation are “ridiculous”, he said.

railway frankfurt high speed
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Government: Europe needs to return to peace, stability and normality

Government-V4-festival-presidency

The Visegrád Group is “worthy of respect” within the European Union, State Secretary Péter Hoppál said late on Thursday, ahead of the VéNégy festival concluding Hungary’s one-year presidency of the group.

Hoppal told a press conference in Nagymaros, in northern Hungary, that the past year had been marked by the strengthening of the “culture of respect” among the members, and by “getting to know each other even better”, bolstered by summits, cultural cooperation and growing cultural tourism.

“Robust nation states can contribute to stability, peace and security; at the same time, peace and security can be served best if we avow to our multiculturality and cooperate within that framework,” Hoppal said.

Bence Rétvári, a state secretary of the interior ministry and the region’s MP, said that

cooperation between Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia “has no alternative”.

“No matter what storms we must face … these nations can only be really strong if they stand together in Europe,” he said.

Krisztina Varjú, a deputy state secretary of the foreign ministry, noted that Hungary took over the group’s rotating presidency “during the Covid pandemic and is ending it in the midst of another crisis.” Both crises have shown the importance of regional cooperation and solidarity, she said. The presidency’s motto, Recharging Europe, is especially valid at a time when

“Europe needs to recharge and return to peace, stability and normality,”

she said.

Marián Varga, an official of Slovakia’s embassy in Hungary, said Slovakia’s priority, as it takes over the presidency from Hungary, will be to boost economic and infrastructure development and ties between the Visegrád Group’s peoples. Cooperation within the group has been mostly informal, with low institutionalisation, he said. That format has supported cooperation for 30 years, he said.

Tibor Bial and Sebastian Keciek, the Czech and Polish Ambassadors to Hungary respectively, also attended the event.

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High-speed railway to link Budapest, Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava soon?

railway frankfurt high speed

Transport officials of the Visegrád Group countries have agreed to speed up preparations for the construction of a high-speed rail network across their countries and to step up efforts to transport grain from Ukraine, the Ministry of Technology and Industry (TIM) said on Friday.

Europe’s current railway capacities are not enough to transport all the Ukrainian grain which until now had been delivered via the Black Sea to the west on schedule, state secretary Dávid Vitézy said. The V4 officials agreed at their meeting in Budapest that their countries will do their utmost to aid Ukraine as well as Africa and Asia, which rely on Ukraine’s exports, he said.

The V4 countries are exploring new areas for cooperation with a view to expanding their capacities for cross-border transport within the European Union as well as for mapping out transport opportunities via the River Danube, Vitézy said.

The TIM will assign top priority to the improvement of the international integration of Hungary’s rail network and the development of relations with areas beyond the border, the statement said.

All of the V4 states are working on

the development of the high-speed railway line linking Budapest and Warsaw via the Czech and Slovak capitals,

Vitézy said. Hungary can obtain the environmental permit for the Budapest-Győr section of the line within the next year, he said. Slovakia is currently planning the route of its section of the line while the Czech Republic and Poland are in the detailed planning stage, the state secretary added.

According to the statement, the project will shorten travel times between Budapest and its neighbouring capitals to less than two hours. The journey from Budapest to Prague would take three-and-a-half hours and the full Budapest-Warsaw trip will be five-and-a-half hours, with the trains on the line reaching speeds of up to 320kph.

Budapest - Adriatic railway journey adria intercity
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Government: Hungary, Slovakia benefit a lot from cooperation

Hungary Slovakia foreign ministers

Both Hungary and Slovakia have benefitted a lot from their cooperation in the current rather tense global economic situation in which stable and predictable ties are of high value, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Friday, after talks with Ivan Korcok, his Slovak counterpart.

Szijjártó told a joint press conference that both countries were facing threats and challenges posed directly by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

“Both countries have taken in several hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Hungary has offered entry to and catered for 800,000 people fleeing Ukraine and will continue to provide these forms of assistance as long as needed,” the minister said. He thanked the Hungarian charity organisations and their staff for their efforts provided in the largest ever humanitarian programme in the country’s history, also thanking the work of their Slovak counterparts.

Turning to economic issues, Szijjártó noted

soaring inflation, energy prices and banking interests rates as the most pressing challenges, adding that all those factors “could easily trigger a global economic crisis”.

