foreign relations
March 10, 2010, 09:42 CET
No big changes in Hungary's foreign policy likely after election, says official
No fundamental changes are likely in Hungarian foreign policy once the next government assumes office after the April general election, Gabor Iklody, a senior foreign ministry official, told his American colleagues on Tuesday. The ministry's political director said he had... [read complete entry]
March 08, 2010, 10:25 CET
Radical nationalists urge "eastern" turn in foreign policy
The radical nationalist Jobbik party presented ideas on Friday for a foreign policy that would orientate Hungary towards the East, the party's new foreign policy expert told reporters. Marton Gyongyosi said foreign policy should be based on national interests and... [read complete entry]
March 04, 2010, 09:54 CET
Canada may reintroduce Hungarian travel visas
Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney did not rule out the reintroduction of travel visas for Hungarians yesterday, saying Hungary is becoming Canada's number one source country for asylum seekers. The number of Hungarian refugee applications to Canada rose to over... [read complete entry]
March 03, 2010, 09:34 CET
Visegrád Four FMs discuss EU Eastern Partnership in Budapest
Foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four countries - Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - met in Budapest for talks on specific programmes under the European Union's Eastern Partnership on Tuesday. The EU aims to help its eastern neighbours with... [read complete entry]
February 26, 2010, 09:58 CET
Hungary to assume specific responsibility in EU Danube Strategy, says PM
Hungary assumes a specific responsibility for drafting the EU's Danube Strategy as the document will be up for approval during its EU presidency in the first half of 2011, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said in Budapest on Thursday. Opening a... [read complete entry]
February 26, 2010, 09:31 CET
Hungary supports Czech Republic in visa dispute with Canada
Hungary stated to support the Czech Republic in its visa dispute with Canada, Hungarian Justice Minister Imre Forgacs told MTI on Thursday in Brussels, where he was attending a conference of EU interior and justice ministers. After the meeting, Czech... [read complete entry]
February 25, 2010, 11:50 CET
Countries step up cooperation, sign joint declaration at Budapest energy summit
Participants of an energy summit held in Budapest on Wednesday signed a joint declaration on stepping up cooperation and making energy security a priority. Hungary's Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said the signing of a joint declaration was a milestone in... [read complete entry]
February 24, 2010, 09:43 CET
PM Bajnai holds talks with special US envoy on energy issues
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai met U.S. Ambassador Richard L. Morningstar, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's special envoy, in Budapest on Tuesday evening for talks on energy supply. The ambassador, who helps realise the US energy policy objectives in the... [read complete entry]
February 24, 2010, 09:42 CET
Ethnic Hungarians demonstrate for language rights in Slovakia
Around 500 university students demonstrated on Tuesday in the southern Slovakian town of Komarno in defence of their right to use the mother tongue. Students who spoke at the peaceful demonstration in the town with a large ethnic Hungarian population... [read complete entry]
February 23, 2010, 12:07 CET
Slovak PM expresses concerns over losing "special relationship" with Hungary
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has expressed his opinion that a Fidesz electoral victory in April would lead to strained relations between Hungary and Slovakia, mno.hu reports, unlike the status quo which is just peachy. Fico stated that if Fidesz... [read complete entry]
February 17, 2010, 10:25 CET
Hungary supports Serbia's EU integration, parliamentary committee head says
Hungary supports the accession of Serbia with the European Union regardless of what government is in power, Chairman of the Hungarian parliament's EU Affairs Committee Matyas Eorsi told the body at its session on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by... [read complete entry]
February 10, 2010, 09:49 CET
US ambassador addresses parliamentary committee on Nabucco
The newly appointed US ambassador to Hungary addressed a parliamentary foreign affairs committee session on Tuesday, discussing Hungary's role in the Nabucco gas pipeline project as well as the current foreign affairs agenda. The construction of the planned Nabucco gas... [read complete entry]
February 08, 2010, 10:15 CET
Ex-PM Gyurcsány meets Netanjahu, Blair, IMF chief in Israel
