About Hungary beta

    • CORONAVIRUS: Here's the latest

    A regularly updated feed of the latest information about coronavirus in Hungary.

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    PM Orbán: Hungary’s vaccination capacity is far beyond the number of doses arriving from the EU

    Prime Minister Orbán said that Hungary has so far inoculated 105,728 people, and the number of newly confirmed infected is on the decline, with a rising number of those who have recovered from the coronavirus.

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    Is Brussels failing the COVID vaccine challenge?

    So, what’s really happening? Has the EU reserved enough vaccines? Did they arrive late to the party? Why does the supply seem so unreliable? These are just a few of the tough questions for Brussels.

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    WaPo, the failed opposition leader and a story of blatant hypocrisy

    “Independent” MP Bernadett Szél, former leader of LMP (the failed green-liberal party in Hungary) and 2018 opposition prime minister candidate, can’t sleep at night worried about “populists,” forgets about her own violent demonstrations.

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    PM Orbán: Restrictions to stay in force until February

    Only a few vaccines have been received so far to vaccinate just 80,000 people, and the virus situation in Europe remains serious, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, explaining why the current epidemiological measures had been extended until February 1.

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    PM Orbán on Kossuth Rádió: We have stopped the second wave of the coronavirus, now the task is to prevent a third one from starting

    In his first 2021 radio interview, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán detailed the government’s vaccination plan and its prognosis of the coronavirus pandemic and also talked about how the Hungarian economy will shift gears in the coming decade.

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    Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's response to Manfred Weber

    Samizdat No.5.

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    Migration

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    Blog

    Der Migrationsdruck an der Südgrenze nimmt zu, als die Polizei zwei Tunnel unter der Grenze entdeckt

    Dec 03, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

    Ungarn verzeichnete in diesem Jahr allein 11.808 illegale Grenzübertrittsversuche, 2.418 davon in diesem Monat und in dieser Woche allein ereigneten sich neun Prozent der diesjährigen Versuche. Während der Druck zunimmt und illegale Migranten neue Taktiken anwenden, sind die ungarischen Behörden bereit, die Grenze auch gegen viel höhere Zahlen zu sichern.

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    Blog

    PM Orbán to Italian PM: ‘If necessary, we will take over protection of certain sections of the Italian border’

    Sep 29, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

    Ruling party Fidesz held its annual congress today, the 28th since the party’s establishment. In his address following his re-election as president of the party, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán highlighted the goals that Fidesz has achieved over the course of three decades, including the creation of a “new and working model of state theory, a Christian Democratic state.” Regarding the EU’s latest ideas for responding to the migration challenge, the PM made an offer to Italy to help in protecting the EU border.

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    Blog

    Und noch einmal: nein, wir lassen die Menschen in der Transitzone nicht „hungern“

    May 03, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

    Am Freitag veröffentlichte The Guardian einen Artikel, in dem behauptet wird, dass die ungarische Regierung den Asylbewerbern Nahrungsmittel vorenthält und es zudem beinahe unmöglich macht, die Anforderungen für die Unterbringung in der Transitzone zu erfüllen, da „jeder, der aus einem sicheren Land nach Ungarn gekommen war, für ein Asyl automatisch nicht in Frage kam. Die meisten Menschen kommen aus Serbien, was als sicher gilt.“

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    Blog

    Ministerpräsident Orbán: Man sollte der Kommission die Migration und den Grenzschutz wegnehmen und sie den nationalen Regierungen zurückgeben

    Mar 28, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

    Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán schloss sich am Wochenende im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Budapest Summit on Migration“ der Meinung anderer prominenter politischer Persönlichkeiten an, einschließlich des ehemaligen französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy, und meinte, die Zuständigkeit für Migration und Grenzschutz sollte den EU-Mitgliedstaaten zurückgegeben, und an einen unabhängigen Rat der EU-Innenminister delegiert werden.

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    Blog

    PM Orbán: Take migration and border protection away from the Commission, give them back to the national governments

    Mar 23, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

    Drawing on the remarks of other prominent political figures at this weekend’s Budapest Summit on Migration, including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán concluded that migration and border protection competences should be returned to the EU’s member states and delegated to an independent council comprised of EU interior ministers.

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    News in Brief

    Gergely Gulyás: Fidesz wants a strong, united, Christian democratic European People’s Party which rejects immigration

    Mar 18, 2019

    On Monday Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, told Hungarian news agency MTI that Fidesz wants a strong, united Christian democratic European People’s Party (EPP) which rejects immigration. He said that Fidesz wants to remain a member of the party family for as long as possible, and also stressed that Fidesz has always avoided personal attacks on other members of the party family it belongs to.

