Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu on Friday, a day before Orbán’s speech at Tusványos. The discussions focused on bilateral relations between the two countries and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area.

Minister of Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás stated on Friday that Hungary does not want to blackmail Ukraine over the halted transit of Russian Lukoil oil shipments via Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. However, Gulyás pointed out that if no solution is found in the near future, ‘other steps should be considered’.

Balázs Orbán emphasized at a party political roundtable discussion on Thursday at the 33rd Bálványos Summer Open University and Student Camp that peace advocates will eventually become the majority in Europe, stating that ‘time is on their side’.

The overwhelming majority of Hungarians support transparency in the foreign funding of media outlets. Recently, there has been an increase in foreign attempts to interfere in Hungarian domestic politics, with the media being a primary target. In response, the government established the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty. This move, however, could prompt Brussels to penalize the country with another rule of law mechanism.

After Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated on Wednesday that Ukraine was ready to negotiate with Russia if Moscow ‘acts in good faith’, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded on Thursday that Russia was willing to negotiate with Ukraine even if Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains president. Viktor Orbán’s peace mission has undoubtedly contributed to these positive developments towards peace, and the Hungarian Prime Minister could play a crucial role in mediating further talks.

Analysts found that 23.5 per cent of Hungarians now have some money left in their pockets at the end of the month, compared to 19.7 per cent a year earlier. One in three Hungarians managed to save some amount monthly, although the overall proportion has decreased by 0.2 per cent compared to the previous year.

In an official statement of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Hungarian government expressed its disagreement with the recent findings of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, according to which Israel’s presence in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem is ‘unlawful’, while Israel’s ‘policies and practices’ in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, including ‘the maintenance and expansion of settlements’, amount to the ‘annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.’

During the mission, the Hungarian research astronaut will spend 14 days aboard the International Space Station, conducting scientific experiments that will not only benefit the domestic space sector but also position Hungary competitively on the international stage in one of the 21st century’s most rapidly developing industries.

Bulgaria has offered to help maintain Hungary’s energy security if Ukraine does not resume Russian Lukoil oil shipments to Hungary in the near future. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called Sofia’s offer a sincere gesture of friendship.

During the handover ceremony, Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky highlighted that the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the necessity for every country to have a well-functioning defence industry capable of supplying the nation at all times and in all situations.

As Hungary’s premier higher education institution covering the full spectrum of teacher training, it is particularly important for ELTE that 20 per cent of those admitted will start their studies as teacher trainees. Numerically, this means that ELTE admitted the highest number of applicants (2,500) to teacher training in the last 15 years.

Balázs Orbán, the political director for the Hungarian Prime Minister, participated in a panel discussion at this year’s Bálványos Summer Free University and Student Camp. He spoke about the current state of the European right, Viktor Orbán’s peace mission, and Hungarian foreign policy strategy. He mentioned that the Patriots for Europe political group, co-founded by Viktor Orbán, will be expanded in the near future, but he did not specify who the new members might be.

Hungary boasts an impressive Olympic history, having won 181 gold medals and a total of 511, ranking 8th in the all-time medal standings, which is a significant achievement for a nation of just 9–10 million people. According to the latest forecast from Nielsen Gracenote in June, Hungary is expected to perform exceptionally well at the Paris Olympics: the international analysis team predicts 7 gold, 6 silver, and 10 bronze medals, placing Hungary 11th in the medal table.

The meeting explored the application of artificial intelligence in the legal field. They reviewed best practices on how artificial intelligence can be employed in judicial practices and legal services to enhance the efficiency of law enforcement, citing the anonymization of documents as an example.

‘Eventually, he fired the gun, which made a loud bang, and meanwhile, the special unit of the French gendarmerie arrived, with three burly men carrying submachine guns, and disarmed the man,’ the Hungarian expert detailed the traumatic events.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Russia if Moscow acts in good faith, following his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Kuleba’s visit to China sheds new light on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s peace mission: Orbán could play an important role in organizing the next peace conference, where Kyiv would welcome Russia’s participation.

Mainstream political groups in the European Parliament have once again defied the will of the electorate, preventing Patriots for Europe (PfE), the EP’s third largest group, from gaining top jobs in parliamentary committees. Kinga Gál, PfE’s First Vice-Chairman, stated that they will challenge the decision at the Conference of Presidents and did not rule out taking the case to the EU’s top court.

The joint global study, conducted between October and December 2023, was based on responses from more than 150,000 employees in 188 countries. According to the survey, the most important factor for employees globally when choosing a job is long-term job security, whereas in Hungary, remuneration is the top priority.

The Hungarian government has taken a decisive step following Kyiv’s decision to halt Lukoil’s oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine. According to Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, Budapest will block payments from the European Peace Facility, amounting to approximately €6.5 billion, until Kyiv restores uninterrupted oil transit.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary is among the featured speakers at the annual Bálványos Summer Free University and Student Camp, better known by its colloquial name Tusványos, as per tradition. The event is taking place from 23–28 July in Tusnádfürdő (Băile Tușnad), Transylvania, Romania.

Ádám, who became an international meme phenomenon for his unusual appearance during the Euros, has terminated his contract with his old club Ulsan HD in South Korea. He is now joining Asteras Tripolis, a club in the top division in Greece.

Germany’s budget for next year cuts aid to Ukraine while Chancellor Scholz’s ‘Zeitenwende’ could also fizzle out without adequate financial support.

The poll results concerning the perceived suitability of political leaders for the prime ministerial position are revealing: among potential candidates for a parliamentary election, Viktor Orbán is considered the most suitable to lead Hungary by 49 per cent of Hungarians.

Hungary and Slovakia are taking joint action against Ukraine over its halting of Russian oil shipments to the two EU member states. This move seriously threatens the long-term energy security of both countries, and is considered a violation of the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement by Budapest and Bratislava.

In an unprecedented twist of events, we now have the incumbent party running a non-incumbent candidate, while the non-incumbent party is running a former incumbent candidate. The incumbent advantage is a well-documented phenomenon in American politics, a lot of which is due to simple name recognition. This aspect now heavily favours Former President Trump.

Polish MEP Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik has been catapulted to fame by her tough speech last week in the European Parliament mercilessly criticizing Ursula von der Leyen. Zajączkowska-Hernik stated, among other things, that von der Leyen should go to jail instead of seeking re-election for her political activities over the past five years. The Polish MEP’s speech has already been viewed by nearly 3 million people on X.

The level of escalation in the Middle East has risen significantly after Israel struck a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen over the weekend, marking the first such attack since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out last October. The retaliatory strike follows a deadly drone attack by the Yemeni Houthis on Tel Aviv.

This is not the first time the American Embassy engages in such odd conduct. Its anti-government billboard campaign in April 2023 was similarly negative, short-lived and ineffective.

Balázs Orbán, the political director of the Hungarian Prime Minister, discussed Viktor Orbán’s peace mission and its impact in a lengthy post on X. He wrote: ‘The winds of change are upon us; it’s time for European leaders to overcome years of war psychosis!’

New sanctions by the Ukrainian government have forced oil transports from the Russian oil procedure Lukoil to be stopped to Hungary and Slovakia. However, Hungary is still receiving gas shipments from Russia uninterrupted through the TurkStream pipeline.