Hungary's former Socialist prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany held a 45-minute consultation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu in Israel on Thursday, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister's Office told the commercial channel ATV. Gyurcsany informed Netanjahu about Hungary's domestic... [read complete entry]
February 05, 2010, 12:06 CET
US Ambassador compares Orbán to former President Clinton
US ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis says Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán reminds her of former US President Bill Clinton in an interview in the latest HVG. Clinton was also full of passion for people and took over governing with a high... [read complete entry]
February 05, 2010, 10:21 CET
LMP reaches out to Austria over environmenal tensions
Hungary's green party LMP has initiated cross-border cooperation with Austria in order to resolve environmental problems along the two country's borders, MP and local coordinator of LMP Ildiko Gergacz said on Thursday. Christiane Brunner, an MP of Austria's Die Gruenen... [read complete entry]
February 05, 2010, 10:11 CET
Hungarian MPs visit Belarus after 20-year gap
A Hungarian parliamentary delegation started a two-day visit in Minsk, Belarus on Thursday in order to boost bilateral relations. Head of the Hungarian delegation Gabor Hars, of the Socialist Party, told the Belarusian news portal Belta that this was the... [read complete entry]
February 03, 2010, 09:20 CET
Socialists say new US ambassador aims to promote investment in Hungary
The ruling Socialist Party trusts that new ambassador to Hungary of United States will further enhance business ties and promote American investment in the country, Attila Mesterhazy, the party's prime minister candidate said on Tuesday, after talks with Eleni Tsakopoulos... [read complete entry]
January 28, 2010, 10:03 CET
Deputy foreign minister holds talks on visa in Canada
Avoiding the re-imposition of visa requirements for Hungarian visitors to Canada is of common interest, Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Vilmos Szabo told MTI after talks in Ottawa on Wednesday. Szabo and Canada's deputy minister of foreign affairs and immigration discussed... [read complete entry]
January 27, 2010, 09:32 CET
US to help Hungary with Roma integration programme
The United States is ready to share its experiences gained through the integration of Afro-Americans to help Hungary close the gap between its Roma minority and majority society, Lajos Korozs, Hungary's deputy social minister learnt during talks in Washington on... [read complete entry]
January 26, 2010, 03:16 CET
Vona reveals Jobbik's "enemies list": IMF, United States, Israel, Slovakia and terrestrial commercial television stations
In a speech held in Esztergom over the weekend, Jobbik chairman Gábor Vona (also the party's prime ministerial candidate) revealed what can be considered to be the party's "enemies list", origo.hu reports. If the party were to come into power,... [read complete entry]
January 22, 2010, 10:07 CET
Socialist official meets ethnic Hungarian leaders in Ukraine
Senior official of Hungary's Socialist party Katalin Szili met with leaders of ethnic Hungarian communities in western Ukraine on Thursday. On the second day of her visit, Szili, who is head of the permanent committee of the Forum of Hungarian... [read complete entry]
January 20, 2010, 08:48 CET
Opposition leader holds talks with new US ambassador
Viktor Orban, leader of the opposition, and Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, the new US ambassador to Hungary, held talks on Tuesday, head of Orban's office Peter Szijjarto told MTI. Orban, who leads of conservative party Fidesz, and Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis reviewed relations between the... [read complete entry]
January 19, 2010, 07:15 CET
Jan Slota "reveals" Hungarian plan to invade Slovakia
As one Slovak commenter to this site has suggested, we secretly love Jan Slota. Well, we don't love him, but we must admit we like him just a little for making our jobs easier by saying idiotic things from time... [read complete entry]
January 18, 2010, 10:51 CET
Hungarian PM to visit Zagreb on Monday
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai will leave for Zagreb on Monday for talks with his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor, the government spokesman told MTI. The talks will focus on secure energy supply and EU enlargement, including Croatia's accession, Domokos Szollar... [read complete entry]
January 15, 2010, 10:36 CET
Hungarian PM meets new US ambassador
Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai met new US Ambassador to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis in his office in Parliament on Thursday. Bajnai said it was important that the United States is represented by a personality who nourishes close relations with US... [read complete entry]
January 13, 2010, 09:58 CET
Yes, former deputy UK Ambassador Steven Fisher is a revolting cad and a national embarrassment. But he's also a victim!
