Russian President Vladimir Putin supports Beijing’s four-point peace plan for Ukraine, presented in April. However, peace seems further away than ever since the war’s outbreak, as Western leaders have adopted an increasingly aggressive stance ahead of the European elections.
The European Broadcasting Union has not invited the right-wing Identity and Democracy and the European Conservatives and Reformists to the EP election debate scheduled for 23 May. The decision, explained on ridiculous grounds, is yet another sign that what is at stake at the upcoming European elections is to defend freedom of speech against the left-wing progressive dictatorship of opinion.
The European Commission has accused Eurovision organizers of ‘handing a gift to Eurosceptics and enemies of Europe’ by prohibiting fans from bringing the EU flag to Saturday’s final. This is just one of the many signs of tension felt among the progressive liberal elite, linked to the forthcoming European elections, where right-wing parties dominate the polls across the EU.
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, is keen on starting accession negotiations with Ukraine before the Hungarian presidency for fear that Hungary might impede the process. However, considering the upcoming European Parliament elections, it is unlikely that talks will begin in the next month and a half.
According to French journalist Charles Sapin right-wing forces are unlikely to achieve the sweeping turnaround many anticipate in the upcoming European Parliament elections. However, in his opinion they could still shift the political centre of gravity to the right.
Among other agreements, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced preparations for the joint development of a high-speed railway connection, aimed at enabling swift and comfortable travel from the Liszt Ferenc Airport to the centre of Budapest. In addition, the possibility of building an oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia will be explored with Chinese and Serbian partners, as well as the expanding of Sino-Hungarian cooperation to nuclear energy initiatives.
Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe—the first in five years—is expected to be mainly business. The Chinese president is coming primarily to conclude new deals in the three countries he visited: France, Serbia, and Hungary. According to Carlos Roa, a guest researcher at the Danube Institute, Western analysts view the visit of the large Chinese delegation with concern for this very reason, as the trip seems more like a geopolitical signal.
Despite minimal action from the Polish government under Donald Tusk, the European Commission has chosen to conclude the Article 7 procedure against Poland. This serves as another clear example of the double standards that Brussels applies to member states.
Azerbaijan has the potential to become one of the major natural gas suppliers to Hungary if the current determination to increase import volumes continues. However, the bilateral relations between the two countries extend beyond natural gas exports and are characterized by an enhanced strategic partnership. Given the commitment to construct an undersea high-voltage power line through the Black Sea, Azerbaijan could also become a key exporter of renewable energy to Hungary. On 1 May 2024 Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, ahead of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, reached an agreement to construct a similar high-voltage undersea power line through the Caspian Sea.
‘Hopefully, under a second Trump administration, we’re going to see a new high in Hungarian–American relations that we haven’t seen since Kossuth visited America back in the 1850s,’ Republican Congressional Aide Johnny Szani pointed out in an interview with Hungarian Conservative.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