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    Blog

    You have the right to know: some in Brussels think your national borders are an unfortunate obstacle to immigration

    Feb 28, 2019 - Zoltán Kovács

    Have you noticed how the bureaucrats in Brussels talk about “border management” instead of saying “border protection” or “border defense”? It’s not a coincidence. It betrays a fundamental difference in how we approach migration. For those in the pro-migration lobby, immigration is a positive outcome and national borders are the obstacles.

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    Blog

    PM Netanyahu to PM Orbán: ‘Thank you for standing up for Israel’ at the forefront of opposition to this new anti-Semitism

    Jul 18, 2017 - Zoltán Kovács

    During a historic visit – the first of a head of government of Israel in 30 years – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for “standing up for Israel in international forums,” and the Hungarian prime minister delivered a sharp rebuke of the failure of Hungary to defend its Jewish citizens during World War II, saying the country had sinned.

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    Blog

    No, the Hungarian refugees of 1956 are not the same as today’s migrants

    Oct 11, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    It was a Tuesday, that October 23rd in 1956. The whole thing began as a peaceful, student demonstration, young people with a manifesto asserting the right to be independent from all foreign powers and that all Hungarians should enjoy the rights of free people in a democratic system. The crowds grew as the demonstrations moved throughout the city. By nightfall, State Security Police had fired on a crowd of unarmed demonstrators outside the state radio building, killing many.

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    Issues

    Referendum on EU’s Mandatory Migrant Resettlement Scheme

    Sep 27, 2016

    Hungary will hold a popular referendum on October 2nd, 2016 on the so-called quota package, the plan whereby the European Union could relocate an unlimited number of migrants to the territory of Hungary and other Member States. “Do you want the European Union,” the referendum question asks voters, “to be able to mandate the obligatory resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens into Hungary even without the approval of the National Assembly?”

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    Blog

    Das ungarische Referendum dient der Wiederherstellung einer starken Europäischen Union

    Jul 12, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    Der Termin steht fest: Am 2. Oktober 2016 wird in Ungarn eine Volksabstimmung über das verpflichtende EU-Quotensystem zur Ansiedlung von Migranten stattfinden. Dass das Datum nur einige Tage nach dem Brexit bekanntgegeben wurde, hat zu Mutmaßungen geführt, das ungarische Referendum handle ebenfalls vom Austritt aus der EU. Natürlich war das aus dem Munde mancher Kritiker eine absichtliche Verwechslung aus politischen Gründen.

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    Blog

    Ministerpräsident Orbán: Europa braucht ein stabiles Ägypten

    Jun 03, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    Nach seinem Treffen mit dem „sunnitischen Papst“ sprach der ungarische Ministerpräsident Viktor Orbán diese Woche in seinem regelmäßigen Radio-Interview über Europas katastrophale Interventionen in der islamischen Welt sowie über die Notwendigkeit eines stabilen Ägyptens und der erneuten Stabilisierung Libyens. Er sprach auch vom Brexit-Referendum und den Gefahren des wachsenden demokratischen Defizits in der derzeitigen Europäischen Union.

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    Blog

    Why so many competing proposals to protect Europe and its borders?

    Apr 25, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    European member states are exceptionally busy these days. Although some critics suggest that they seem asleep at the wheel in the wake of the biggest migration crisis the continent has seen for decades, the European Commission and some individual member states have drafted proposals to respond to the crisis. These plans are currently vying with one another, all in preparation for the upcoming European Council Summit.

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    Blog Prime Minister

    PM Orbán: Differences between Hungary and Germany on migration are now over

    Apr 22, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    “When I visit southern Germany, I always find time to visit Mr. Chancellor [Kohl],” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about his latest meeting with former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, adding that they discussed the future of Europe and bilateral relations between Germany and Hungary. Today, in his regular biweekly radio interview, the prime minister had several interesting things to say about both. A few things that may surprise you.

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    Blog Prime Minister

    PM Orbán: Hungary celebrates paying off debt, will propose alternative to EU’s quota system

    Apr 08, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    In his regular, radio interview on Friday morning, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that, on the EU’s quota system, “it cannot be the case that one member state alone makes a decision and the others suffer the consequences.” He also spoke about the symbolic significance of paying off the loan and that Hungary has good reason to celebrate this weekend.

