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The Financial Times and the Soros plan deniers: these people just aren’t being straight with us

Sep 22, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Sometimes, you just can’t make this stuff up. Over the course of last week, two prominent media sources have run pieces featuring flat-out denials that the Soros plan exists.

News in Brief

PM Orbán: The government wants “a Hungarian Hungary and a European Europe”

Sep 18, 2017

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán says “immigrant countries” constitute the biggest threat to European values and migrants coming to Europe endanger the freedom of religion, women’s equality and the fight against anti-Semitism

News in Brief

Fidesz's parliamentary group leader says people in Venice Commission are sponsored by George Soros

Aug 14, 2017

Lajos Kósa said it was “absurd” that the European Commission believes the Central European University does not have to comply with Hungary’s law on higher education

Blog

Wondering what PM Orbán meant with that reference to the Soros plan? Here it is

Aug 04, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made a number of references to a Soros plan to bring one million “refugees and migrants” into Europe each year. Some are skeptical, but the doubters haven’t familiarized themselves with the facts. The plan is real.

News in Brief

Hungary's foreign minister responds to Austrian Chancellor's comments on migrant resettlement quotas

Jul 28, 2017

Péter Szijjártó, minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Europe wants to punish countries that do not want to allow illegal immigrants through their borders

Blog

Why do these NGOs resist transparency?

Jul 21, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

A number of Soros-funded NGOs in Hungary have declared that they will not comply with the new NGO law and will instead boycott out of civil disobedience. There’s nothing valiant in their cause, just hypocrisy. The fact that the same NGOs have no problem abiding by even stricter rules and regulations in Germany, Austria, Israel, and the US speaks for itself.

News in Brief Prime Minister

PM Orbán: “A nation that can’t protect its borders is non-existent”

Jul 21, 2017

“[O]r even if it exists today,” said Prime Minister Orbán, “it will vanish.” The prime minister, speaking during his regular radio interview this morning, was referring to the dangers of unchecked, illegal migration into Europe and the realization of the “Soros plan.”

News in Brief

Hungary will keep its Southern border standing to protect EU from terrorism

Jul 19, 2017

Hungary will only give refugee status to those who have indeed fled countries where their lives were in danger. Hungary’s asylum regulations conform to the Geneva Conventions

News in Brief

Hungary and Israel are both taking action against Soros’s funded organisations

Jul 17, 2017

“Hungary is taking determined action against the organisations funded by George Soros, and so is Israel, according to news reports”, according to a statement issued today by the Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister.

Blog

Soros ‘undermines democratically elected governments’ and criticizing his agenda has nothing to do with anti-Semitism

Jul 12, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

The heritage of a particular American billionaire speculator is not relevant to his agenda. Criticizing the radical policies he’s pushing all over the world – completely lacking any democratic mandate or accountability – is not anti-Semitism. Suggesting otherwise amounts to a cheap tactic to silence his critics and support the far-from-mainstream Soros agenda.

News in Brief Prime Minister

PM Orbán to head of Hungarian Jewish Communities: 'a modicum of assistance would be appreciated'

Jul 11, 2017

PM Orbán highlighted that illegal immigration is bringing a culture of intolerance and growing anti-Semitism into Europe. The prime minister wrote that “I do not expect either thanks or recognition for our fight against illegal migration, but a modicum of assistance from your community would be appreciated”

News in Brief

PM Netanyahu calls for Israeli ambassador to withdraw statement calling for Soros campaign to be scrapped

Jul 10, 2017

Prime Minister Netanyahu is due to meet with Prime Minister Orbán in Budapest on July 18, which will be the first visit by an Israeli premier to Hungary for 30 years

News in Brief

PM Orbán: It was a mistake to kill Gaddafi and European armed forces are needed to patrol Libya's northern shores

Jul 07, 2017

PM Orbán also said Soros is intent on importing one million migrants to Europe and other plans include stripping EU member states of their right to decide on immigration policy

News in Brief

Hungarian government says "Soros" billboard campaign is not anti-Semitic

Jul 07, 2017

The Hungarian government is open to the opinions of those who feel that these billboards violate their human dignity or feelings

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the closing event for the National Consultation

Jun 29, 2017

27 June 2017, Budapest

News in Brief

PM Orbán: We want Hungarians to come first and prosper from economic success

Jun 28, 2017

PM Orbán said that in this democracy he can see no one asking the people for guidance except his own party

News in Brief

Rules surrounding NGOs are much stricter in the USA

Jun 20, 2017

"The most recent statement by the US Department of State is another stark example of double standards, since the regulation in force in the USA is much stricter than that in Hungary. In the United States, Soros organizations could never do what they are doing in Europe," Hungary's International Communications Office said

Blog

The machinations of the “Soros Mafia network”

Jun 03, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

“There is only one important and significant element of Hungarian public life that is not transparent,” said Prime Minister Orbán in the Friday morning radio interview, “and that’s the Soros Mafia network and its organizations that cannot be considered civic organizations but agents working for the pursuit of George Soros’ goals.”

