Péter Szijjártó welcomed Novartis’ announcement that the Swiss pharmaceutical company is establishing a new regional research and development centre in Budapest, from where it will coordinate its research projects in Southern Europe and Africa.

The event featured, among others, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Croatian MP Stephen Bartulica, and Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga. Minister Varga called Hungary ‘an island where freedom still lives’; while referring to the Brussels bureaucracy and mainstream media as ‘an octopus with 100 tentacles that we have to fight’.

Hungary and Bangladesh belong to the peace-loving global majority, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a joint press conference with Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in Budapest on Friday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hosted a working lunch for the European participants of CPAC Hungary, and two special guests.

Lt General Gábor Böröndi is the ‘right man in the right place at the right time’ to lead the Hungarian Defence Forces from the combat level to the operational level, the Hungarian Defence Minister stressed at the Lt General’s hearing in parliament.

The Prime Minister gave this piece of advice at CPAC Hungary 2023 to his conservative allies around the world on how to defeat the woke mind virus: ‘All it takes is to write well-visibly on the flag with enormous letters before the elections: no migration, no gender, no war.’

The prime minister talked about how Hungary has a vested interest in achieving peace in Ukraine, since the war diminishes the value of Hungary and endangers the ethnic Hungarians living in the area.

After a five-and-a-half- year renovation, metro line M3 is to become fully operational on 22 May, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony announced on social media.

According to the law sponsored by the justice minister, an extended state of emergency is needed to handle the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war in Ukraine and to tackle the economic consequences of the armed conflict. The bill was designed to ‘ensure all means to assist and accommodate refugees, fence off the negative economic impacts.. and help the country leave behind the effects of the war as soon as possible,’ the draft legislation’s preamble said.

The second annual CPAC Hungary is taking place on 4–5 May at the Bálna shopping and cultural centre in Budapest. The featured speakers include Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Minister of Justice Judit Varga, former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, cable news anchor Tucker Carlson, former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, and former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša.

The leaders of five EU member states, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania, requested in mid-April that the European Commission take action on Ukrainian grain entering Europe duty-free and causing harm to local farmers.

The foreign minister called the preservation of communities that stayed together in ‘every storm‘ extremely important at the opening of the renovated Old School in Western Hungarian Hegykő. The project was completed with a 220 million HUF Hungarian government–European Union grant.

Bence Rétvári recalled at the farewell ceremony of the Hungarian police contingent heading to Serbia that a mission was launched in January this year in cooperation with Austrian and Serbian police officers to jointly protect the southern borders of Serbia to combat illegal migration and human smugglers.

The Hungarian parliament will be in sessions for two weeks as of today. Important legislation will be discussed and debated, including regulations related to the asset declaration of politicians, to the judiciary and the conditions of declaring a state of emergency in the country.

In his homily at the holy mass in Kossuth Square on 30 April, Pope Francis reflected on the image of the Good Shepherd, who knows His sheep and calls them by name, and then sends them forth to be witnesses of the Gospel.

Pope Francis thanked the Catholic church in Hungary for its charitable work. ‘You have built up a network that links pastoral workers, volunteers, parish and diocesan Caritas organizations, while also engaging prayer groups, communities of believers, and organisations belonging to other confessions, yet united in the ecumenical fellowship that is born of charity,’ he noted. ‘Thank you too, for having welcomed—not only with generosity but also with enthusiasm—so many refugees from Ukraine.’

President Katalin Novák received Pope Francis with military honours in front of the presidential offices at the Sándor Palace, in the Castle District this morning. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and House Speaker László Kövér were also in attendance. The Holy Father arrived at the palace in a Fiat 500X accompanied by three hussars of the count Ferenc Nádasdy Hussar Regiment.

Apart from causing tragic suffering for the locals and posing a major threat to foreign nationals living in Sudan, the civil war is unfortunately also expected to result in an increase in the number of people trying to enter the EU illegally.

Wizz Air announced a partnership with Firefly Green Fuels. Firefly produces sustainable aviation fuel from sewage sludge. The aim of the partnership is to further decrease the carbon footprint of the aviation company.

Alexandra Szentkirályi reiterated that Hungary still does not and will not ship weapons to Ukraine nor will it allow other countries to ship weapons through its territory.

Four Central European countries, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, have announced bans on foodstuff imports coming from Ukraine. Meanwhile, Romania has joined them in demanding action from the EU to address these concerns. The five countries are estimated to have lost 417 million EUR combined due to cheap Ukrainian food imports.

The ‘survival programme’ was approved with 18 votes in favour and 12 abstentions. As a result, the city will take out a 16.6 billion forint loan for project development in 2023. The loan is going to match the support provided in EU funding, central budget allocations and loans granted by the European Investment Bank.

The Justice Minister announced on social media that the government will submit further, child protection-related legislative proposals to the National Assembly in the autumn. ’Hungary will have the strictest child protection regulations in Europe because there is no compromise in child protection,’ she wrote. She also pointed out that more and more evidence is emerging that the Hungarian opposition had accepted 4 billion forints in ‘mysterious’ foreign donations to represent foreign interests and policies in Hungary.

The Political Director of the Prime Minister, Balázs Orbán has been appointed to oversee the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT), which is also changing its name back to the pre-2014 one of Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA). The new president of the organisation will be Gladden J. Pappin.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy, where he expressed his strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance. Viktor Orbán, who has been a vocal proponent of peace negotiations and is fully aware that such remarks are seen as a provocative move by Russia, took to Twitter to voice his strong dissent.

Monday’s negotiations were a very important milestone in building trust between the EU and Hungary, Judit Varga said, who added that she does not expect any new conditions from the European Commission regarding the Hungarian justice package.

Following the escalation, the Hungarian government started to evacuate Hungarian citizens from the affected zones. Four individuals have already been evacuated from Sudan, while the taking to safety of six other individuals is still ongoing.

Viktor Orbán emphasised at the event organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry that six out of ten students who finish their primary education continue their studies in vocational education in Hungary, with technical schools being the most popular choice.

On the day of the performance, artists will only be able to bring in a small bag with them. This means security checks will be similar to those at airports, so participants and performers will need to arrive hours before the event.

Zsolt Bayer, known for his radical rhetoric, announced that another Peace March would be held during the papal visit, and asked people to attend in ‘awfully large numbers’, as a big turnout would not only ‘have a spiritual, but also a political message’.