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Hungary sheltered the 'fish king" from EU sanctions
Hungary used its veto to shelter Belarusian oligarch Alexander Moshensky from EU sanctions. Iceland also used its lobbying efforts for the businessman with close ties to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Euractiv reports.
Moshensky's assets include prominent food manufacturers Santa Bremor and Savushkin Produkt which are mainly known for their fish and caviar products The “fish king” of Belarus has enjoyed diplomatic and business relations with Iceland for over two decades now. In 2006, Moshensky became the country's honorary consul in Belarus.
According to Heimildin, Hungary decided to use its veto in May after 10 EU countries requested Moshensky be included in the sanction list. Sergey Nyadbaylau, the managing director of Santa Bremor, is Hungary's honorary consul in Belarus, resulting in the company having two consuls from foreign countries.
Hungarian President approves Fedir Shandor as Ukrainian ambassador
"The President signed a decision approving the appointment of the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Hungary," reads Karalin Novak's office's statement. According to ATV in light of previous events, the President's consent is a gesture from Hungary.
Previously Radio Free Europe reported that it took an unusually long time for Novak to sign the document. The speed of the release of the agrément depends on the relationship between the two countries - between allies, or when it comes to an experienced diplomatic candidate, it can take one to two months. But there are also countries that can use this formal step to exert pressure.
Hungarian to lose access to Erasmus+ as Orban government fails to address EU's concerns
Hungarian students will likely lose access to the Erasmus+ scholarship program after the Orban government failed to address the EU's concerns over Hungarian universities, Bloomberg reports. “I am rather doubtful that we can save the scholarships for the winter semester because honestly, if we agree on something, then it has to be implemented,” European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn told the news site.
The EU suspended 21 Hungarian universities from the Erasmus+ program, citing the risk of corruption and conflict of interest after public foundations took over the management of the educational institutions. These foundations were set up by the Hungarian government and were run by its ministers.
Podolyak: "Orban has a direct interest in keeping Putin in power"
In an interview with HVG, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mihajlo Podolyak said Ukraine considers the statements of Viktor Orban "to be very damaging. He does not understand what is happening in the world and especially in the war that is going on. The consequence is that his statements are destroying common European values. This is not at all important for Ukraine, because Orban is in no way a global political actor and therefore has no influence on international political processes and rules. Orbán is a local politician who does nothing more than repeat Russian propaganda texts word for word. In doing so, he is directly damaging Hungary. I don't understand why he does it when he could keep silent." He added that the Hungarian PM has a "direct interest" in keeping Putin in power".
The presidential adviser said he will not speculate whether this is for personal or other reasons and that he thinks "it would be much fairer if Orban decided to leave the EU and (...) and the money from Brussels". "However, it is not Orbán's statements that hurt Hungary the most, but the deep-rooted corruption. Ukraine is fighting to remain free, but I have no doubt that Orbán would immediately kneel down if Russia demanded it," Podolyak said.