News in Brief

PM Orbán: The only network which “operates like a mafia” in Hungary is run by George Soros

Jun 02, 2017

Soros’s network and its "agencies" were “a significant and non-transparent component of Hungary’s public life”. Soros and “his supporters in Hungary” were seeking to implement “a program to allow migrants into the country," the prime minister said

News in Brief

MEP says Soros “has sent an open declaration of war” to Hungary following Brussels speech

Jun 02, 2017

Tamás Deutsch said that it had become apparent from a speech where Soros compared Hungary to a mafia state that he was ready to take any anti-democratic step to ensure the Hungarian government’s defeat

Blog

Myths and Facts about Hungary and George Soros (Part 2)

May 30, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Democracy means first and foremost accountability and the people’s right to participate in the decision making of their lives and futures. Governments, including the Hungarian government, are held accountable and can be voted out of power. The shadowy power networks of the “open society” are accountable to no one.

Blog

Myths and Facts about Hungary and George Soros (Part 1)

May 30, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Browse the international media coverage of Hungary over the last several weeks and a handful of keywords stand out: migration crisis, NGOs, transparency, media, Central European University and George Soros. While much of the coverage lacks balance, the keywords themselves can be instructive, shedding light on a far-reaching, ideologically driven and wholly undemocratic network that pushes George Soros’s “open society” agenda.

Blog

Here’s the scary part of the Article 7 nuclear option pursued by European Parliament leftists against the Hungarian government

May 22, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Once again, Hungarian left-wing politicians have taken domestic affairs to the stage of the European Parliament, hoping to gain traction in their political campaign against the Hungarian government. Their timely intervention intersects neatly with the interests of an American billionaire whose extreme ideas about an open society aim to undermine Europe’s external border.

News in Brief

Hungary is ready to battle it out with Brussels over Article 7 proceedings

May 18, 2017

János Lázár, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, has said that the latest developments will only bring Hungarians closer together and ensure that Hungary will fight for its survival

News in Brief

Frans Timmermans should resign, says Hungary's foreign minister

May 05, 2017

Timmermans' accusation is unfair and unacceptable. Hungary “has done more than anyone in Europe to combat anti-Semitism"

Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Kossuth Radio’s “180 Minutes” programme

May 02, 2017

April 28, 2017

News in Brief Prime Minister

PM Orbán: Hungary's second line of defense will guarantee the security of Hungarians for a long time

Apr 28, 2017

The 155-kilometer long fortified fence which is being inaugurated today is up to the job of “keeping out any kind of mass of people," PM Orbán said during an interview on Radio Kossuth today

News in Brief

Hungary's government spokesperson meets with members of Congress during four-day visit to Washington D.C.

Apr 28, 2017

Zoltán Kovács held talks with several Republican politicians, and with officials from important think-tanks and research institutes

Blog

The Gravedigger of the Left

Apr 25, 2017 - Mária Schmidt

What kind of philanthropist is a serial destroyer of European and Asian currencies, who wiped out the savings, retirement pensions and salaries of masses of ordinary citizens in order to reap huge profits for himself?

Prime Minister Speeches and Remarks

Interview with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the Kossuth Radio programme “Sunday News”

Apr 19, 2017

April 16, 2017

News in Brief

Border security is the key to Hungary's homeland security

Apr 18, 2017

Hungary's chief security advisor made the remarks in light of more than eighty people who have started demonstrations in the locality of Röszke. Bakondi said that a "Soros organization” arrived at the scene with organized transport

News in Brief

Hungary holds parliamentary session to discuss NGOs

Apr 18, 2017

Hungary's Parliament will hold a four-day session over the legislation on the transparency of foreign-funded NGOs

News in Brief

PM Orbán: Migration stands in the focal point of current conflicts

Apr 17, 2017

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke to Kossuth Radio on Sunday to deliver an Easter message to the people of Hungary

News in Brief

Hungary has no intentions of closing down CEU, but Soros tries to politicize the issue

Apr 11, 2017

The Hungarian government is not closing down any universities, and that includes the Soros university. All the Hungarian government would like is for every university to enjoy a level playing field, and if someone would like to enjoy special privileges, such as issuing a diploma from outside Europe, then there must be an international agreement concerning that fact

Blog

Is the European Union carrying out an NGO crackdown?

Apr 10, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Members of the European Parliament are so worried about the activities of certain foreign-funded NGOs that they’re calling for the EU to cut public funding for NGOs "demonstrably disseminating untruths". Others question "democratic legitimacy" of NGOs.

