The Budapest Business Journal sat down with the two vice presidents of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKIFH), Zsuzsa Szabados and László Lengyel. They outlined what their organization is doing to help Hungarian companies with innovation and compete better on the international market, thus raising Hungary’s national competitiveness.
A recent study by the Center For the Study of Democracy and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air that focuses on the Czech Republic and a multinational company, Orlen Unipetrol, since 24 February 2022 Czechia has spent over 7 billion EUR on Russian oil and gas. That is, more than five times the aid it has provided to Ukraine. In 2023 the country’ reliance on Russian oil grew to 60 per cent; this year it has decreased top pre-invasion levels, but nevertheless remains around 50 per cent.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán criticized the EU’s war posture in a recent radio interview on public Kossuth Radio, reaffirming Hungary’s stance against participating in the Ukrainian war efforts. He also called for peace negotiations and discussed Hungary’s distinct approach to migration, economic policies, and EU relations.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the European Council for nothing less than nuclear weapons or a NATO membership. The Ukrainian president presented his five-point ‘victory plan’ to EU leaders on Thursday, which is more of a wish list than an actual plan. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called it a ‘lose-lose situation’ and firmly stated that Hungary will not participate in it.
‘When it comes to family policy, I know that many Canadian conservatives view Hungary as a leader, particularly in its various incentive programmes and structures that place families at the centre of government policy,’ senior Canadian conservative advisor Samuel Duncan highlighted in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
Hungary and Romania’s Ministers of Economy inaugurated Aeroplex Central Europe’s aircraft maintenance base in Bucharest, marking a major step in bilateral aviation industry cooperation and the expansion of Aeroplex’s services across Eastern and Central Europe.
According to on-site reporting by Euronews.com, the abandoned farm house that used to be occupied by migrants near Horgos (Horgoš), Serbia, just 1.5 miles from the Hungarian border, has been completely cleared by local law enforcement. A local resident recalled that there had been an increase in crime in the area while the migrants were present.
The Patriots for Europe EP group held their first summit on Thursday in Brussels. The meeting was attended by all the leaders of the PfE parties and took place ahead of the European Council summit scheduled to discuss the war in Ukraine, migration, as well as key economic policies, all of which Hungary differs on with most member states.
For the first time, Hungary’s High-Tech School Programme honoured its most innovative teachers. The awards, announced at a Budapest conference by Andrea Várkonyi, Chair of the Foundation for Innovative Education, highlight the programme’s impact on schools and students.
Two orphaned wildcats were rescued and released into the wild by Budapest Zoo staff in Somogy County. The wildcats, found as cubs in June, were rehabilitated and successfully returned to their natural habitat.
Hungarian Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky announced a historic agreement with Sweden to jointly develop the Gripen fighter jet. This cooperation elevates Hungarian–Swedish relations to a strategic level, the minister stated.
128 Orthodox Jewish men were not allowed to board their connecting flight to Budapest, Hungary in Frankfurt, Germany by the German commercial airline Lufthansa in May 2022. Only some of these passengers disregarded COVID-19 rules at the time, but they were all penalized as a group. For this incident, Lufthansa has agreed to pay $4 million in penalties.
‘Scholz’s statement is the first ray of light piercing the fog of war that has shrouded Europe for the past two years. It could be downplayed, but Germany remains one of the EU’s most influential member states, and Berlin’s wright is undeniable, despite its current economic challenges. The experience of recent years shows that what Germany pushes for in the EU often becomes reality sooner or later.’
A recent The Wall Street Journal’s editorial argues that UNIFIL, the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in operation since 1978, has been allowing Hezbollah to stockpile weapons and build up infrastructure in southern Lebanon, the very place UNIFIL is supposed to keep safe from terror groups.
Deputy General-Director of the World Trade Organization Zhang Xiangchen praised the Hungarian strategy of economic neutrality, stating that it is the way forward. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó highlighted that the Hungarian government is fully committed to the implementation of the strategy.