“There’s a lot of tension in the global economy, and one clear sign of it is coming at us in the form of an incredible international pressure that Hungary should back the introduction of a European global minimum tax,” Szijjártó said. Such a tax would however have “a tragic effect” on the European economy, including the Hungarian one, he said.

Szijjártó said that in the current tense global economic situation stable and predictable economic cooperation such as the one developed by Hungary and Slovakia over the past years must be particularly valued. He noted that bilateral trade last year reached a record 13 billion euros and increased in the first three months of 2022 by 49 percent.

On the topic of energy and challenges faced by the sector in both countries, Szijjártó noted similarities not only in their geographical and infrastructural situation but in their energy policies.

“Nuclear energy for example plays an important role in Hungary and in Slovakia, too,”

he said.

Both Hungary and Slovakia “have done their homework” as partners and have built their natural gas interconnectors, Szijjártó said, adding that its capacity was planned to be increased in the direction of Slovakia.

Concerning Ukraine, Szijjártó said the Hungarian government had expressed support for granting Ukraine candidate membership when most western European countries were still hesitating.

The minister said

the Hungarian government does not oppose sending weapons to Ukraine.

“But dictated by the country’s security interests, it has decided neither to send weapons nor to allow their transport directly through the country’s territory. Others may choose to decide otherwise and we will respect their decision”, he said.

Speaking about Hungary’s humanitarian efforts, Szijjártó said “it is not a problem that nobody has thanked us for the assistance, but we cannot accept that we are constantly being provoked and insulted by Ukrainian policy-makers.”

Commenting on the future of the Visegrád Group (V4) cooperation, the Hungarian foreign minister said that despite strong cooperation between the four countries, it cannot be ruled out that they disagree on certain issues.

“But despite the differences of opinion, we will continue to respect each other’s viewpoint,”

he said.

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V4 chiefs of staff discuss army cooperation, Poland was not represented

v4 army cooperation

Army leaders attending a meeting of Visegrad Group chiefs of staff discussed current issues in cooperation between national armies on Tuesday, the Hungarian chief of staff said on Tuesday.

Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said Ukraine’s chief of staff was also invited but the war situation prevented him from travelling to Debrecen for the meeting.

Poland’s chief of staff was also not in attendance,

he added.

“In the current situation, national interests may have priority,”

Ruszin-Szendi said.

The Czech, Slovak and Hungarian army leaders attending the meeting reviewed the situation that has developed in light of the war in Ukraine and tasks resulting from the European Union battlegroup entering service next year, he added.

As we wrote yesterday, German arms and French helicopter plant to open soon in Hungary, read details HERE.

Hungarian Defence Forces, military, soldiers, Hungary
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President: Hungary counts on the Czech Republic

novák katalin petr fiala

Hungary is counting on the Czech Republic to cooperate on sanctions policy and to receive the EU support to which it is entitled, President of Hungary Katalin Novák wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday after meeting Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

The President’s visit to Prague

According to Demokrata, the Hungarian President, who is on a two-day official visit to Prague, stressed that she and the Czech Prime Minister agreed that the Russian-Ukrainian war must end as soon as possible, and that the two countries must provide all possible assistance to refugees and people in need.

“This requires not only words, but also concrete actions and EU funds”,

wrote Katalin Novák, adding that

“we count on Czech pragmatism in cooperating on sanctions policy and in ensuring that Hungary receives the EU funds it is rightfully entitled to”.

Cooperation

The forthcoming Czech Presidency of the EU may also have a role to play in this, Novák noted. The President also stressed that cooperation between the Visegrád Four (V4) is a priority for the Czech Republic as well.

“It is good that we were able to speak openly and frankly with Prime Minister Fiala,” Katalin Novák concluded.

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President Novák, Zeman confirm commitment to V4 cooperation

novák zeman

Hungary and the Czech Republic have confirmed their commitment to the Visegrad Four cooperation, President Katalin Novák said in Prague on Tuesday after talks with Milos Zeman, her Czech counterpart.

All the four member states have a vested interest in continuing close Visegrad cooperation, Novák told a joint press conference.

She said the two countries’ interests coincide in several fields, and there are plenty of similarities between their history.

