How long can Russia finance its war against Ukraine? Why hasn’t Russia won this war decisively? What is the most realistic outcome? We asked the French economist and Russia expert at the School of Economic Warfare in Paris about the state of the Russian war economy.
Slovenia under fire after parliament approved the Šutar Law, granting sweeping police powers in designated high-risk zones. NGOs and EU officials warn the law may unfairly single out Roma communities, introduced shortly after a Roma suspect fatally assaulted Aleš Šutar—an incident that triggered mass protests and ministerial resignations.
Luke Niforatos, Executive Vice President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), warns that drug liberalization is being driven by powerful corporate interests, not public health. Speaking to Hungarian Conservative at the MCC Budapest Summit on the Global Drug Epidemic, he argues that high-potency cannabis and psychedelics are destabilizing families and communities in the US.
French criminologist Xavier Raufer warns that France’s current security crisis is the result of decades of political denial over organized crime, drug trafficking, and uncontrolled migration. Speaking to Hungarian Conservative at the MCC Budapest Summit on the Global Drug Epidemic, he explains why Marseille now faces homicide rates comparable to Latin America.
‘Even in 2015, when the PiS government came to power, individuals with communist pedigrees were still numerous within the less visible but essential layers of state administration, the judiciary, the economy, NGOs, and the media. Today these networks are returning…The goal is clear: to maintain control over social and state institutions regardless of electoral outcomes.’
Mathias Corvinus Collegium hosted a major conference in Budapest on the global drug epidemic, warning that the narcotics industry, backed by vast networks, is undermining communities. Experts stressed prevention, youth protection, and international cooperation as key to resisting drug normalization and crime.
After ICE agents were deployed in Charlotte, NC (the city where Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was brutally murdered earler this year), one Democratic official in the state posted a video claiming that ICE agents are ‘specifically coming to terrorize communities of colour’; while a disturbing video shows a white van appearing to try to run over immigration agents in the city.
Congressional Republicans are preparing to receive a major AfD delegation in Washington, potentially led by party co-chair Alice Weidel. The invitation, made by Rep Anna Paulina Luna, signals a deepening ideological alliance between MAGA Republicans and Europe’s rising sovereigntist movements.
‘Rather than embracing theoretical frameworks like the concept of the EU as a “liberal empire”, what is now needed is a far more pragmatic approach—one that focuses on enhancing economic competitiveness and developing strategies aimed at strengthening the role of the EU in the global economy.’
The Trump–Orbán summit seems to have shifted political perceptions at home: 50 per cent of Hungarians now believe Viktor Orbán will win the 2026 election, according to Nézőpont. His main challenger, Péter Magyar, trails at 32 per cent—a gap analysts link to the prime minister’s high-profile successes in Washington.