EUROPE

The Hungarian government has appealed to the European Commission to grant VAT exemption for imports of face masks, respirators and other equipment of protection against the novel coronavirus, State Secretary Norbert Izer told MTI on Thursday. Izer added that the exemption would only apply to appliances to be distributed free of charge. …

Yesterday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Hungary will close its borders for all passenger transport. The measure is effective from midnight until further notice. Although the borders will be closed, Hungarian citizens and their family members can enter the country and Liszt Ferenc International Airport remains open as well.  The …

Two people in Hungary have been infected with coronavirus, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Wednesday. “We have our first coronavirus case, in fact there are already two patients who have had to be taken to a medical facility due to coronavirus infection,” Orbán said in a video posted on Facebook after a …

The European Commission is examining a measure announced this weekend concerning the transit zone, which states that Hungary will suspend asylum seekers’ access to transit zones indefinitely because of the risk of coronavirus infection, daily Népszava writes. Adalbert Jahnz, European Commission spokesperson for migration, home affairs, and citizenship explained to the leftist …

The 2022 Europa League final will be held in Budapest’s Puskás Arena, UEFA announced on Monday. The UEFA executive committee’s landmark decision means Hungary gets to host its first-ever single-match final of a men’s international cup tournament. The 2022 Europa League final will be held either on May 18 or …

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called it “unacceptable” that four EU member states – Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden – rejected European Council President Charles Michel’s proposal for each member contributing 1.074 percent of their gross national income (GNI) to the EU budget running from 2021 to 2027, and insisted that their …

The storm Ciara, which has been battling Western Europe, reached Hungary yesterday evening with extreme winds, with gusts up to 90-100 km/h. Roofs, trees, and chimneys were damaged by the storm, also causing travel disruptions in train and air travel. The strongest gust of wind was measured at Kékestető, measuring 111 kilometers per hour. …

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday called for the European Union budget to be put on a “fair footing”, adding that the current concept includes amendments that shift monies from poorer countries to richer ones. After meeting European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels, Orbán told Hungarian journalists that he foresaw a …

Brexit has been at the center of the news almost continuously for roughly three and a half years. But now that UK’s exit is within reach, the question becomes more pertinent than before: what exactly will change for EU nationals after Brexit officially concludes and the transition period starts? The …

A new security camera footage shows how a group of migrants tried to illegally enter Hungary at Röszke on Tuesday dawn. As we have previously reported, dozens of people made an attempt to break through the southern border fence at Röszke, on the Serbian-Hungarian border, early on Tuesday. One of the armed guards on duty even …

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó voiced his support for the Maldives to be granted visa-free status by the European Union at a meeting with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid in New Delhi on Wednesday. The two ministers noted that Hungary and the Maldives mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of their …

As the European Parliament votedtoday to approve Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission, it is now official that Olivér Várhelyi has become Hungary’s next Commissioner and will lead the EC’s Neighborhood and Enlargement portfolio. The new Commission was approved with 461 votes in favor, 157 against, and 89 abstentions. According to Euronews, …

European Union enlargement “is in good hands”, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said during a World Economic Forum event in Geneva on Friday, insisting that the enlargement and neighborhood portfolio would be “the Hungarian commissioner’s responsibility”. Szijjártó told a forum on the Western Balkans attended by leaders and …

The European Union budgetproposal put forward by the outgoing European Commission is “unfair”, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Prague on Tuesday. “We want justice,” he said. After the Friends of Cohesion summit held together with Visegrad Group leaders, Orbán said the proposal under discussion across Europe contained faults that could be …

Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia have submitted an historic UNESCO application to establish the first five-country biosphere reserve in the world, paving the way for Europeʼs largest river sanctuary, sprawling across some 930,000 hectares with a length of 700 kilometers, says a press release from the World Wide Fund …

Hungary has in recent years postulated a political and state model: it has constructed a Christian democratic state, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at a meeting of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) party in Rome on Saturday. This model works and is successful, Orbán said. The political success is obvious: Hungary’s …

Hungaryʼs governing populist party Fidesz has been suspended by the centre-right European Peopleʼs Party (EPP), the biggest political grouping in the European Parliament, after a vote triggered by what many member parties see as Fideszʼs defiance of EU policies and EPP values, according to breaking reports Wednesday evening. In an …

“Enjoy the winter Budapest We are in the last month of winter, and probably fed up with coldness and darkness. We miss the open air programs. But it is not necessary to be out only from home to school/work and back. Winter is not only a time to survive, it …

After the overwhelming victory of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party in Sunday’s Hungarian general election, what is being touted as the “largest protest of Hungarians to date” is being planned for April 14 at 5:30.p.m. In a statement sent to international media outlets under the slogan “We are the …

According to the 2018 Quality of Living ranking compiled for the 20th time this year by Mercer, Vienna is followed by Zürich, with Auckland and Munich in joint third place. Vancouver completes the top five and is the highest-ranking city in North America. Singapore (25th) and Montevideo (77th) are the …

Altogether 82% of Hungarians support Hungary’s border fence and just under 80% oppose the European Union’s migrant quota scheme, according to a fresh survey by the Nézőpont Institute. The survey found that the border fence also has strong support among the voters of the opposition parties. Fully 85% of the …

Semmelweis University in Budapest has made it to the world’s top 200 institutions in the field of medical science and pharmaceuticals, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) list, the Human Resources Ministry told state news agency MTI on Wednesday. Semmelweis University is 254th on the list in the life and …

The number of Hungarians living in Great Britain has grown by 11,000 in one year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday. The number of Hungarians living in the UK rose from 80,000 in 2015 to 91,000 last year, 82,000 of whom live in England. London is the …

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó held an extraordinary press conference this morning at which he announced that he has summoned Hungaryʼs ambassador to the Netherlands home for consultations after Dutch Ambassador to Hungary Gajus Scheltema voiced strong criticisms of the Hungarian government in a newspaper interview. As …

A conservative economist finds it telling that ‘Happiness indexes’ in the Visegrád 4 countries are rising while they are falling in Western Europe. She warns however that Hungary’s index is still significantly below the European average. In Magyar Idők, Magdolna Csath, a conservative professor of economics remarks that the World Happiness Report edited by three renowned economists (an …

A conservative commentator quotes earlier statements by Italian left-wing leader Matteo Renzi who used to condemn Hungary for building a fence along its southern borders and who now complains that Italy cannot cope with the inflow of migrants from Africa. On Mandiner, Gellért Rajcsányi welcomes former Italian Prime Minister Matteo …

bbj.hu reports: The British Embassy in Budapest is leaving its old home and moving into new premises after spending seven decades on Harmincad utca in the heart of the city, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal. The British Embassy is moving out of its building …

Germany, France and up to 21 other countries will give an ultimatum to Hungary and Poland this year demanding that they accept their quota of migrants or get out of the EU. Hungary has led a rebellion against the quotas with a challenge in the EU courts and by pushing …

Hungarianambiance.com reports: Presidents of the German, Italian, French and Luxembourg parliaments published an open letter on Sunday urging EU authorities to take action and create a federal European Union. They called on EU member states to support the idea of the United States of Europe. It is time for a …

Now celebrating its 15th year, the TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Hotel Awards are once again the easiest way to guarantee your next vacation is a certifiable winner. That’s because TripAdvisor itself sits at the very top of the Internet shelf in terms of providing reliable reviews from the people, for the …