All posts tagged: Hungarys

EU officials blast Hungary’s Orban over Ukraine stance, democratic decline | European Union News

EU officials blast Hungary’s Orban over Ukraine stance, democratic decline | European Union News

Published by Sam

Lawmakers belt out antifascist anthem, prompting European Parliament president to declare: ‘This is not Eurovision’. Top European Union officials have slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over democratic backsliding at home and his Russia-friendly stance that has blocked military and financial aid to Ukraine. Orban, whose country currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, came under fire on Wednesday after warning officials gathered in Strasbourg, France, about the “migration crisis” and the war in Ukraine as he addressed the European Parliament. Leading the charge against Orban, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took aim at Budapest’s stalling of EU support for Kyiv and refusal to join Western efforts to arm Ukraine to fight off Moscow. “The world has witnessed the atrocities of Russia’s war. And yet, there are still some who blame this war not on the invader but the invaded,” said von der Leyen. “There are still some who blame this war not on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom.” In July, Orban stoked controversy when …

Thousands protest Hungary’s Orban in government stronghold

Thousands protest Hungary’s Orban in government stronghold

Published by skeptic

DEBRECEN, Hungary —  A rising challenger to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held what he called the largest countryside political demonstration in the country’s recent history Sunday, the latest stop on his campaign tour that has mobilized thousands across Hungary’s rural heartland. Some 10,000 people gathered in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, in support of Peter Magyar, a political newcomer who in less than three months has shot to prominence on pledges to bring an end to problems like official corruption and a declining quality of life in the Central European country. Supporters endured a brief but unexpected rain shower ahead of the afternoon demonstration, turning the city’s central square into a sea of umbrellas. They waved Hungarian flags bearing the names of towns and villages across the country from which they had come. “Today, the vast majority of the Hungarian people are tired of the ruling elite, of the hatred, apathy, propaganda and artificial divides,” Magyar told the crowd. “Hungarians today want cooperation, love, unity and peace.” Magyar, a former insider within Hungary’s ruling Fidesz …

Thousands Protest Against Hungary’s Orban After Leaks of Graft Case Tape

Thousands Protest Against Hungary’s Orban After Leaks of Graft Case Tape

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BUDAPEST, Hungary —  Thousands of people protested in Budapest near parliament on Tuesday demanding the chief prosecutor and Prime Minister Viktor Orban resign after a former government insider accused a senior aide to Orban of trying interfere in a graft case. Protesters marched from the chief prosecutor’s office toward parliament shouting “Resign, resign,” with many carrying torches. Peter Magyar earlier published a recording of a conversation with Judit Varga, then his wife and Hungary’s justice minister, in which she detailed an attempt by aides to Orban’s cabinet chief to remove certain parts from documents in a graft case. The case is centered on former justice ministry state secretary Pal Volner, who was charged in 2022 with accepting bribes from the former head of the Court Bailiffs, Gyorgy Schadl. Both have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking jail terms for the pair. Prosecutors said in a statement they would analyze the tape, which Magyar said he recorded in January 2023, and further evidence would be collected. “It is legally and physically impossible to eliminate and meddle …

A Bridge to Nowhere Signals Hungary’s Patronage Politics

A Bridge to Nowhere Signals Hungary’s Patronage Politics

Published by Sam

Eager to get a small piece of the billions of euros provided to his country by the European Union, a mayor in eastern Hungary applied for money to build a “treetop canopy walkway” that would provide panoramic views of the forest outside his village. Hungarian officials responsible for distributing European money liked the idea and in 2021 approved a grant worth about $175,000. The elevated walkway, in the village of Nyirmartonfalva, near the border with Romania, now stretches for nearly 100 yards, next to a wooden observation tower. There’s just one problem: The mayor, a supporter of Hungary’s governing Fidesz party who owns the land where the treetop walkway was built last year, cut down all the trees and sold them for wood before construction started. So the treetop walkway looks out on an expanse of empty dirt. The project is one of tens of thousands undertaken in Hungary under programs funded by the European Union to help narrow the economic gap between the bloc’s richer, original members in the west and newer entrants, particularly …

U.S. ambassador condemns Hungary’s ‘dangerously unhinged’ postures under Orbán – POLITICO

U.S. ambassador condemns Hungary’s ‘dangerously unhinged’ postures under Orbán – POLITICO

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 “We cannot ignore it when the speaker of Hungary’s national assembly asserts that Putin’s war in Ukraine is actually ‘led by the United States’,” he added. A few hours after the speech was held, Orbán shared a video on X, formerly known as Twitter. In the video, he talked about the “difficult period in American-Hungarian relations.” “The American administration expects things from Hungry that we don’t want to deliver and can’t deliver,” he said. Hungary has been criticized by many for maintaining close ties to Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine. Its democratic backsliding has also worried other EU members. In September 2022 the European Parliament issued a statement saying “Hungary cannot be considered a full democracy” any longer. Pressman decried the lack of constructive dialogue with Budapest and its unwillingness to solve problems. Admitting that ambassadors “do not ordinarily give speeches like this in other allied countries,” he stressed that the U.S. hopes cooperation remains possible. “With other allies we engage, we collaborate, we work together — even where we have differences.  Here, that doesn’t work …