Blog

Hungary, says Washington Post, has unleashed a “xenophobic attack” on a “beacon of freedom”

Apr 07, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Professional media outlets who fail to ask critical questions or consult a balance of sources, who favor a hysterical narrative over rational discourse, are simply not professional

News in Brief

Hungarian government responds to Freedom House attack

Apr 06, 2017

Press freedom is fully respected in Hungary; in the Hungarian press every shade of political opinion may appear. In addition, the citizens of Hungary exercise their democratic rights in free elections

News in Brief

Hungary expresses deep regret that 'Soros lies' have been able to deceive the German government

Apr 06, 2017

Meanwhile, Deputy State Secretary Kristóf Altusz has summoned the temporary chargés d’affaires of the United States and Germany to discuss the act on higher education

News in Brief

PM Orbán says the 'Soros university' must comply with the law

Mar 31, 2017

Hungarian universities have a good reason to complain because CEU has an unfair advantage due to the unclear legal situation, PM Orban said

News in Brief

Response of the Government of Hungary to the press statement of the Department of State of the United States of America

Mar 31, 2017

The Government of Hungary found it with surprise that the Department of State of the United States released a press statement that is based on factual errors.

Blog

Every university – domestic or foreign – must follow the rules

Mar 29, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

A comprehensive study on 28 foreign institutions of higher education operating in Hungary reveals that not all of these educational service providers abide by existing regulations

Blog

That’s exactly what we’re talking about

Mar 29, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Crackdown it's not. Considering how these organizations are using foreign funding to engage in political activities in Hungary, any government in the world would call for greater transparency.

News in Brief

Hungarian government has "always stood on the foundations of law"

Mar 22, 2017

“The Hungarian government will not change its policies despite the pressure it is being put under; to us, Hungary comes first," Hungary's foreign minister said

Blog

Prominent US and European think tanks taken in by the “NGO crackdown” ruse

Mar 21, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

The government of Hungary is not the only one concerned about foreign meddling to influence domestic political outcomes, and we’re not the only ones who believe that it’s the citizens’ right to know.

Blog

Transparency can be bought?

Mar 06, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Something strange is happening with Transparency International. The international NGO that made a name for itself for its “global coalition against corruption” has remained rather tight-lipped about why it decided in January to strip accreditation from its US affiliate, denying it the use of the TI name and logo.

Blog

Amnesty’s fake report arrives on schedule

Feb 22, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

Amnesty International has just released its annual report called “The State of the World’s Human Rights.” This once-lauded international human rights organization was founded in 1961 as an advocate for the prisoner of conscience, those “imprisoned, tortured or executed because [of their] opinions or religion.” Amnesty is a far cry from that today.

News in Brief Prime Minister

PM Orbán: Hungary faces five major 'attacks' in 2017

Feb 11, 2017

Delivering his nineteenth annual state of the nation address, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary’s main task in 2017 would be to fend off five major “attacks” against the country

News in Brief

WATCH VIDEO: Hungary's foreign minister says people should know if NGOs are funded from abroad

Jan 31, 2017

The foreign minister said there was a clear demand for politics to be transparent. He argued that in this case transparency should be demanded of all organizations that influence public affairs, including NGOs, “because the people have a right to know whom these NGOs, whom these organizations actually represent”

News in Brief

The 2010-2014 period has been the most successful governing cycle since the transition to democracy in Hungary

Dec 27, 2016

The Speaker of Parliament hopes that most Hungarians are looking forward to the new year with more aspirations than before

Blog

Soros pushing “the anti-Orbán agenda”, says POLITICO

Dec 13, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

In what is becoming an annual tradition, POLITICO Europe has published a list of 28 people “who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe.” Each of the 28 representing an EU member state, it’s a thoughtful and provocative list and no less so with the editors’ pick this year from Hungary.

Blog

Who thought that was a good idea?

May 27, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

International relations has its political dimension. Certain interests will support a government or oppose it motivated by a political agenda. That’s understandable. But when purely partisan politics becomes the most important driving force behind bilateral or multilateral relations among sovereign, independent countries, then we’ve got a serious problem.

Blog

Eine gute Idee? Von wem?

May 27, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

Internationale Beziehungen haben eine politische Dimension. Gewisse Interessengruppen unterstützen eine Regierung oder lehnen sie ab – je nach der politischen Agenda. Das ist verständlich. Aber wenn reine Parteipolitik zur treibenden Kraft hinter bilateralen oder multilateralen Beziehungen zwischen souveränen, unabhängigen Ländern wird, haben wir ein ernsthaftes Problem.

Blog

When ‘the mouth belongs to Clinton, but the voice belongs to George Soros’

May 25, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

A conspiracy theory?