‘The essence of the grand strategy for Hungary—and now I will use intellectual language—is connectivity. This means that we will not allow ourselves to be locked into only one of either of the two emerging hemispheres in the world economy. The world economy will not be exclusively Western or Eastern. We have to be in both, in the Western and in the Eastern. This will come with consequences. The first. We will not get involved in the war against the East. We will not join in the formation of a technological bloc opposing the East, and we will not join in the formation of a trade bloc opposing the East.’
Levente Magyar, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, discussed Ukraine, China, and relations between Budapest and Washington at the White House on Thursday. Relations between the two allies have deteriorated significantly under Joe Biden’s presidency, both parties agreed to halt and improve this decline.
The heroes of the dramatic encounter were Soma Vogel, who saved two penalties in regular time and three in the shootout, and Krisztián Manhercz, who scored five goals and secured the decisive final penalty.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary reportedly pledged to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine that he would provide state funding for a Ukrainian-Hungarian bilingual school during their July 2024 meeting, and he has followed through with his pledge.
The Wednesday evening programme featured a grand gala concert with performances by Turkic artists, alongside a representation from Hungary by the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble. Additionally, an exhibition showcasing the best of Turkic culture was opened at the House of Traditions as part of the series.
‘At times the only way to make the world safe for democracy, as Wilson envisioned, is to assume an amoral position, which may require a courtship of impure partners, even at the risk of tolerating their immoral policies. Yet notwithstanding the apparent Wilsonian recession in the U.S.-led West, and for that matter, the rest of the world, President Wilson’s vision is so heavily rooted in American political culture that its values shall continue to have a global appeal.’
As the confrontation between the United States and China intensifies, the question of whether decoupling is achievable in practice could not be more timely. According to David Harvilicz, it is indeed possible, and he outlined a three-point plan of action in that regard at this year’s National Conservatism Conference in Washington.
Real estate prices in Hungary have shown outstanding growth among the European markets this year so far, the Azerbaijani news site AzerNews reports. Similarly, according to leading Hungarian real estate listing website Ingatlan.com, the average time it takes to sell a listed property on their site has significantly decreased.
Originally launched in September 2022, the programme is part of a consortium of 17 Hungarian universities, offering four distinct yet coordinated space science courses.
Within hours of the announcement of Kamala Harris picking Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, the American news site POLITICO published an article comparing Governor Walz’s views of PM Orbán of Hungary to that of Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Vice Presidental candidate on the Republican side.
The director of the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee claims that the ‘Zionist lobby’ is trying to break controversial boxer Imane Khelif’s spirit in what he calls an ‘attempt to stop an Arab or Muslim girl from rising in the ranks of female boxing’. Khelif made headlines after allegations emerged that she has XY chromosomes, a characteristic of biological males, while competing in the 66 kg women’s category at the Paris Olympics.
György Bakondi reported that nearly three thousand border violators have been apprehended and forty-five human traffickers brought to court in Hungary this year. While these numbers are lower than in the same period last year, they remain significantly high compared to the pre-2015 peace period, he added.
Zsolt Kutnyánszky, the State Secretary responsible for defence policy, military development, and the defence industry, announced the deployment of the new aircraft at the Butmir Camp near Sarajevo. He stated that the new Airbus H225M helicopter will replace the previously offered Mi-17 helicopter for air transport tasks within EUFOR.
After the expansion of the so-called National Card scheme for which Russian and Belarusian nationals have now also become eligible, Budapest came under fire from Brussels politicians who claimed the measure poses a security risk to Europe. However, the conditions under which Russian nationals can enter and work in Hungary have not significantly changed with the introduction of the National Card and are comparable to the visa regimes of other European countries, which in fact allow Russians to apply for long-term visas in a much more generous way than Hungary and yet have never been pilloried for it.
‘I think being in the conservative world, you’re used to the media fabricating things. So, it’s nice to see with my own eyes, and to hear from the people that live here. Obviously,Hungary is viewed favourably by the right wing. I know Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán have met several times, Tucker Carlson has been here. So, in the circles I run in, people have great things to say about Hungary.’
In the first US presidential election in 1788–1789, it was not the eventual winner that was in question, since George Washington ran unopposed. Rather, it was about the way the US Constitution would be put into practice, both during the election process and thereafter in Washington’s first term as President of the United States.
The European Commission will not convene a consultative forum on the dispute between Ukraine and EU members states Hungary and Slovakia over the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine. Brussels’ reasoning is that there is no immediate threat to the energy security of these two countries due to Kyiv’s decision to halt the supplies. These developments indicate that the European Commission has blatantly sided with a non-EU member against two member states, jeopardizing their energy security.
Over the six days of the festival, approximately 600 performances will be showcased. Many acts will come from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, as well as from Senegal, India, Tanzania, New Zealand, and Benin. The festival can accommodate 95,000 people daily, with 10,000–15,000 of these being staff and partners, leaving space for up to 80,000 ticket holders.
Despite the challenges of wartime conditions, the government has maintained its utility cost reduction programme, successfully protecting Hungarian families against Brussels’ war-supporting and misguided sanctions policy. This has resulted in Hungarian households paying the lowest prices of electricity and gas in Europe, government commissioner Szilárd Németh shared at a press conference on Monday.
The international community has been watching events in the Middle East with bated breath for days, as Iran could attack Israel at any moment. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó reportedly informed his Israeli counterpart of Tehran’s intention to attack on Monday evening.
On Monday, Axiom Space officially confirmed that in partnership with Hungary, Poland (with support from the European Space Agency), and India, each of these nations will send an astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).
For all the legitimate concerns about a second Trump presidency, Mr. Biden’s feeble governance—or whoever was running the show behind the scenes—and the falsehoods fed to the American public by the Democrats as to his mental and physical incapacities have achieved exactly what President Biden accused Mr. Trump of: weakening democracy.
In the process of international expansion, many fundamentally successful businesses and start-ups falter. What is the reason and how can companies successfully break into foreign markets? These were the questions addressed in a vibrant panel discussion on the second day of this year’s MCC Feszt.
This year’s presidential election in the United States was a prominent topic at MCC Feszt 2024. A whole panel of speakers, namely Miklós Szánthó, James Carafano, Mark Milosch, and István Stumpf, discussed how they see the contest between Republican Donald J. Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris is shaping up.
The festival, scheduled for 23–25 August, will commence with a promenade concert titled ‘Steps’. The canopy walkway will be transformed into the Eötvös Path, featuring nine short compositions by the late Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös, who passed away on 24 March.
Hungarian military force development is currently taking place in several dimensions: rearmament, real estate and infrastructure development, and transformation of the HDF’s organizational culture. On the second day of this year’s MCC Feszt, Hungarian Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky gave a comprehensive overview of the current state of the Hungarian armed forces, future plans, and why he considers Hungary a military nation.
Vasif Huseynov, Titus Techera, Amitav Acharya, and Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın gathered for a panel discussion on the last day of MCC Feszt 2024 in Esztergom, Hungary to discuss how major world powers approach international relations in these turbulent times.
‘At the moment, there seem to be many priorities, ranging from transgender issues to the fight against climate change. However, the focus on making the European Union a competitive, attractive place to do business and fostering the best or most innovation in the world is lacking,’ former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pointed out in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
One of the most anticipated events of the Paris Olympics concluded in the expected victory of the masculine looking boxer Imane Khelif. Her opponent, Hungarian Luca Hámori stood her ground and fought until the last moment of the bout.
Hungary’s impressive medal haul, including three medals in swimming, three in fencing, one in shooting, and one in athletics, currently places the nation 12th in the Olympic medal table.