One final bit of housekeeping left over from 2009 involves the case of Steven Fisher (center), who until recently was the second in command at Her Britannic Majesty's Embassy here in Hungary. As was revealed by the British press... [read complete entry]
January 12, 2010, 03:07 CET
New US ambassador to Hungary meets president
The new US ambassador to Budapest Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis presented her credentials to President László Sólyom at the Sándor Palace on Monday. She was nominated for the post by US President Barack Obama in October. At her hearing in Congress the... [read complete entry]
January 11, 2010, 12:03 CET
FM says EC position supports Hungarian worries over Slovak language law
An evaluation by the legal service of the Secretariat General of the European Commission published on Thursday justifies a number of Hungary's concerns about the implementation guidelines of the contested Slovak state language act, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs told... [read complete entry]
January 06, 2010, 08:10 CET
OSCE high commissioner to visit Hungary over Slovak language law
The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek is likely to visit Hungary within the next two months to discuss Slovakia's minority language law, Hungary's Foreign Minister told MTI on Monday. Peter Balazs confirmed news reports that he had... [read complete entry]
January 05, 2010, 03:36 CET
US-Hungarian oil-for-troops-and-terrorists deal best unfounded conspiracy theory of 2009
While we made a strategic decision not to bother with the traditional retrospective pieces looking back at 2009, we feel it's only necessary to tip our hats to what must be the best unsubstantiated political conspiracy theory reported as... [read complete entry]
January 05, 2010, 10:34 CET
Hungary welcomes OSCE statement on Slovak language law
Hungary welcomes a Monday statement by the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe concerning OSCE's mediation in the Hungary-Slovakia dispute over the latter's contested language law, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry told MTI.... [read complete entry]
January 04, 2010, 10:06 CET
New US ambassador expected to arrive in Budapest this weekend
The new US ambassador, Greek-born Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, is expected to arrive in Budapest at the weekend, the Hungarian embassy in Washington told MTI. The new envoy could attend a reception for ambassadors to Budapest given by President László Sólyom on... [read complete entry]
December 30, 2009, 10:45 CET
Slovak Foreign Minister expresses regret over tiff with Hungary
The past six months in relations between Hungary and Slovakia were especially hard and unpleasant "and what happened damaged both countries in the eyes of the world," Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcák said in an interview with a Slovak website.... [read complete entry]
December 30, 2009, 10:31 CET
Ex-FM defends focus on ethnic Hungarians abroad, domestic businesses
Hungary's foreign policy should focus on stronger European integration and well-functioning Central European cooperation, former Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi, of the main opposition Fidesz party, told daily Nepszabadsag on Wednesday. Ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders must always remain a... [read complete entry]
December 28, 2009, 10:15 CET
US Senate confirms Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis as ambassador to Hungary
The United States senate has confirmed the nomination of California businesswoman Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis to become the US ambassador in Budapest. Participants at the last senate session of this year confirmed several nominations, including Kounalakis's, the senate homepage reported. On... [read complete entry]
December 23, 2009, 09:50 CET
Hungarian FM singles out Slovakia, Ukraine as obstacles to regional harmony
Hungary's diplomatic corps has invested a lot of energy in further developing its ties with neighbouring countries during the past year, Foreign Minister Peter Balazs told MTI on Wednesday. Balazs noted, however, that the nationalistic policies of two countries -... [read complete entry]
December 23, 2009, 09:46 CET
Hungarian government welcomes Serbia's EU membership application
The Hungarian government welcomes that Serbia has submitted its official application to join the European Union, the government spokesman's office told MTI in a statement on Tuesday. Belgrade's decision is a "historic milestone": the country's joining the EU is a... [read complete entry]