“We are more tolerant to different views, can agree on a number of issues and represent together our common position in the European Union,”

Novák said.

The Hungarian president said her talks with Zeman focused on bilateral economic cooperation, the war in Ukraine and family policy.

Hungary and the Czech Republic are connected by long-standing friendship, which should be fostered on the highest level, too, Novák said, adding that this was her first official visit abroad as president.

Discussing the war in Ukraine, Novák and Zeman condemned Putin’s aggression and pledged to support their compatriots’ efforts to help Ukrainian refugees.

Novák said she appreciated the aid that the Czech Republic had provided to refugees. She added that Hungary had so far helped 750,000 Ukrainian refugees in what she called its largest ever humanitarian action.

“While speaking of the war, we keep peace in view and will make every possible effort so that peace be restored as soon as possible,” Novák said.

The president welcomed that the European nations had managed to reach a “sound consensus” on the sixth package of EU sanctions, one that Hungary could also support.

Answering a question, Novák said that Hungary supports sanctions causing bigger harm to the aggressor than to the European Union. “Ones that prevent everyday life in the EU countries are not good sanctions,” she said.

A land-locked country dependent on Russian energy supplies has a narrower scope of manoeuvring than another one with access to the sea and less dependence on Russian oil and gas, she said, noting that Hungary and the Czech Republic were in the same boots from this aspect.

“The ongoing war in Ukraine demonstrates the need for all of us to reduce our dependence on Russian gas and oil supplies,” she said.

Novák wished the Czech Republic much success to its forthcoming EU presidency.

Paying a two-day visit to the Czech Republic, Novak is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

Hungarian preisdent Novák in Warsaw Poland
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UPDATE

Zeman said the Czech Republic continued to support cooperation within the Visegrad Four group which he called beneficial to all participants.

“We will by no means loosen or destroy our V4 cooperation,” he added.

Zeman said he highly esteemed Hungary’s political leaders who he said respected and protected their nation’s interests in the context of the Ukraine-Russia war, too.

The Czech president said that although the two countries have no common border, the Czech Republic considers Hungary its “neighbour of honour”.

Preliminary date of Pope Francis’s visit to Hungary set!

Pope Francis

Asked about a future visit to Hungary by Pope Francis, Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, said on today’s government info that a preliminary date had been set and this would be announced by the Vatican.

Regarding V4 cooperation, Gulyás said all four members of the Visegrád Group, Hungary and Poland in particular, aimed to ensure that the bloc continued to operate effectively. He noted differences of opinion on the issue of Russia, but these, he added, were not as sharp as appearances or portrayals in the international press suggested.

“Of key importance are good relations with Poland,”

he said, adding that Katalin Novák, Hungary’s incoming president, will pay her first official foreign visit to Warsaw.

Asked to comment on the opposition’s reaction to ruling Fidesz’s proposal to divide parliamentary positions based on a two-thirds to one-third formula, he said the

ruling side’s offer fairly reflected the election outcome

and it was now up to the six-party coalition to decide whether or not they wanted to participate in parliamentary business. He said recent left-wing proposals had tended to get entangled in their internal strife.

In connection with a range of planned amendments to the 2022 budget, Gulyás said

the government did not support any kind of austerity measure that may affect ordinary people.

At the same time, the deficit target of 4.9 percent remain unchanged. “The question is how long the war in Ukraine will last,” he said, noting that it was costing Hungary several hundred billion forints in additional spending each month. He said a deficit of below 3 percent would not be targeted before the 2024 budget.

Katalin Novák first female president of Hungary
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Hungary and other V4 countries are in the top 12 investment destinations of the world!

Balloon in Budapest travel tourism

Cooperation among the four Visegrád Group countries based on mutual respect is more important today in all areas of the economy including competition law, the Hungarian foreign ministry’s state secretary said addressing the V4 Competition Law Conference in Budapest on Wednesday.

The V4 countries are at the forefront of a global competition for investment with all of them listed among the top 12 investment destinations, Tamás Vargha told the event. Hungary’s trade turnover with its other three V4 partners of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia last year amounted to 35.5 billion euros which provides a solid base for their cooperation, Vargha said.

The state secretary highlighted the importance of acting in unity to provide help to Ukraine and in tackling migration.

