Bulgaria seeks to impose high taxes on the Russian gas transit to Hungary and Serbia, a move that both the Serbian and Hungarian governments declared to be hostile. It is symbolical that the joint Serbian-Hungarian statement was issued during Viktor Orbán’s and Aleksandar Vučić’s Beijing trip, amidst negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hungary is increasingly isolated within the EU, while government-affiliated newspaper Magyar Nemzet suspects Washington's involvement in the Bulgarian move.
The government umbrella program encompassing domestic tourism development, the Kisfaludy Tourism Development Program launched in 2017, aims to turn Hungary into Central Europe's central touristic hub by 2030. Halfway through, it can be noted that the ten largest instances of financial support were received by Fidesz-headed municipalities, not to mention that Fidesz-led cities with county rights received a total of 14 billion 579 million forints in support, while among opposition-led such cities, only Baja and Miskolc received 54 million and 8 million in funding, respectively.
The Hungarian minority in Slovakia remains unrepresented in the Slovak legislature. While Szövetség („Alliance”) achieved better results than expected, it still couldn't reach the necessary five per cent threshold for entering parliament, while the other two Hungarian parties were essentially annihilated. We have evaluated the reasons for the electoral failure and the future of ethnic politics.
Majority state-owned Garantiqua Credit Guarantee Plc. had agreed on providing a 135 million forint on-demand guarantee on a loan for the company, now under liquidation due to 90 million HUF in overdue tax arrears. Garantiqua refuses to share whether taxpayers will have to cover Top Hygiene’s insolvency, citing banking secrecy.
At least eight billion forints with unidentifiable sources have flowed to organizations employing government-aligned influencers and running campaigns in the interest of Fidesz in recent years. While its origins remain a mystery, this money allows for the exertion of a public influence capable of even impacting election outcomes.
Judit Pete took over the business from him, whom we saw leaving Nagy Szilárd's address early in the morning in a Porsche. The office has signed hundred-million contracts with state-owned companies under the supervision of Márton Nagy. The lawyer was nominated as a member of the Public Procurement Council by the minister.
The Hungarian Parliament's group of Hungaro-Russian friendship quietly ceased to exist after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, as it was not formed again in 2022 at the start of the new parliamentary cycle. However, unlike in the previous cycle, there is now a Hungaro-Ukrainian friendship group chaired by a Fidesz politician banned from Ukraine. But not even the inaugural meeting has been convened as of yet.
In 2021, the District II municipality put up a unique property on Józsefhegyi Street for auction at a starting price of 718.5 million HUF. In the first round of bidding, a company won with an offer of 1.5 billion HUF but eventually withdrew its intention to sign the contract, thereby forfeiting the already paid 71.85 million Forints in earnest money. In the second round, Antal Rogán's circle entered the picture and acquired the property with an offer 600 million HUF lower than that of the first round’s victor. Mayor Gergely Őrsi finds the circumstances rather strange but adds that selling municipal property cannot be more transparent than this.
A Moscow-based research organisation, possessing privileges and a history somewhat resembling those of the so-called “spy bank”, seems to have restarted its activities and opened a trade representation in the Hungarian capital in 2022. The true motives behind the decision remain a mystery as the organisation’s partners either remain silent or deny involvement.
Information has come to light that a confidant of the former president of the Hungarian Courts’ Executive Faculty, György Schadl, documented all money transactions in Excel spreadsheets named “household fund” and “Monika’s balance,” including the payment of bribes to former State Secretary Pál Völner. Based on an indictment obtained by 24.hu, the Prosecutor's Office has reached an agreement with Schadl’s associate, whose 90-page witness testimony gives the accused plenty to worry about.
After some lessons of disrupted flights and thousands of stranded passengers, Wizz Air cancelled every 20th flight from their summer schedule so they can surely operate the rest, says Robert Carey, President of Wizz Air in his interview with 24.hu. Mr. Carey claims they were the most prepared for the massive waves of Europeans wanting to travel again, calls the “extra profit tax” on flights departing from Budapest “disappointing” but is otherwise optimistic. The president argues low-cost carries will come out strengthened from the downturn, because people don’t give up traveling but say they’ll do 5 days instead of a week or try to spend less.
Gender has been the subject of much discussion in Hungary in recent years, and Hungarian citizens were even asked about gender reassignment in the referendum held on 3 April. Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, the new German coalition government came up with a bill that would allow even people under 14 to legally change their sex. How should we approach these issues if we are not satisfied with the simplistic language of domestic government propaganda, and what is gender today? What does the researcher say, who has her criticisms of the trans movement, but also firmly rejects the politics of stigmatisation?