December 21, 2009, 10:27 CET
Hungary, Ukraine discuss situation of ethnic Hungarians
Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister Vilmos Szabo held talks with Ukrainian officials on the education of ethnic Hungarians and other issues in Uzhgorod, the seat of Subcarpathia, an Ukrainian region inhabited by many Hungarians, on Friday. Meeting Governor Oleh Havasi, Szabo... [read complete entry]
December 17, 2009, 10:10 CET
Slovakia breaking deal with Hungary over language law, gov't spokesman says
Slovakia's adopting the guidelines to its controversial state language act on Wednesday is seen as a violation of a recent agreement between the two countries, the spokesman of the Hungarian government told MTI on Wednesday. Domokos Szollar said that the... [read complete entry]
December 17, 2009, 10:09 CET
Hungary ready to turn to European Court over Slovak barring of President
The European Commission agreed with Hungary in so far as Slovakia had mistakenly referred to community guidelines when it denied Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom entry in August, Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Zsuzsanna Matrai told MTI on Wednesday. President Laszlo Solyom had... [read complete entry]
December 17, 2009, 10:04 CET
Orbán gives speech in Serbia on "re-uniting" of larger Hungarian nation
Viktor Orban, leader of Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party, talked about the importance of efforts to re-unite the Hungarian nation at a rally held in Senta, a city in the north Serbian Vojvodina province, on Wednesday. Hungarians living in Hungary... [read complete entry]
December 14, 2009, 10:48 CET
Russian Ambassador says relations with Hungary perhaps best in CEE
Last month's meeting between Viktor Orban, leader of Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was a "constructive and interesting" discussion, Russian Ambassador to Hungary Aleksandr Tolkats said in an interview published in the online issue... [read complete entry]
December 11, 2009, 09:44 CET
EU approves outline for trio presidency including Hungary
The General Affairs Council of the European Union has approved the programme for the Spanish-Belgian-Hungarian presidency in 2010-11, the Foreign Ministry told MTI on Thursday. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs said at the council session that the trio will start... [read complete entry]
December 08, 2009, 10:11 CET
Slovak cultural institute in Budapest damaged in attack by vandal
Hungary's Foreign Ministry condemns the vandalisation of Slovakia's cultural institute in Budapest, Foreign Minister Peter Balazs told MTI on Monday. The minister, who is currently staying in Brussels, said, that "the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Hungary firmly condemns... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 10:49 CET
Sólyom calls embassies' statement on corruption in Hungary "offensive"
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom on Saturday said nine embassies in Hungary that issued a joint statement in mid-November to call attention to the lack of transparency that they say negatively impacts Hungary's investment climate expressed their problem in an offensive... [read complete entry]
December 03, 2009, 12:42 CET
Bajnai gives medal to "legendary" former US ambassador Palmer
Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai presented a high state honour to Mark Palmer, who had been the US ambassador to Hungary during its transition to democracy 20 years ago, in Washington on Wednesday, US time. The prime minister handed over the... [read complete entry]
December 03, 2009, 12:29 CET
Slovak gov't observing agreement with Hungary, foreign minister says
No matter what extremists say in Slovakia, the Slovak-Hungarian declaration approved by the two prime ministers in Szecseny in September is valid and being observed by the Slovak government, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs told MTI on Wednesday. The Hungarian-Slovak... [read complete entry]
December 03, 2009, 11:16 CET
Bajnai backs Obama's Afghan surge during Washington visit
An increase of Hungarian forces in Afghanistan is now in the planning stage, the Defence Ministry said as Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai arrived in Washington for a four-day visit. He declared that Hungary supports President Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistanafter... [read complete entry]
December 03, 2009, 11:15 CET
Fidesz establishes ties with Chinese Communists as Orbán tours Beijing
