Nicholas Pongratz

Retail

Vehicles fuel sales fall 7.8%

Vehicle fuel sales of members of the Hungarian Petroleum Association (MASZ) fell 7.8% annually to 3.61 billion liters in 2020,...

Analysis

42% of businesses expect higher sales in 2021

Entrepreneurs are confident about 2021, as 42% expect that this year's annual sales will increase compared to 2020, according to...

Ratings

Fitch: Hungary’s GDP to grow 7% in 2022

The European Union's recovery fund is expected to significantly accelerate the recovery of EU economies in Central and Eastern Europe...

Figures

Hungary’s economic contraction 2 pp below Eurozone average

Hungary's economy contracted at a rate of around two percentage points under the average decline in the eurozone in Q1-Q3,...

Residential

Shortage of plots driving prices up

There has been a shortage of plots on the real estate market, and the constantly shrinking supply has had a...

Transport

HUF 700 bln in railway developments to be completed this year

Unprecedented railway developments will be completed in Hungary this year worth about HUF 700 billion of investment, said State Secretary...

Residential

Rents may rise when tourism rebounds

In the first half of the year, tenants may still be on the rental market; although rents may rise again...

Automotive

Vehicle, engine production grows at Audi

Vehicle and engine production grew at German carmaker Audi's plant in Hungary last year, Audi Hungária communications director Mónika Czechmeister...

Int'l Relations

MOL donates to victims of Croatia earthquake

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has donated 50 heated container accommodation units to temporarily house people who have been...

Telco

Vodafone mobile data traffic rises 54%

Vodafone's mobile data traffic in Hungary rose 54% last year, the company said, according to napi.hu....

Transport

E-sticker purchases available at offices mobile control units

In order to ensure the smoothness of e-sticker purchases at the beginning of the year, it will also be possible...

City

Fudan university could open campus in Hungary in 2024

China's Fudan University could open its campus in Hungary in 2024, pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet said last week....

Government

Progress in minimum wage talks expected Friday

Background talks on raising the minimum wage this year are underway, with the hope there will be progress on this...

Recycling

10,000 tonnes of illegal waste removed under conservation plan

As part of the Climate and Nature Conservation Action Plan, the most involved actors in the program (MÁV Zrt., Magyar...

Government

Gov’t sector ran HUF 1.6 tln deficit in 2020

Hungary's government sector ran a deficit of HUF 1.629 trillion in Q1-Q3, equivalent to 4.6% of GDP for the period,...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Again Digs in Heels on EU Accession Clusters

Hungary withheld approval for Ukraine’s next European Union accession clusters for a fifth time, after Prime Minister Péter Magyar rejected...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungarian-Ukrainian Relations Advance, to a Degree

Hungarian-Ukrainian relations advanced on several fronts in August, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Prime Minister Péter Magyar to Kyiv, Budapest...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Again Stalls on Opening Further Ukrainian EU Accession Clusters

Within five days, Hungary twice declined to clear the first procedural step toward opening two further European Union accession clusters...

Ukraine Crisis

Still no Date or Venue for Magyar-Zelenskyy Summit

Hungary’s government ordered an investigation into the Orbán-era seizure of Ukrainian bank assets, lifted a nine-month ban on Ukrainian media...

Ukraine Crisis

Magyar Lifts Veto on European Peace Facility, EU Accession Talks

Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s two-year veto on European Union arms reimbursements on June 2 and announced a comprehensive...

Ukraine Crisis

Kyiv, Budapest Closer to Minority Rights Agreement

In the concluding weeks of May, Prime Minister Péter Magyar managed to secure EUR 16.4 billion in frozen EU funds...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Makes Reset With Hungary a Foreign Policy Priority

Péter Magyar’s May 9 inauguration as Hungary’s prime minister, formally concluding Viktor Orbán’s 16-year continuous rule, brought an immediate shift...

Ukraine Crisis

Can Tisza Victory Help Budapest and Kyiv Reset Relations?

The European Union has approved a EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine and unblocked delayed Russia sanctions after Hungary lifted...

Ukraine Crisis

Election Result Offers Hungarian Reset With EU and Ukraine

In what could prove a watershed moment for Hungarian-Ukrainian relations, Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party decisively ended the 16-year rule of...