‘In this temple of political spectacle and exaggerated posturing, he [Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary] demonstrated, over the course of three hours, that among the spoiled children, there was only one adult in the room,’ Rodrigo Ballester writes in an opinion piece published by Brussels Signal on Viktor Orbán’s ‘debate’ at the European Parliament last week.
Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris got herself into an embarrassing scandal, after conservative activist and writer Chris Rufo revealed that she had included virtually unedited passages from uncredited sources, including the open online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. Rufo’s accusations of plagiarism led to the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay earlier this year.
A grand exhibition titled Fine Dining: Food Stories of Ancient China will be on display at the Museum of Ethnography in Budapest from 16 October 2024 until 19 January 2025. This unique exhibition features about 90 artefacts from the collection of the National Museum of China, from ancient to modern times, offering visitors a chance to get acquinted with China’s ancient culinary traditions.
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) has been elected to the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), in recognition of BME’s achievements in space research and education on a global scale. BME is one of Hungary’s most prestigious higher education institutions, with as many as four Nobel laureates having graduated from it.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will attend the first EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Brussels on Wednesday, co-chaired by European Council President Charles Michel and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The summit aims to strengthen partnerships amidst growing geopolitical challenges. Orbán will also join the European Council meeting later this week.
Republican Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor and Governor of California, took 49 out of the 50 states in the 1984 election, netting him an all-time record of 525 electoral votes. During his first term in office he managed to solve the two crises plaguing his predecessor Jimmy Carter’s administration: high inflation and the Iranian hostage crisis.
‘There have been too many victims of too many crimes in too many cities across our country as a result of this radical, anti-democratic, warped version of justice. The best way to defeat a Soros-funded or inspired rogue prosecutor is not to elect one in the first place. Public safety in the United States depends, in large part, on who occupies the office of the local district attorney.’
The Council of the EU adopted a declaration on promoting Jewish life and combating antisemitism during Hungary’s EU Presidency while the country being one of the safest in the EU for Jewish community.
‘Orbán is disinclined to vote on cementing anti-Russia sanctions for three years or sending more billions of dollars to Kyiv until after the US election. The race for the White House is incredibly tight, and the candidates stand starkly opposed on this critical issue. Forcing through the will of one side just days before an election and locking them down for three-quarters of their rival’s term would violate every democratic norm, principle, and value.’
At an informal meeting of the ministers of EU Member States responsible for employment and social policy in Budapest, Hungary, Minister of State Sándor Czomba said that increasing the competitiveness of the European Union is ‘the most important challenge’ of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Fidesz has proposed the launching of a national consultation covering topics such as economic neutrality, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, wage increases, worker loans, housing, and family assistance, according to the party’s faction leader, Máté Kocsis. The Fidesz politician stated at the government’s off-site meeting in Esztergom that there is need for new economic tools in light of the changes brought by the pandemic and the war.
With a goal in each half from captain Dominik Szoboszlai, Hungary beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2–0 on the road in the League A group game of the UEFA Nations League. With this victory, the national team will most likely avoid direct relegation this season, and will have the chance to play a play-off at the end of the season to stay in the top division.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Germany for the Berlin Process summit and his meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz happened amidst continuous attacks on the Hungarian government and the Hungarian EU presidency. In an unprecedented move, the EPP has called on the Hungarian prime minister to resign, and proposed that he be replaced by Péter Magyar, the Hungarian opposition leader who has the reputation of a domestic abuser and is accused of theft.
Beside the boosting of the European Union’s competitiveness, fighting climate change is also a key priority of the Hungarian EU Presidency. According to State Secretary Miklós Dukai water management plays a central role in building a sustainable future, where every small step and piece of knowledge gained are of crucial importance.
Thanks to the Hungarian government’s utility cost reduction policy, Hungarian families will once again enjoy the cheapest and most secure energy supply in Europe this winter. According to Németh Szilárd, Government Commissioner in charge of maintaining reduced energy costs, the country’s gas reserves are at 93 per cent capacity, and the government’s successful policies have shielded citizens from the impacts of the energy crisis.