“When there is a crisis caused by a pandemic and a war, stable relations gain importance which is why one of the main goals of Hungary’s current V4 presidency is to strengthen the region economically,” said Vargha.

He underlined the importance of active cooperation between the V4 countries in the area of competition law to allow the investigation of violations in cross-border investments, joint ventures and outsourcing, noting that unfair market practices had become increasingly common.

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Slovak Government Spokesperson: Putin and Orbán may divide Slovakia’s borders

Hungary Slovakia bridge infrastructure

Boris Kollár, Slovak Government Spokesperson, fears that Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán will redraw Slovakia’s borders. While in the Czech Republic, the following question arose in connection with the Hungarian election: will the V4 continue its cooperation in the region? The conflict between the Hungarian Government and other countries in connection with the Russia-Ukraine war seems to escalate further.

Slovak Government Spokesperson is concerned

In a television debate on Sunday at noon, Boris Kollár, Slovak Government Spokesperson, expressed his concerns. According to Kollár

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and Russian President Putin may want to break up Slovakia.

Russian aggression could disrupt peace in the EU. According to the Slovak Government Spokesperson, Orbán could take advantage of this. In addition, Kollár fears the threatening pieces of information coming from Hungary.

“They talk about Greater Hungary, they buy real estate from us, they hand out passports! This is not a joke,”

said Kollár angrily. The Hungarian Government had previously purchased real estate in Kosice (Kassa), about which the Slovak leadership only learned from the press. As a result of the Slovak protest, Hungary has abandoned its takeover plans, writes index.hu.

Read more: Minister: ‘Hungary’s energy supplies secure’

Will the V4 cooperation end?

In the Czech Republic, politicians and experts have questioned whether the Hungarian elections could put an end to V4 cooperation since Hungary and the other countries in the region have a completely different approach toward the Ukrainian war. Jan Lipavský, Czech Foreign Minister, believes that

the Hungarian Government must make it clear whether they side with NATO/EU or Russia.

According to the expert, the Hungarian leadership is taking ambiguous steps. Fidesz votes for the sanctions against Russia yet stays away from the war conflict and avoids making a definite statement. Due to that behaviour, many people believe that the Hungarian Government’s communication may change after the elections, writes napi.hu.

The mission of the Visegrád 4, which includes the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, is to work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration. According to political scientist Pavlína Janebová, the V4 does benefit each country individually, therefore, it would be no use to end it. However, when it comes to significant issues the cooperation does not seem to be fruitful.

Read more: Breaking – NATO wants a permanent military presence on the Hungarian-Ukrainian border

These heads of government congratulated Orbán on his election victory – UPDATE

PM orbán

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance’s victory in Hungary’s general election, the Kremlin’s press office said.

Putin

Putin said he hoped that “despite the difficult international situation, bilateral partnership ties will develop fully in line with the interests of the people of Russia and Hungary,” the statement said.

Morawiecki

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference that the results of Hungary’s democratic election should be respected.

“Regardless of our relations with Hungary, we must note that the Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance won its fourth consecutive election with the best possible results, securing a two-thirds majority in the process,” he said.

Concerning sanctions against Russia, the Polish prime minister said “Hungary should not be used as a diversion” by the media when Germany had delayed strong sanctions. The European Union is not hindered in imposing more stringent sanctions by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban but rather “by large countries looking out for their business ties,” he said, noting that Orban had so far voted for all sanctions.

Answering a question, Morawiecki said he would ask Orban to support even stricter sanctions against Russia.

Zeman

Later on Monday, Czech President Milos Zeman wired a message of congratulation to Orban, saying “the Hungarian people support you because you have always put their interests first, and see serving your country as a calling.”

He praised Hungarian-Czech cooperation, and called for the Visegrad Group to be given high priority. “I am convinced that central Europe has great potential in bilateral and international cooperation,” he said.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he hoped Hungary would “take a more active part” in finding a solution to the situation in Ukraine. “Europe has to be united its support of Ukraine, where Russia is committing war crimes,” he said.

Jansa

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa congratulated Orban and Fidesz in a tweet “on this historic victory for Hungary, Europe and the entire free world.”

Fice

Former Slovak President Robert Fico, the head of the opposition Smer-SD party, said Orban had “very clearly” built on Hungary’s independence and economic prosperity. Orban puts Hungarian interests first, and did not allow the country to be “dragged into” the conflict in Ukraine, he said.