Fidesz established official links with the Chinese Communist Party yesterday, China's state news agency reported after party chairman Viktor Orbán met Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing. "In order to create jobs we have to find markets for our... [read complete entry]
December 02, 2009, 09:34 CET
Secret services minister mum on former Guantanamo inmate in Hungary
Minister in charge of the secret services Gabor Juhasz declined to confirm press reports on Tuesday about a former Guantanamo inmate being on his way to Hungary. Juhasz told the press after a meeting of the parliamentary committee on national... [read complete entry]
December 02, 2009, 09:27 CET
Bajnai leaves for Washington for four-day visit
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai will meet US Vice-President Joe Biden during the four-day working visit starting in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. Bajnai's entourage will include Defence Minister Imre Szekeres, liberal Free Democrat parliamentary leader Janos Koka and a Bajnai... [read complete entry]
December 02, 2009, 09:16 CET
Bolivian MPs to investigate alleged terrorist group in Hungary
Two opposition MPs from Bolivia will visit Hungary on Wednesday to investigate the links of an alleged terrorist group whose Hungarian members were killed in a standoff in Santa Cruz last April, the Podemos party announced in La Paz on... [read complete entry]
December 02, 2009, 08:37 CET
Hungary, Croatia discuss improving ethnic education
Hungary's and Croatia's joint committee on ethnic minorities discussed upgrading schools, plans for higher education, as well as the renovation of ecclesiastical properties at a session in Zagreb on Tuesday. The committee focused on assistance for two secondary schools and... [read complete entry]
November 27, 2009, 10:21 CET
PM says Hungary needs more predictable foreign policy
Hungary should follow a more predictable, future-oriented and pro-active foreign policy in order to secure the country's interests, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told a conference in Budapest on Thursday. Hungary's foreign policy is built on the three pillars of the... [read complete entry]
November 27, 2009, 10:12 CET
Hungarian, Slovak parliamentary groups meet after two-year hiatus
The sections fostering Hungarian-Slovak friendship in the two national groups of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held their first joint meeting after a two-year interval in the border town of Komarom, N Hungary, on Thursday. "Ties got frozen" in the autumn... [read complete entry]
November 27, 2009, 10:11 CET
Danish diplomat involved in '56 intrigues in Hungary honored
Danish Ambassador to Hungary Mads Sandau-Jensen laid a wreath at the monument to Danish diplomat Povl Bang-Jensen yesterday at an event organised by organisations that honour the 1956 Uprising against the Soviets. "We must protect the memory of those who... [read complete entry]
November 26, 2009, 11:29 CET
Government approves deal with US on receiving Guantanamo detainee
The Hungarian government has given its official consent to the Hungary-US agreement on accepting a detainee from Guantanamo, Gabor Juhasz, minister in charge of the civilian secret services, told MTI on Thursday. The government's decree ensures the legal framework for... [read complete entry]
November 25, 2009, 09:11 CET
Bajnai plans official visit to Washington next week
Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai is scheduled to pay a visit to Washington D.C. in the second half of next week, Wednesday's daily Nepszabadsag said it had learnt from sources. Budapest, however, has not confirmed the information, the paper was told... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 02:37 CET
Orbán apparently not a threat to Romanian national security
While the Slovaks see Viktor Orbán as their personal bogeyman, attitudes to the east in Romania are somewhat more relaxed, as proved by this campaign poster for center-right Romanian President Traian Băsescu, fn.hu reports. Although obviously aimed at the large... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:58 CET
Orbán meets Putin at congress of Russia's ruling party in St. Petersburg
Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán told HírTV that he is ready to place Hungarian-Russian relations on new foundations after he met Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the convention of the United Russia Party in St. Petersburg on Saturday. Both politicians... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:38 CET
Bajnai to meet ambassadors over criticism of investment climate