Energy

Oil, Gas Pipeline Threats Highlight Hungary’s Energy Dependency

With an oil pipeline halted since January, a global price shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and...

Ukraine Crisis

Fidesz, Tisza Exchange Tit-for-tat Spying Allegations on Foreign Interference

Hungary’s government and opposition traded accusations of serving foreign intelligence services in the final days before the April 12 election,...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Loan Blocked by Orbán, Szijjártó Phone Briefings Raise Eyebrows

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has been accused of covertly briefing Moscow on EU meeting proceedings, prompting...

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Seizes Ukrainian Cash, Gold from Armored Truck Convoy

Hungary detained seven Ukrainian bank employees transporting USD 40 million, EUR 35 mln, and nine kilograms of gold through Budapest...

Ukraine Crisis

Budapest and Kyiv Trade ‘Blackmail’ Allegations Over Energy Supplies

Hungary intensified its confrontation with Ukraine over halted Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba (ironically, the name translates as “Friendship”)...

Ukraine Crisis

Gov’t Outrage Over Deaths During ‘Forced Conscription’ of Ethnic Hungarians

The death of a second ethnic Hungarian during Ukrainian military conscription processing triggered a series of escalating measures by the...

Hungary Again Digs in Heels on EU Accession Clusters

Hungary withheld approval for Ukraine’s next European Union accession clusters for a fifth time, after Prime Minister Péter Magyar rejected...

Hungarian-Ukrainian Relations Advance, to a Degree

Hungarian-Ukrainian relations advanced on several fronts in August, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Prime Minister Péter Magyar to Kyiv, Budapest...

Hungary Again Stalls on Opening Further Ukrainian EU Accession Clusters

Within five days, Hungary twice declined to clear the first procedural step toward opening two further European Union accession clusters...

Still no Date or Venue for Magyar-Zelenskyy Summit

Hungary’s government ordered an investigation into the Orbán-era seizure of Ukrainian bank assets, lifted a nine-month ban on Ukrainian media...

Magyar Lifts Veto on European Peace Facility, EU Accession Talks

Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s two-year veto on European Union arms reimbursements on June 2 and announced a comprehensive...

Kyiv, Budapest Closer to Minority Rights Agreement

In the concluding weeks of May, Prime Minister Péter Magyar managed to secure EUR 16.4 billion in frozen EU funds...

Ukraine Makes Reset With Hungary a Foreign Policy Priority

Péter Magyar’s May 9 inauguration as Hungary’s prime minister, formally concluding Viktor Orbán’s 16-year continuous rule, brought an immediate shift...

Can Tisza Victory Help Budapest and Kyiv Reset Relations?

The European Union has approved a EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine and unblocked delayed Russia sanctions after Hungary lifted...

Election Result Offers Hungarian Reset With EU and Ukraine

In what could prove a watershed moment for Hungarian-Ukrainian relations, Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party decisively ended the 16-year rule of...

Oil, Gas Pipeline Threats Highlight Hungary’s Energy Dependency

With an oil pipeline halted since January, a global price shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and...

Fidesz, Tisza Exchange Tit-for-tat Spying Allegations on Foreign Interference

Hungary’s government and opposition traded accusations of serving foreign intelligence services in the final days before the April 12 election,...

Ukraine Loan Blocked by Orbán, Szijjártó Phone Briefings Raise Eyebrows

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has been accused of covertly briefing Moscow on EU meeting proceedings, prompting...

Hungary Seizes Ukrainian Cash, Gold from Armored Truck Convoy

Hungary detained seven Ukrainian bank employees transporting USD 40 million, EUR 35 mln, and nine kilograms of gold through Budapest...

Budapest and Kyiv Trade ‘Blackmail’ Allegations Over Energy Supplies

Hungary intensified its confrontation with Ukraine over halted Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba (ironically, the name translates as “Friendship”)...

Gov’t Outrage Over Deaths During ‘Forced Conscription’ of Ethnic Hungarians

The death of a second ethnic Hungarian during Ukrainian military conscription processing triggered a series of escalating measures by the...