Fico said the election results in Hungary were “not surprising at all”, and he noted that during his presidency, he and Orban had worked together to ensure stable Hungarian-Slovak ties.

Other leaders

Later on Monday that numerous other heads of state and government have also congratulated Orban. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu called him by phone on Monday, as did Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India congratulated Orbán on Twitter and Li Keqiang of China wired a message of congratulations.

 

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, among others, published statements.

Read more news about 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election

UPDATE

Brothers of Italy

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, congratulated Orban on his “remarkable victory”, saying Brussels needed to respect the will of the Hungarian voters.

She said “not even the disorderly election concourse of the entirety of the left and the … far right” had been enough to “defeat the Hungarian prime minister”. Meloni said Orban had been criticised for years “for his policies of protecting the borders and the concept of the family”, but “no one has thanked him for the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees taken in over the last few weeks”.

Zelenskiy: Orbán lacks honesty, he lost it somewhere in Russia

zelenskiy ukrainian president

Zelenskiy sent another message to the Hungarian PM last night. Poland will not break off its ties with Hungary.

Zelenskiy’s message

As we can read in szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu’s article, the President of Ukraine has been more critical of the Hungarian Prime Minister than ever before. Zelenskiy said Orbán is virtually the only PM who still supports Putin’s regime.

In his speech last night, the Ukrainian President was referring to Orbán as a man who does not fully comprehend what Ukraine and Europe as a whole are going through. According to Interfax Ukraine, Zelenskiy was not asking Hungary to do anything out of its reach.

“We didn’t even get what everyone else is doing! They are doing it for peace. We did not receive the vital transit of defense assistance, we did not see moral leadership. We did not see a single effort to stop the war!”

protested Zelenskiy.

“Nobody in Europe wants the battlefield to be moved from Mariupol to Budapest, from Kharkiv to Warsaw or from Chernihiv to Vilnius,”

he added. As he put it, the entire Europe wants the end of the war and peace.

“The entire Europe is trying to stop the war, to restore peace. Why, then, is official Budapest opposed to the whole of Europe, to all civilized countries? For what reason?”

he asked outraged. The Ukraine president said that if there is a threat to the whole of Europe, it must be addressed.

“This is called honesty, which Mr. Orbán lacks. Perhaps he lost it somewhere in contacts with Moscow”

ended Zelenskiy his video message to Orbán. 

“We will in no way sever our ties with Hungary”

In an excerpt of an interview with the conservative weekly Sieci, the president of Law and Justice, which leads the Polish ruling coalition, was asked whether Hungary’s stance during the war in Ukraine “breaks” the Polish-Hungarian alliance of recent years.

“Let’s look at this question from a distance,”

answered Jaroslaw Kacznyski.

According to vg.hu, he stressed that Hungary supported all sanctions proposed against Moscow so far and condemned Russian aggression. Hungary is opposed to the ban on Russian gas imports, but

“so, unfortunately, is the attitude of Germany, as well as of several other important EU member states,”

he said.

“We know that Hungary has a different history, so it looks at certain issues differently,”

Kaczyński added.

He also said that they look at Hungary’s behaviour with a critical eye, expecting “greater engagement”. However, he stressed that this did not mean that “we should stop cooperating in areas where we can cooperate”.

“Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has never let his Polish partners down in the EU scene, Poland will never break off its relations with Hungary, and the Visegrád cooperation will continue.”

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V4 cooperation to freeze? Czechs, Poles remain home, Hungary cancels defence meeting

Visegrád Four

Hungary would have hosted the next defence meeting of the Visegrád Four cooperation consisting of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. However, the Poles and the Czechs already cleared they would not come because of the Ukraine policy of the Hungarian government. As it is well-known, Warsaw and Prague are among the hardliners regarding Putin’s war against Russia.

Anti-Russia, pro-Russia?

