A Newsweek op-ed by Ilya Shapiro and Charles Yockey hails Hungary’s university reform as a template for conservatives, claiming Western campuses have abandoned neutrality for ideological enforcement. They argue the foundation model ensures accountability and academic freedom across the political spectrum.
A Forsa poll shows Germany’s AfD ahead of the CDU, 26 to 24 per cent, the biggest lead since February’s election. The result mirrors a rightward trend across Europe, with Austria’s FPÖ, France’s National Rally and Reform UK also dominating national polls.
This year’s US human rights report on Hungary marks a dramatic break from the Biden years, omitting past allegations on media freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and corruption. Instead, it commends government action in several areas—a change Budapest calls a return to ‘respect’.
‘Bismarck’s campaign for a “good treaty” with Russia reflected the notion that antagonizing the Russians could be as disastrous as waking a bear from hibernation—an apt metaphor for what the U.S.–NATO expansionist approach eventually did…Bismarck emphasized the urgency of not only respecting Russia’s interests but also recognizing it as a crucial player on the global political stage…’
European leaders’ obsession with the Munich analogy ahead of the Trump–Putin summit is turning history into a political crutch. Leaders warn of appeasement, yet ignore the radically different context of today’s war, risking self-imposed irrelevance in peace talks and handing strategic advantage to Washington and Moscow.
On the night of 8 August, the Baltic Air Defence Readiness Unit of the Hungarian Defence Forces was called on its their first live Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) scramble, after an unidentified aircraft not willing to engage in radio communications with air traffic control entered the intranational air space over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft was identified as Russian, and was successfully captured by Hungarian fighter jets.
Kyiv dismissed claims by Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó that it refused to investigate the violent death of a Transcarpathian Hungarian man at the hands of conscription officers. The Ukrainian DBR insists a criminal case is ongoing, and forensic examination did not reveal any signs of external physical abuse.
Germany’s CDU has distanced itself from MP Saskia Ludwig after she briefly greeted AfD co-chair Alice Weidel at MCC Feszt in Hungary. The party reaffirmed its strict ban on cooperating with the right-wing AfD, saying Ludwig’s actions were unauthorized and incompatible with CDU policy.
Ukrainian authorities have refused to investigate the death of József Sebestyén, a Hungarian man beaten by conscription officers, prompting outrage from Budapest. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó says the decision reveals Ukraine’s forced conscription as a state-organized practice incompatible with EU values.
‘Over a decade, between 2014 and 2024, the EU has welcomed more than 8 million asylum seekers. So it’s a bit as if the EU has admitted a new Member State that would be entirely made up of asylum seekers.’