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai on Monday will meet the nine ambassadors who expressed concern over factors that they considered having a negative impact on Hungary's investment climate, government spokesman Domokos Szollar told MTI on Sunday. Issuing a joint statement... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:37 CET
Military chief says Hungary's role abroad to be transformed next year
The peacekeeping and other missions Hungarian soldiers are involved in will be transformed next year, Hungarian Chief of Staff Laszlo Tombol told MTI in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Sunday. As the situation seems to have been stabilised in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo,... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:19 CET
Hungarian, Croatian presidents hold talks near border
Presidents Laszlo Solyom of Hungary and Stjepan Mesic of Croatia held talks on mutual support for national minorities, energy and nature conservation issues in Barcs on Saturday. The two presidents met in the south Hungarian border town to attend the... [read complete entry]
November 20, 2009, 10:42 CET
Foreign Minister meets ethnic Hungarian leaders from region
Foreign Minister Peter Balazs met leaders of ethnic Hungarian communities in neighbouring countries for talks in Budapest on Thursday. Balazs gave them an outline of Hungary's foreign policy tasks and main objectives including policies towards communities of Hungarians living beyond... [read complete entry]
November 19, 2009, 09:26 CET
US Ambassador-designate testifies in Congress, vows help on minority issues
US ambassador candidate to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis said on Wednesday that, if appointed, she would cooperate with the Hungarian government in handling sensitive issues, such as minority rights. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis addressed a hearing of the Washington senate's foreign affairs committee. The... [read complete entry]
November 19, 2009, 09:22 CET
Embassies make joint call for more transparency in Hungarian public life
The embassies of nine countries issued a joint statement Wednesday expressing concern over "non-transparent behaviour" in Hungarian public life. The joint statement from representatives of the US, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland noted that... [read complete entry]
November 17, 2009, 09:35 CET
Delays scupper PM's speech in Italy
Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai was unable to address the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) summit in Rome on Monday as the session was running late and he had to catch a plane back to Budapest. Bajnai said he discussed... [read complete entry]
November 16, 2009, 08:48 CET
Ukrainian ambassador summoned over textbooks for ethnic Hungarians
The Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Ukraine's Ambassador to Hungary to enquire about the lack of Hungarian language textbooks for ethnic Hungarian pupils in west Ukraine, the ministry told MTI in a statement. Senior official at the ministry Jeno Faller... [read complete entry]
November 16, 2009, 08:44 CET
Hungarian president, delegation on official visit to Spain
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom will pay an official visit to Spain on November 16-18 at the invitation on the royal couple, the president's office told MTI on Friday. Solyom is scheduled to meet Juan Carlos I, the King of Spain,... [read complete entry]
November 16, 2009, 08:42 CET
Orbán says west too quick to embrace former communist leaders
Viktor Orban, head of Hungary's main opposition Fidesz party, thanked Germany for "helping Central Europe get rid of communism and integrate in the western part of Europe" in Berlin on Friday. Addressing a conference organised by the European People's Party... [read complete entry]
November 13, 2009, 09:00 CET
Parliamentary foreign affairs chief meets Romanian counterpart
Zsolt Nemeth, head of the Hungarian Parliament's foreign affairs committee, met his Romanian counterpart Laszlo Borbely in Budapest on Thursday, for talks on energy security, the situation of the Hungarian and Romanian minorities in Ukraine as well as Romania's upcoming... [read complete entry]
November 12, 2009, 09:15 CET
Budapest to host "Danube summit" in February 2010
Hungary will organise a summit on the Danube strategy in February 2010, Foreign Minister Peter Balazs announced after a Wednesday meeting of a working group making preparations for Hungary's EU presidency in 2011. The Danube strategy is a plan for... [read complete entry]
November 06, 2009, 11:47 CET
Hungary gives medal to… distinguished US Congressman
