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It's time for Orban to go - suggests X post from EPP
The European People's Party (EPP) shared a post on Facebook featuring an image of Hungary's far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emerging from a red backdrop, alongside the following caption: "Time to go."
The message left little room for interpretation: "It’s time to bring Hungary back closer to Europe and allow it a chance to recover from the consequences of poor leadership." The EPP had first shared this image on X last Wednesday, coinciding with Orbán’s rare appearance before the European Parliament's plenary session.
TV2's owner to buy Poland's biggest TV station, amid fears of hidden Russian influence in Warsaw
A year ago, Jarosław Kaczyński, president of the right-wing PiS, lost his public television, which had been used as a propaganda machine along with the Polish elections. Soon after the elections, Kaczyński was already talking about the need for the right to have its own television.
The reallocation of resources has already begun. The turmoil around Poland's two major TV stations has started at the same time in recent weeks. The owner of one of them, one of the richest Poles, has allegedly lost control completely, and his mental state is unstable. The acquisition of the other major media group would be an even bigger step, as it is the media company with the largest audience.
According to Polish press reports, Hungarian help is now being sought: Hungarian pro-government TV2 is being floated as a possible buyer. However, the Polish government, sees this as a major national security risk. Poland fears Russian influence could be behind a possible Hungarian takeover because of Orban's ties to Moscow.
European Court of Auditors’ annual review exposes ongoing issues in Hungary
In its latest annual report, the European Court of Auditors revealed a sharp rise in the percentage of irregularly spent EU funds, jumping from 3% in 2021 to 5.6% in 2023. This increase impacted 191.2 billion euros of EU budget expenditure, with part of the 48 billion euros allocated through the Recovery and Resilience Facility also affected by irregularities.
The report pointed to several concerns involving Hungary, highlighting cases of non-compliance with EU or national public procurement rules. Some of these violations were identified by Hungarian authorities but, were inadequately addressed -- according to the auditors. Hungary was named among the top four countries where procurement regulations were frequently disregarded.
VSquare: Hungary’s top military official seen with GRU-linked attaché - Russian military intelligence has growing presence in Budapest
Hungary is the only Visegrád nation still hosting a Russian military attaché, investigative outlet VSquare reports. The number of Russian diplomats in Hungary stands at 45, a figure almost equal to the combined total in the Czech Republic, Slovak, and Poland. There are concerns over the presence of Russian military attachés, who are said to have links to Russia's military intelligence agency, GRU.
The report claims that the GRU has been “extremely active in Hungary,” with allegations that over the past decade it trained and armed a pro-Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group. The GRU is also reportedly linked to a hacking operation targeting the IT systems of Hungary's foreign ministry. “Russian espionage efforts no longer operate from the Czech Republic, but are mainly directed from Vienna and, to a lesser extent, from Budapest,”a source told VSquare
The deputy chief of Hungary’s General Staff was recently seen conversing with Colonel Oleg Smirnov, Russia’s military and air attaché, during a reception hosted by China in Budapest.