‘My whole life has always been guided by a sense of duty to my family. Now we might as well go home, but we wouldn’t be any happier there…Here we are part of our family and can help if needed. We live in a Hungarian community; we are happy here. If only we didn’t miss Hungary so much…’

The new Criminal Code of Hungary is one of the strictest in Europe, leading to more criminals being sentenced to incarceration for longer periods of time, necessitating larger prison capacities.

According to a study conducted by the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), printed weekly newspapers have lost the most readers, registering a 25.2 per cent decline in readership. Monthly or periodically published periodicals saw a decrease of 23.5 per cent, while daily newspapers experienced a 5.7 per cent decline.

The governing Fidesz-KDNP party coalition in Hungary has maintained their support, while fewer would vote for the parties of the left-wing alliance than did in 2022, as revealed by a joint political year-opening roundtable discussion organized by five polling institutes on Thursday, 11 January in Budapest.

According to press reports, Giorgia Meloni is in an endeavour to persuade Viktor Orbán to withdraw his veto on the €50 billion EU aid to Ukraine, offering a unique deal in return. Kyiv could soon face severe challenges or even collapse without substantial foreign financial assistance.

The Second Hungarian Army, during the autumn and winter of 1942, prepared to hold up the incoming Soviet offensive coming from the direction of Stalingrad. As the Germans lost the siege of the city in all but theory, it was practically sure that the Soviets would advance toward the River Don. Thus, the Hungarian troops were left to defend the bridgeheads from the Soviets, who outnumbered them seven to one.

Miklós Szánthó announced that the conference will be taking place between 25–26 April, and the keynote speaker will be Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary.

Stefánsson commenced his literary career with poetry. He ventured into novel writing in the ’90s, gaining international success. In 2005, his work Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night earned him the Icelandic Literary Award, followed by the Per Olov Enquist Literary Award in 2011. His novel The Fish Have No Feet was nominated for the International Man Booker Prize in 2017, and in 2022, it received the French Prix du livre étranger for the best foreign-language book of the year.

While the new liberal government in Poland has brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis within a month, Hungarian MP Márton Tompos from the leftist Momentum party is apparently looking to emulate the Polish Prime Minister, and is threatening with similar retaliation in the low chance of a leftist takeover in Hungary.

In recent weeks, the Western alliance behind Ukraine seems to have split: one side is beginning to acknowledge the realities and is pushing for peace talks, while the other side wants to keep pouring money and arms into Ukraine.

Bence Rétvári declared that the ‘Brussels bureaucrats’ fear that anti-migration forces will advance in the European Parliament elections. Therefore, ‘in a panic,’ they resurrected previous migration-friendly proposals.

According to the ministry’s statement, the Hungarian Foreign Minister underscored that one of the main priorities of Hungarian foreign policy remains the acceleration of Western Balkan integration. Consequently, Hungary will dedicate particular attention to this goal during its upcoming EU presidency.

Last year, 22,651 vehicles with official green markings were registered domestically, making 2023 another record year, surpassing the nearly 21,000-unit expansion peak in 2022.

In her welcoming speech at the reception of the Ambassadors accredited to Hungary, President Novák addressed the global challenges facing our world, the future of Europe, and Hungary’s role on the international stage.

This year marks a pivotal moment for the right-wing parties of Europe, as the anticipated shift in political dynamics is poised to unfold across the continent. In this article, we delve into the prospects and potential for the European right in the year 2024.

‘In the capital city in particular, Ukrainians signal in a variety of small ways their desire to belong to the West. Kyiv could compete with any European capital when it comes to the number of EU flags seen on the streets. At European Square, not far from Maidan, in the middle of a roundabout the four-pointed star of NATO stands atop a metal pillar surrounded by a circle of Ukrainian and EU flags.’

The Budapest Central European Fashion Week (BCEFW) has become one of the most significant fashion events in the Central European region.

The university’s public statement recalled that since 2019, researchers have been conducting excavations near the Transylvanian village of Valiora. Their findings include numerous bones from vertebrates that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period. Scientific analyses of the artefacts are still ongoing.

The catastrophe of the Second Hungarian Army at the River Don is a well-known and traumatic memory for most Hungarians. The army formation was deployed near Stalingrad, and was almost entirely destroyed by the Soviets in 1943, leaving many Hungarian families with deceased relatives.

According to the ten-page study by the international credit rating agency, the stable outlook is supported by the region’s expected robust macroeconomic performance. In addition, the economies of the countries in the region have been relatively resilient to the European energy supply crisis.

The Mayor deemed the Transport Minister’s fare community proposal, the acceptance of county and country passes in the capital, and the preservation of the Budapest pass as steps in a positive direction on Tuesday, as conveyed through a post on his Facebook page.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has called for the creation of a common European army. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the question of how Europe can defend itself against the threats it faces has become increasingly pressing.

The NFI’s decision-making committee voted to support the production of six different television works.

The winners of the 66th edition of the award show were announced live on air on M4 Sport, at the ceremonial Athletes of the Year Awards show at the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest on Monday evening.

Approximately 8.5 billion cubic metres of gas was used, indicating a decrease of 1 billion cubic metres, or 10.9 per cent, compared to the 2022 level, and a substantial 2.5 billion cubic metres, or 23 per cent, reduction compared to 2021, as reported by the Ministry of Energy.

Charles Michel has announced his candidacy for the European Parliament in this year’s elections, leaving his seat at the head of the European Council vacant. This raises the prospect of Viktor Orbán taking up the post, causing panic among the European left.

Péter Szijjártó opined that, given all the elections taking place in the world from the United States to Europe, this year will be the political equivalent of the Super Bowl.

This initiative aims to enhance the scientific utilization of data from planetary exploration spacecraft like JUICE. A comprehensive overview of the experiment was recently published in the prestigious Space Science Reviews journal.

Despite constant criticism from the left, Hungary is one of the few EU countries that have managed to fully draw down the EU funds for the 2014–2020 period. The €32.08 billion has been allocated to several tangible projects in recent years.

We can say, albeit cautiously, that 2023 was a year of struggle for many of us, but a year of achievements and success, too. If we take the word ‘struggle’ out of the previous sentence, we could even turn this assessment into a New Year’s wish.