Hungarian Military Expenditure May Soon Exceed Two Per Cent of the GDP
The Hungarian force development programme essentially aims at acquiring NATO-compatible equipment, increasing troops levels, and building a national defence industry.
The Hungarian force development programme essentially aims at acquiring NATO-compatible equipment, increasing troops levels, and building a national defence industry.
While joint US-Korean military drills were scaled down in the last couple of years, now they have returned in their past size as tens of thousands of soldiers train for a potential invasion of South Korea until 1 September. The drills are a show of force not only to Pyongyang, but to Beijing, too.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine forced most NATO members to reckon with the poor shape of their military and left them searching for quick fixes. Countless procurement programmes have been signed for new weaponry, but we’re still short of manpower. Compulsory service, perhaps even for women, may prove to be the only answer.
The story of Zadravecz’s controversial years well illustrates the fascinating internal debates and lively public life of the early Horthy period, as well as the divisions between Christian churches in a period which desperately called for Christian unity.
Upgrading the Hungarian military industry means that “Hungarians give Hungarian weapons to Hungarian soldiers”.
Israel has confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint US–Israeli military strikes carried out on 28 February, according to senior officials cited by Reuters. Iran has yet to confirm or deny the claim.
How strong is Iranian and Syrian political influence in Lebanon after Hezbollah was weakened? What is the status of Christian communities, and what room for manoeuvre does Maronite politics have? We asked Marwan Abdallah, Head of the Foreign Affairs Department at the Lebanese Kataeb Party, about the rise and fall of Hezbollah and the scope for Christian politics in Lebanon.
‘The debate unfolding in Brussels is not merely institutional. It is existential. For what does European solidarity actually mean? Is it financial redistribution? Political endorsement? Or does it ultimately imply the willingness of armies and citizens to fight—and potentially die—for causes beyond their national borders—and, frankly, their national interest?’
‘In the coming years, the main fault line in European politics will be less political and more historiographic: between those who see the West as having started 2000 years ago, and those who see its birth as intrinsically tied to a 20th-century political model.’
Viktor Orbán pushed back against criticism from António Costa over Hungary’s refusal to back a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, calling the situation ‘absurd’ after Kyiv halted oil transit through Druzhba. Budapest maintains it will not support any Ukraine-related decisions until energy flows are restored.