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    Blog

    PM’s “Tough Love” is an International Youtube Success

    Apr 07, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    A fan’s tribute to Prime Minister Orbán’s March 15 speech has enjoyed remarkable success on Youtube. After the user posted the speech with subtitles in English and called attention to some of the very direct language in the prime minister’s address, the video post garnered more than 200 thousand views within the first week of being published. When I last checked yesterday, the video had 6,000 likes, 100 dislikes and over 3,000 overwhelmingly positive comments.

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    News in Brief

    With illegal crossings on the rise, reinforcements to the Hungary-Serbia border underway

    Apr 04, 2016

    Due to the increased number of illegal border violations in the last few days, in response to a request from the Ministry of the Interior, the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) have started the further physical reinforcement of the temporary border barrier in certain sectors along the Hungarian–Serbian border. In order to finish the work as soon as possible, more HDF units were deployed into the area at the weekend.

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    News in Brief

    With increased threat level in Europe, government seeks agreement on counter-terrorism planning

    Apr 04, 2016

    A five-party consultation was held on Friday at the Ministry of Interior regarding the Government’s counter-terrorism action plan which will be debated by the Cabinet on Monday, and in the wake of this debate, there will be another consultation with the parliamentary parties. After the Friday consultation, Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said: there were no fundamental disagreements on professional issues, and an agreement may well be reached.

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    Prime Minister News in Brief

    EU Migration Summit: Hungary says no to mandatory resettlement

    Mar 18, 2016

    “For the past several days we’ve working on behalf of the Hungarian interest that any kind of refugee exchange, settlement or movement of people would only happen on a voluntary basis. We have a chance to achieve this,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán upon his arrival at the EU Council meeting on Thursday. In response to a journalist asking about his prognosis, the prime minister confided, “I always feel good before a summit. Let’s see afterwards.”

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    Blog

    ‘None of Us Wants a Europe That Surrenders,’ Says PM Orbán

    Mar 05, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    “As I see today,” Prime Minister Orbán said, “there are so many problems – and you know it too, that problems don’t just mean trouble, they mean an opportunity as well – within the European Union that many countries have taken up with or are taking up with the idea of creating a deeper form of integration after the common currency. And that puts us, every country, which is not a part of the Eurozone, up to a challenge.”

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    News in Brief

    Hungary and UAE Agree on How to Best Solve Migration Crisis

    Mar 01, 2016

    Péter Szijjártó and the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates agreed that migration pressure on Europe and the migration crisis will not come to an end until peace is established in Syria, the fight against terrorism is successfully won and the European Union ends its policy of keeping its external borders open, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Hungarian news agency MTI on the first day of his trip to the Emirates.

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    Blog

    As the EU Moves to ‘the Hungarian Solution on Migration,’ Says PM Orbán, Hungary Must Let the People Decide in a Referendum on the Quota System

    Feb 28, 2016 - Zoltán Kovács

    European leaders gathered in Brussels earlier this month for a European Council meeting on Britain’s proposed reform plans and again on the migration crisis. Though often heated and sometimes personal, the debate took Europe closer to the solution that Hungary and others have been proposing for months on migration: restore order at Europe’s borders before anything else.

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    News in Brief

    When Are We Finally Going to Talk About Security of European Citizens?

    Feb 22, 2016 - Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI

    As long as people are entering Europe in an uncontrolled manner, we must primarily focus on the protection of the external EU borders, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltán Balog stated on the political debate programme Im Zentrum of the Austrian television channel ORF2 late on Sunday night. He added that the protection of the borders guarantees the right to freedom and security in Europe.

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    Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

    'Defending Schengen With Mere Words Is Not Enough," Says PM Orbán

    Jan 22, 2016

    Europe has two types of countries, said Prime Minister Orbán during the joint press availability following his meeting in Ljubljana, January 22, with Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar. There are "ones which defend Schengen with words, and others which do so with actions. We both fall into the second category." nyomtatás Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s statement after the Slovenian-Hungarian government summit 22 January 2016 22 January 2016, Ljubljana

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    Speeches and Remarks Prime Minister

    “The Route May Move in Any Direction, But One Thing Is Certain: It Will Not Go Through Hungary"

    Jan 22, 2016

    Hungary pursues "a migration policy which of course grants political refugees all the possibilities afforded by international law," the prime minister said, "but which does not allow anyone else in.” In his Friday interview on state radio, January 22, the prime minister talked about migration, the taxi versus Uber conflict, and the new family housing allowance program.

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