Several European press outlets interpreted the Polish decision as a declaration by Poland’s Constitutional Court that parts of European Union law, as it stands, are ‘unconstitutional’.
The juristocratic turn in Europe is a particular challenge to conservative parties, a part of the political spectrum traditionally attached to the authority of politics, and the customs and cultural heritage of society.
The societal offensive undertaken by the European Commission must be contextualized within a more subtle mutation, implicit in the recent history of the Old Continent.
The former Soviet satellite states which mainly joined the EU in 2004 are the main bulwarks against the revival of ideologies with their roots in communist thinking.
Researcher at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Julianna Ármás has told Magyar Nemzet that the European Union’s expansion into the Western Balkans is a ‘top priority’ of the Hungarian EU presidency, adding that while ‘the EU has an interest in the accession of the six Western Balkan countries,’ the issue has taken a backseat since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A recent study by the Center For the Study of Democracy and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air that focuses on the Czech Republic and a multinational company, Orlen Unipetrol, since 24 February 2022 Czechia has spent over 7 billion EUR on Russian oil and gas. That is, more than five times the aid it has provided to Ukraine. In 2023 the country’ reliance on Russian oil grew to 60 per cent; this year it has decreased top pre-invasion levels, but nevertheless remains around 50 per cent.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to Germany for the Berlin Process summit and his meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz happened amidst continuous attacks on the Hungarian government and the Hungarian EU presidency. In an unprecedented move, the EPP has called on the Hungarian prime minister to resign, and proposed that he be replaced by Péter Magyar, the Hungarian opposition leader who has the reputation of a domestic abuser and is accused of theft.
in a Friday radio interview Viktor Orbán announced a new economic stimulus programme, centred around three key measures: providing affordable housing, increasing wages, and supporting small businesses. The Hungarian prime minister underlined that Hungary cannot rely on Brussels to help the EU overcome the competitiveness trap; thus, the country must concentrate on its own priorities.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on 18 July that the next EPC summit will be held in Hungary this year, and in Albania and Denmark next year.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has defended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s new EP political group, Patriots for Europe (PfE), stating that it is not a pro-Putin group. Meanwhile, the mainstream EP political groups are working to completely exclude PfE MEPs from parliamentary work for the next five years.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.