Poland even offered its MIG-29 warplanes to Ukraine, but the United States baulked that plan fast. However, two days before, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Washington supported the idea. Therefore, it is up to Warsaw now whether they will send those planes or not. The Czech Republic is also among the hardliners when it comes to sanctions against Russia. For example, they would like to implement sanctions on Russian energy. Furthermore, both nations support weapon transports toward Ukraine though the Czechs do not share a border with the war-stricken country.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian government said they would not support the extension of sanctions on Russian energy because that would mean rising heating prices and Hungary’s industrial breakdown. In that respect, Budapest follows Berlin’s standpoint. Furthermore, the Orbán government does not allow lethal military equipment to cross the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. They say such shipments would endanger the Hungarian minority that lives on the Ukrainian side.

Defence meeting postponed

We wrote earlier that János Áder was supposed to visit the city of Bochnia in Poland on 23rd March, on the occasion of the day of Polish-Hungarian friendship. However, the Hungarian president did not go because the Polish president did not want to meet with him because of Hungary’s standpoint regarding the Russian invasion.

Blikk.hu wrote today that Hungary is to cancel the defence meeting of the Visegrád Four countries planned for this Wednesday in Budapest. Both the Czech and the Polish governments cleared they would not come since they disagree with the Orbán cabinet’s Ukraine policy.

According to the information from the Slovakian Ministry of Defence, Hungary received harsh criticism from Poland and the Czech Republic. Wojciech Skurkiewicz, the Polish Deputy Minister of Defence, said that observing what goes around the V4 cooperation does not give a reason for optimism. 

The Czech Minister of Defence, Jana Černochová, cancelled the defence meeting in Budapest last Friday. Her Polish colleague, Mariusz Błaszczak, did the same Monday evening. “I am very sorry that cheap Russian oil is more important for Hungarian politicians than Ukrainian blood” – Černochová said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said it was hard to understand PM Orbán’s attitude towards Ukraine. The Polish Foreign Minister added Orbán made a mistake regarding its Russia and Ukraine policy. 

 

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Hungarian Pres. not visiting Poland on the day of Polish-Hungarian friendship?

János Áder would have been expected to visit the city of Bochnia in Poland on March 23, on the occasion of the day of Polish-Hungarian friendship, but now it seems like the Hungarian president will not travel.

A statue would have been inaugurated, but it looks like the whole program will be cancelled in Poland

The statue of St. Kinga, the daughter of Hungarian King Béla IV, would have been unveiled on March 23 in the southern Polish city of Bochnia by Hungarian President János Áder and Polish President Andrzej Duda, but the organisers cancelled the program, Azonnali.hu was informed.

According to the news, the current Hungarian president, János Áder, is not travelling to Poland at all. (Katalin Novák, the new Hungarian president, will take office on 10 May.)
By Friday afternoon, the Polish side still had not received a request for permission from the Office of the President of the Republic of Hungary to allow the armed bodyguards of János Áder to cross the Polish border.

This is, of course, a formality, and on a friendly presidential visit, the host country quasi-automatically grants permission, but it is a “mandatory circle” to be run between the official bodies of the two states.

It seems likely that the program will be officially “postponed” because of the war, but many say the reason was that Andrzej Duda did not want to show up publicly with his Hungarian counterpart at such a protocol event because of Hungary’s pro-Russian stance.

The day of Polish-Hungarian friendship

The Hungarian and Polish parliaments declared March 23 as the day of Polish-Hungarian friendship in 2007, and since then, both countries have been celebrating with special programs. Due to the pandemic, personal meetings were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, but, for example, a virtual commemoration was held in 2021 by János Áder and Andrzej Duda, the presidents of the two countries.

Although the current political situation does not affect the people who will surely carry on the friendship, it seems that the Polish-Hungarian relationship has been strained due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The situation of the Visegrád Four

The Visegrád Four Alliance has so far worked in two ways: as a Central European association capable of representing the 4 participating states (the Czech Republic and Slovakia besides Hungary and Poland) in the European political arena, and between the 4 states.

It has provided an opportunity for political and professional cooperation. However, the Visegrád Four have not been completely united: while Hungary and Poland have resisted some policies within the EU, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have shown a much friendlier approach to the political elite in Brussels.

Can Orbán isolate himself internationally?

If the current Polish-Hungarian political alliance weakens, Orbán’s position on the international political scene will certainly become more difficult. He will have difficulties asserting his will if he loses his main ally, and Poland will obviously look to new allies.

The Polish prime minister, for example, along with the Czech and Slovenian prime ministers, recently visited war-torn Kyiv, while Orbán did not join them.

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