What is it about the seemingly inevitable goofiness that accompanies the awarding of medals by the Hungarian government to American politicians? First, there were the unintentionally hilarious misstatements made by then-foreign minister Kinga Göncz to then-outgoing US SecState Condoleezza Rice,... [read complete entry]
November 06, 2009, 10:57 CET
Armenian president to arrive in Hungary for state visit on November 8
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will arrive in Hungary on a three-day state visit on November 8, the Hungarian President's Office told MTI on Thursday. Sargsyan and his Hungarian host, President Laszlo Solyom, will hold talks and sign agreements on Monday.... [read complete entry]
November 06, 2009, 09:59 CET
Hungary votes in UN against "Goldstone" report on Israel
In a United Nations General Assembly vote on Thursday, Hungary voted to reject the Goldstone Report, which urged Israel and the Palestinians to investigate war crimes allegedly committed during the Gaza conflict almost a year ago, Hungary's UN Ambassador Gabor... [read complete entry]
November 05, 2009, 10:09 CET
New Hungarian ambassador to US presents credentials to Obama
Hungary's new Ambassador to the US Bela Szombati presented his credentials to US President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday. At the meeting, Szombati spoke about the Hungarian government's anti-crisis measures, and referred to the integration of the Roma minority,... [read complete entry]
November 04, 2009, 09:52 CET
Bajnai welcomes Czech court ruling clearing way for Lisbon Treaty adoption
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai welcomed the Tuesday ruling of the Czech Constitutional Court, which declared the Lisbon Treaty compatible with the Czech Constitution, the Hungarian Government Spokesman's Office told MTI. "The Czech Constitutional Court's ruling is good news for... [read complete entry]
November 04, 2009, 09:48 CET
Hungary, Slovak FM discuss 11-point "action plan" for improving ties
The foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia agreed at a meeting on Tuesday that a joint action plan for amending ties between their countries had been successfully implemented. Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia and Peter Balazs of Hungary met in Banska... [read complete entry]
November 03, 2009, 11:04 CET
Foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia in talks Tuesday
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs will hold a working meeting with Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak on Tuesday, the Slovak ministry spokesman said on Monday. The ministers will first meet on the Hungarian side of the border in Rarospuszta to place... [read complete entry]
November 03, 2009, 11:02 CET
Socialists call for multi-party talks on Hungarian citizenship
Hungary's ruling Socialist party has called a four-party meeting to discuss an opposition bill on citizenship for Hungarians living beyond the borders, the party's parliamentary group leader told MTI on Monday. Attila Mesterhazy said his party supported the idea of... [read complete entry]
November 02, 2009, 09:42 CET
Christian Democrats join chorus against Czech opt-out from EU charter
The promise of granting the Czech Republic an opt-out from the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights can be interpreted as confirmation that the post-WWII Benes decrees would remain in place, Zsolt Semjen, head of the Christian Democratic People's Party,... [read complete entry]
October 30, 2009, 11:29 CET
Bajnai says Hungary opposes restart of Lisbon ratification process
Hungary will not stand by the reopening of the Lisbon Treaty's ratification process, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said after meeting his counterparts from the Visegrad Four countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Rep) and Slovenia in Brussels on Thursday. Speaking before... [read complete entry]
October 30, 2009, 11:15 CET
Orbán cautions EU against giving way to Czech "blackmail" on Lisbon treaty
Viktor Orban, head of Hungary's main opposition Fidesz, cautioned the European Union against giving way to what he called "the blackmailing by the Czech president" and called on the Hungarian government not to accept any concession as a result on... [read complete entry]
October 27, 2009, 05:37 CET
Hungary wants out after Slovakia wants in on Czech amendmant to Lisbon Treaty
An MTI piece earlier today stated how Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Balázs wasn't exactly ecstatic about Czech President Václav Klaus's attempt to amend the Lisbon Treaty. What that piece was unclear about, however, was that Balázs's opposition to the treaty... [read complete entry]