Hungary’s parliament finally votes to allow Sweden to join NATO

Hungary’s parliament finally votes to allow Sweden to join NATO

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BRUSSELS — Hungary’s parliament voted Monday in favor of Sweden’s long-delayed bid to join NATO, clearing the final obstacle to a historic expansion of the military alliance and putting an end to an uncomfortable standoff between members. With Budapest at last onboard, Sweden is set to become NATO’s 32nd member, possibly within the week, completing a process that began with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and saw Finland join last year. The addition of the two Nordic countries will bolster the alliance’s capabilities, strengthening its position in the high north and the Baltic Sea — all while sending an important message to Moscow. Four maps explain how Sweden and Finland could alter NATO’s security “Today is a historic day,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The parliaments of all NATO member states have now voted in favour of Swedish accession to NATO. Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Hungary’s vote, saying, “Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer.” While …

Hungary’s parliament ratifies Sweden’s NATO bid, clearing the final obstacle to membership

Hungary’s parliament ratifies Sweden’s NATO bid, clearing the final obstacle to membership

Published by skeptic

BUDAPEST, Hungary —  Hungary’s parliament voted Monday to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, bringing an end to more than 18 months of delays that have frustrated the alliance as it seeks to expand in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The vote, which passed with 188 votes for and six against, came as a culmination of months of wrangling by Hungary’s allies to convince its nationalist government to lift its block on Sweden’s membership. The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán submitted the protocols for approving Sweden’s entry into NATO in July 2022, but the matter had stalled in parliament over opposition by governing party lawmakers. Unanimous support among all NATO members is required to admit new countries, and Hungary is the last of the alliance’s 31 members to give its backing since Turkey ratified the request last year. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called it “a historic day.” “We stand ready to shoulder our share of the responsibility for NATO’s security,” Kristersson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Orbán, a right-wing populist who …

Hungary’s parliament vote to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO

Hungary’s parliament vote to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO

Published by skeptic

Hungary’s parliament voted Monday to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, bringing an end to more than 18 months of delays that have frustrated the alliance as it seeks to expand in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. (Feb. 26) Hungary’s parliament voted Monday to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, bringing an end to more than 18 months of delays that have frustrated the alliance as it seeks to expand in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. (Feb. 26) Published [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]   Share Source link

Hungary’s Orbán gives his nod to Sweden’s NATO bid – POLITICO

Hungary’s Orbán gives his nod to Sweden’s NATO bid – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

“Given the direction of the Hungarian government, I would not be approving further cooperation with Hungary with regards to military materiel,” he said. ‘Very childish’ Getting Sweden’s prime minister to come to Budapest was likely an incentive for Orbán, said Márton Tompos, a Hungarian MP from the opposition Momentum Movement. “We shouldn’t underestimate the ego part,” he said. “For a person like him, that’s a huge appeal.” The Hungarian PM calls the shots in Budapest, and without his acquiescence there was no way Sweden would get the nod on joining the alliance, which meant jumping through some hoops. “If you look what kind of excuses they were coming up, these are changing week by week,” said Ágnes Vadai, an MP from the opposition Democratic Coalition party and a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. “First, they said, ‘We want more respect from Swedish politicians’, then they said certain videos shouldn’t be on the internet, then they said, ‘We want a delegation to go to Sweden,’ and now they want the prime minister of Sweden to …

Third Ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Resigns Over Child Abuse Pardon Scandal

Third Ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Resigns Over Child Abuse Pardon Scandal

Published by Sam

A snowballing scandal in Hungary over the pardoning of a man convicted of covering up pedophilia in a children’s home forced the third resignation in a week on Friday of an important political ally of the country’s authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orban. The departure of Zoltan Balog, a former government minister, from the leadership of the Hungarian Reformed Church followed the resignations last weekend of Hungary’s president, Katalin Novak, and Judit Varga, a former Justice minister and a leading figure in Fidesz, Mr. Orban’s conservative governing party. All three have been at the forefront of Mr. Orban’s efforts to present Hungary as a bastion of family values, committed to fending off what Fidesz reviles as “woke globalists” intent on undermining Christianity and Hungarian sovereignty through L.G.B.T.Q. “propaganda” imported from the outside. Hungary’s carefully nurtured image as a safe zone for traditional values, however, suffered a damaging blow this month from revelations that a man who was pardoned last year had been convicted of covering up sexual abuse by the director of a state-run children’s home …