On the first day of the Rule of Law as Lawfare Conference experts such as Minister of European Union Affairs János Bóka of Hungary and MEP Ryszard Legutko of Poland discussed how the legal concept of the rule of law has been turned into a political weapon by EU bodies, and analysed the double standards applied to different Member States with rule of law assessment procedures.

There is a growing sense that the two right-wing political groups, Identity and Democracy (ID) and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), are willing to form an alliance after the elections. In this context, Marine Le Pen, the de facto leader of the French National Rally, has extended an offer to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to join forces. The new alliance could result in the right-wing bloc becoming the second-largest group in the new European Parliament, surpassing the Socialists.

The great confederation of the Cumans was one of the steppe tribal confederations of Turkic origin, which successfully represented and spread the once mighty ‘steppe civilization’ to a significant part of Eastern Europe. Although the Cuman state was unfortunately destroyed in the power and political dimensions, the descendants of the Cumans still live here among us in Hungary. People with Cuman-Hungarian identity greatly enriched the medieval (and modern) Hungarian nation and strengthened the Eastern relations of Hungarians alongside the also vital Western connections.

Incumbent conservative judge Andrew Pinson beat his liberal challenger John Barrow by 10 points in an election for a seat on the Supreme Court of Georgia last Friday. That is despite the fact that Barrow made abortion rights the centre message of the campaign, which is perceived as one of the strongest issues for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election.

The HDZ-led coalition won 34.4 per cent of the votes in the general election, while the Rivers of Justice got 25.4 per cent of the vote, with a turnout of 62.3 per cent. These results give a hint as to what the outcome of the upcoming European Parliament elections may be. (In the EP HDZ is part of the European People’s Party, while SDP is a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).) Precedent shows that if two elections are held shortly after each other the party that won the first election is likely to slightly improve its vote share in the subsequent election.

The Free Market Road Show, held for the ninth time, was organized in collaboration with the Austrian Economics Center and the Danube Institute. This year’s speakers discussed topics such as Central Bank Digital Currencies and the related issues of individual freedom and privacy, new economic strategies for a post-COVID world, and how global security threats, such as wars and migration, affect trade.

At the weekly government press briefing last week the Hungarian PM’s chief of staff, Minister Gergely Gulyás stated that Hungary would not enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu. He declared that it is not appropriate to use a court as a political tool, and it should be remembered that the ‘utterly ruthless, disgraceful and despicable terrorist attack’ suffered by Israel was the root cause of everything that is happening in the Gaza Strip.

‘In modern Christian Democracy, the Roman Catholic and Protestant lines of thought come together to form a common Christian understanding of a desirable society. Subsidiarity as one of the core principles in social teaching calls for a healthy society, where different vertical levels and horizontal spheres respect each other’s autonomy, even sovereignty, while at the same time bringing them into cooperation.’

On Thursday, 23 May the Warsaw Institute of Poland organized an online panel discussion on the future of the Visegrad Group, focusing on issues such as the Russo-Ukrainian war and the EU integration of the West Balkans.

‘Energy security, in terms the consumer understands, needs to address three things: reliability, affordability, and acceptability, in that order. These terms apply to a nation state’s understanding of energy security, both because a citizenry not achieving these things will rapidly object and because a nation state is quickly made vulnerable by the instability that comes when energy is no longer reliable, affordable, or acceptable.’

Now that it is almost summertime when a cool beer can come in handy, we invite our readers to a brief journey through time to discover some fun facts about the past and present of beer brewing in Hungary.

‘If we are looking for a more idealistic, right-wing conservative solution to the puzzle, we have to question the current form of the EU as it is. It may be appealing to the economic right, but it contains very little for the social right. This would mean either a radical restructuring of the EU to align towards more of these values or its reduction to a mere economic cooperation platform.’

‘I’m the Executive Director, but I also know that if there’s garbage, somebody must take it out. Similarly, I’m six feet tall, so if something in the back or on the top needs to be reached, I do it. When I was locked in the elevator once, the repairman showed me how to fix the elevator if I ever got stuck in it again. I am the chief bottle washer or the brain, the archivist, the curator when needed. I wear all these hats. Since I’m approachable, everybody feels they know me from different events in town. For some, I even became the face of the Hungarian community in New Brunswick.’

‘Germany’s slow and opaque stance on helping Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion can also be seen as reactive rather than proactive…One reason for Germany’s caution is of course a certain degree of self-consciousness—the country that produced Nazism wants to be seen as kind and respectful, not powerful or dominant. Yet all others know that it is indeed powerful, and interpret even Germany’s silence.’

