Belgian Police block the entrance of the Claridge events centre in Brussels, the venue of the National Conservatism Conference on 16 April 2024.

NatCon Brussels Opens New Front in EP-Election Campaign: The Fight for Freedom of Speech

The attempt to shut down the National Conservatism Conference has ignited a new battleground in the EP election campaign: the fight for freedom of speech. While progressives were quick to lay blame on Brussels district mayor Emir Kir, this incident is hardly about him only: it is a culmination of a longstanding process of anti-freedom of speech tendencies in the European Commission and the European Parliament.

How Brussels Became a Cancel Culture-Infused Tolerance-Free Zone in Just a Few Days

Commenting on the outrageous attempts to shut down the National Conservatism Conference in Brussels earlier this week, MCC Brussels Director Frank Füredi stated in an op-ed on POLITICO: ‘The campaign to cancel the NatCon wasn’t simply directed against this organization but against the foundational values of democracy. Those behind the campaign believe public life must be subjected to the policing of speech. That’s bad news for all of us, regardless of ideological affiliation.’

Former President Donald Trump addresses the attendees of CPAC Hungary 2023 in a video message on 5 May 2023.

Culture Warriors on the Danubian Stump

‘Protecting the innocence of children against efforts to sexualize them, upholding the legality of borders and asylum procedures, safekeeping the right of states to exercise national sovereignty in areas where it remains their legal prerogative: pursuing these aims isn’t a bed of roses. It exposes one to media disinformation, financial blackmail, and attacks on personal honor.’

Who’s Afraid of National Conservatism in Europe?

‘Why did the left-wing oligarchy (a political-administrative and academic-media apparatus) mobilize its militant wing against a conference of a few hundred conservatives? Did it fear that its political opponents would win too many hearts, minds, and Euros? No. Canceling the original, sought-after venue was a naked exercise of its power. Réseau Ades warned that the agitation efforts will persist until NatCon Brussels 2024 is entirely aborted.’

Istanbul's mayor and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu with his wife Dilek Imamoğlu (2L) and family waves to supporters as they celebrate outside the main municipality building following municipal elections on 31 March 2024.

Turkish Local Elections to Give Hungary Further Strategic Importance

Hungary can play a key role in potentially warming EU–Türkiye relations. This can be achieved through agenda-setting during Hungary’s presidency of the Council. One such topic could be the modification of the illegal migration prevention deal to tighten regulations and increase financial support to Türkiye.

V4 foreign minister (L-R) Radosław Sikorski (Poland), Jan Lipavský (Czech Republic), Péter Szijjártó (Hungary), and Miroslav Lajcák (Slovakia) in Prague on 21 March 2024

Cooperation vs Confrontation: The V4 in the Shadow of the Russia–Ukraine War

‘The Visegrad Group has reached a tipping point in the face of growing geopolitical and security challenges. The external and internal dynamics of the regional alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have encountered obstacles where the need for unity clashes with competing views, aims, and pressures.’

Illustration by Hungarian Conservative

Revealing the Facts: A Brief History of Family Benefits in Hungary

In 2020 and 2021 both the number of births and the fertility rate increased in Hungary during the COVID-19 pandemic because the poverty and disadvantage of those with children relative to childless people decreased to such an extent that having children was no longer a financial disadvantage in 2019 and 2021.

EU Defence Policy Discussed at Ludovika University Panel

Joanna Siekiera, Arvid Hallén, and Tamás Csiki Varga discussed how the European Union can and should be shaping its common defence policy in the wake of the emerging Russian threat, as well as what role NATO plays in European defence policy.