October 21, 2009, 09:44 CET
Parliamentary committee chief urges keeping pressure on Slovaks
Hungary enjoys international support in the dispute over Slovakia's language law, the head of Hungary's foreign affairs parliamentary committee said in Washington on Tuesday. "Slovakia must be kept under serious pressure," Zsolt Nemeth told local Hungarians in the Kossuth House... [read complete entry]
October 13, 2009, 10:56 CET
Egyptian President Mubarak begins three-day visit to Hungary
Hungary's President Laszlo Solyom will receive his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on a three-day official visit, the president's office told MTI on Monday. The visit, starting on Tuesday, will include President Mubarak's address at a Hungarian-Egyptian business forum, as well... [read complete entry]
October 12, 2009, 10:07 CET
White House names new US ambassador to Hungary
US President Barack Obama has named Democratic fundraiser Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis as his country’s ambassador to Hungary, the White House announced on Friday. Sources in Washington told Népszabadság that they were not aware that the candidate has any connections to Hungary.... [read complete entry]
October 12, 2009, 09:22 CET
Hungarian PM lashes out at Czech president over EU treaty tactics
Czech President Vaclav Klaus's position on the Lisbon Treaty hinders Europe's recovery from the crisis, Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said in an interview printed in the Saturday issue of The Times. Bajnai, who visited Britain on Friday, told the... [read complete entry]
October 08, 2009, 11:20 CET
Canada calls for measures on Hungarian asylum-seekers
The Canadian government has called on Hungary to take measures to reduce the number of Hungarian asylum-seekers, Canadian news agency Canwest News Service reported on Wednesday. According to the report, Canada's airports have been flooded by an unexpectedly large number... [read complete entry]
October 08, 2009, 10:22 CET
Slovak nationalists initiate procedure to ban party of ethnic Hungarians
The Slovak National Party (SNS) has initiated a procedure to ban the Party of the Hungarian Coalition (MKP) with Slovakia's prosecutor general and will propose the withdrawal of its MPs' mandates to the Bratislava parliament, SNS president Ján Slota announced... [read complete entry]
October 07, 2009, 09:40 CET
The Politics.hu Interview: Donald Blinken
While it has been more than nine months since Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States, no successor has been named for April Foley as US ambassador to Hungary. At the same time, it is now widely... [read complete entry]
October 07, 2009, 09:38 CET
Western Balkan EU hopefuls top item at Budapest V4 summit
Despite the efforts of the V4 nations to speed up the EU accession process for countries of the Western Balkans, the overriding message at a meeting of the V4-plus Spain and Belgium - members of the future EU trio presidency... [read complete entry]
October 06, 2009, 10:27 CET
Visegrad Four foreign ministers to meet in Budapest today
The foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four countries - Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - will meet in Budapest on Tuesday to discuss the situation of the West Balkan states. The Visegrad Four countries are committed advocates of the... [read complete entry]
October 05, 2009, 10:52 CET
Orbán says accountability more important than country's finances
"I consider holding accountable those responsible for Hungary's present position as more important than the country's finances," Fidesz chairman Viktor Orbán told MTV talk show "Ma reggel" (This Morning) on Friday. Antall-era Justice Minister István Balsai will oversee strategic planning... [read complete entry]
October 05, 2009, 09:57 CET
Experts say Hungarian-Romanian shot in Bolivia was "executed"
Hungarian forensic experts believe that Arpad Magyarosi, an ethnic Hungarian Romanian citizen shot dead by Bolivian police during an alleged anti-terrorist attack in April, was executed, a police official said on Sunday. The experts prepared a virtual reconstruction of the... [read complete entry]
October 01, 2009, 10:16 CET
Defense Minister says Afghan peacekeeping mission a success story
The Hungarian armed forces' peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan has been a success story, Hungarian Minister of Defence Imre Szekeres said at a reception ceremony held in Nyiregyhaza (NE) on Wednesday. The minister welcomed the 6th of the rotating units of... [read complete entry]