The Lithuanian presidency began with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė outlining the goals of the upcoming term. Firstly, she mentioned the importance of supporting Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression, which should be achieved by strengthening democratic institutions in Ukraine and providing further significant support for reconstruction. Secondly, she stressed that a higher level of accountability would be required in connection with international crimes. In this process, the CoE’s expertise should be utilized, for example, to establish a Special International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

‘That Britain chose to join the EEC in 1975 was a tragedy. That it left the EU with the utmost incompetence in 2016 was a farce caused entirely by the Conservative Party’s inability to resolve the psychological trauma of three decades. In both instances, it is the British people who have suffered and they whose trust in politics to be a force for good has, as a consequence, been destroyed.’

As of this May, the National Graphical Programming Competition, established by the John von Neumann Computer Society, will bear the name of Mihály Kovács (1916⁠–⁠2006), Hungary’s first secondary school computer science teacher and a Piarist monk.

According to Fanni Lajkó, an analyst at the Center for Fundamental Rights, Europe faces two paths in the upcoming June elections: succumbing to pro-war views or rising up to restore the European Union’s original mission as a peace project. The institute held a press conference on Friday, where the Director of EU Research, Attila Kovács, and Fanni Lajkó shared their insights on the latest lead candidate debate.

An ethnic Hungarian woman in Trascaprathia, Ukraine, who asked to remain anonymous, penned an open letter, asking for prayers for the men and their families in Ukraine who are in a state of panic over the new, stricter conscription law.

According to a survey commissioned by liberal think tank Republikon, Szentkirályi has managed to rally the Fidesz base in the capital, while Karácsony has succeeded in garnering support from the opposition. Szentkirályi has overtaken former Centre for Budapest Transport, independent candidate Dávid Vitézy in the poll.

Social media plays a significant role in young people’s lives: according to research conducted by the Hungarian Media Authority, children use popular social media sites daily. The aim of the publication is to discuss the risks, impacts, and opportunities of social media usage in a context that is easily understandable for young people, allowing them to form their own opinions on the topic.

The first scientific results from the Euclid mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) have arrived, including five new images of the universe with unprecedented detail, which showcase the telescope’s capability to uncover the cosmos’ secrets; enabling scientists to search for drifting planets and use minor distortions in galaxy images to study dark matter and investigate the evolution of the universe. The Hungarian HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences joined the consortium this year.

Ilaria Salis, an Italian anti-fascist activist, was moved from a Budapest prison to house arrest on Thursday morning after spending over 15 months in custody. The court had ordered the payment of a €40,000 bail.

‘The history of European integration is in fact nothing more than the history of the power struggle of the EU institutions. The powers of the institutions at the core of the current EU have been in a constant state of flux since the beginning of the European project…’

The contrast between the brilliant achievements of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and the inertia of the kingdom of the Jagiellonians is almost a cliché in Hungarian history. To this day, many seek the causes of the 1526 Mohács tragedy in the damaging reign of the weak Jagiellonians. However, more recent Hungarian and international historical research has taken a much more positive view of the Dynasty’s performance.

Kossuth Prize-winning Hungarian writer Péter Nádas was denied a prestigious literary prize in Germany solely because he is a ‘white man.’ Two outraged members of the seven-member jury reported the incident, feeling pressured to behave not as judges but as ‘literary functionaries,’ which they refused to do.

The recent visit of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to Brunei underscores Hungary’s strategic intent to strengthen its relationships with burgeoning economic regions, notably the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It also signals one of Hungary’s foreign affairs objectives during its forthcoming presidency of the Council of the EU.

The value of the three-part investment is HUF 26 billion, with the government providing approximately HUF 900 million in support, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on 23 May. The minister highlighted at the inauguration ceremony of Siemens Energy Ltd’s new plant that the German conglomerate will manufacture gas turbine burners in its new multifunctional facility and establish a dual training centre there, equipping Hungarian professionals with the knowledge needed for using the latest technologies.

To celebrate the director’s life’s work, the Art+ Cinema theatre in Budapest will screen his iconic films throughout an entire week.

Distinguished scholars, museum curators, and educators gathered at the Polish History Museum in Warsaw, Poland for the 12th European Remembrance Symposium organized by the ERNS to talk about ways to preserve history, the way to teach national history to the next generation, if there is a common European historical narrative, and what it means to be free in Europe in this day and age.