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Hungarian government congratulates Fico on election victory
“Guess who's back! Congratulations to Robert Fico on his undisputable victory in the Slovak parliamentary elections. Always good to work together with a patriot. Looking forward to it!”, Viktor Orbán posted on X (previously Twitter). Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó joined Orban with a Facebook post saying: “We are pleased that the people of Slovakia have made a clear choice in an unquestionably democratic election… Robert Fico also thinks about war, migration, and gender in the same way as we do. His victory offers a strong chance to strengthen the V4 alliance.”
Orban’s political director Balázs Orbán ( no relation to the Prime Minister) wrote that Hungary’s position could strengthen in Brussels following the Slovak elections. Fico, a former prime minister, is known for his pro-Putin stance. There are growing concerns that after Fico's victory, Slovakia could join Hungary in blocking EU aid to Ukraine.
Hungary won't support sanctions against Azerbaijan
The Hungarian government does not support EU sanctions against Azerbaijan over the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, János Bóka, the EU's minister for European affairs, told French weekly, Le Point. MEPs called for sanctions against the Azerbaijani government, including a halt to gas imports, for its takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh at the end of September and the displacement of all Armenians living there.
Bóka said Hungary supports any initiative that maintains a dialogue between the parties to defuse the conflict and return to a peaceful solution. "I regret the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalating to this extent. Regrettably, military force has been used. We would like to see an easing of the situation to ensure the security of the civilian population. We believe that the European Union has a role to play in reducing tension and, as far as possible, trying to mediate between the parties. The European Union must maintain its mediation role so that it can negotiate with both sides". However, sanctions would not lead to a de-escalation of tensions and would not reverse the process, according to the latest minister in the Orban government.
Finance minister justifies change in deficit target with state's revenue shortfall
The Hungarian government has revised its deficit target for this year from 3.9% to 5.2% of GDP. Finance Minister Mihály Varga told Index that we have revenue shortfalls, the smaller part of which is made up of lost tax revenues due to lower consumption, and the larger part of the items that the EU should transfer to Hungary.
According to the finance minister, the latter has two key elements: The transfer of funds rightfully due to Hungary, which has pushed the cash deficit higher. If "the European Union would transfer them, the cash deficit would be reduced by 0.5 percent," Varga said.
The accounting of border protection costs, which Varga said is at 650 billion forints and "we have been asking the European Commission for a long time to account for it".
Varga said we have repeatedly asked Brussels to take into account the serious efforts of countries like Hungary in curbing illegal migration. "If this money would come in, it would reduce the budget deficit by almost 1 percentage point," Varga said.
Two notorious US white nationalists enroll in Budapest Summer Program
During an ELTE's summer language course for foreigners, students found out they were sharing classes with two American far-right activists, Greg Johnson and David Michael Zsutty, Radio Free Europe reports.
Their names were noticed by a student on a mailing list. The university investigated the matter but concluded that the code of ethics did not apply to the participants in the program. Students decided not to attend the graduation ceremony, and the ELTE administration did not to hold the ceremony at all.
The two men attended the course specifically to learn Hungarian, which suggests that they plan to stay in Hungary. Johnson was deported from Norway in 2019 after he expressed support for mass murderer Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people. He has since been shuttling between Budapest and America.