Nicholas Pongratz

Food

Consumption of dairy products below EU average

With the name "There’s milk at home," the Milk Product Board launched its school education campaign to promote the consumption...

Food

Tofu plant in Budapest closed by food safety authority

Serious hygiene violations, traceability deficiencies, and rodent excrement were found by experts from the National Food Chain Safety Authority (NÉBIH)...

Initiatives

Public work scheme budget continues to shrink

While 200,000 could have been employed on public work schemes four years ago, there are barely 100,000 this year, reports...

Deals

HUF 1 mln salaries more common in Hungary

HR firm Hays Hungary says wages continued to rise in Hungary last year, and according to its own survey and...

Incubators

Budapest Bank looking to ʼSpringboardʼ women in finance

Budapest Bank created the "Springboard, Budapest Bank: For Women in Finance" program 10 years ago to support women in gaining...

Weather

Wind storm damage may amount to HUF 1 bln

Nearly 10,000 claims were received by insurers following last week’s storms. The companies estimate that, in the coming weeks, the...

History

Beekeepers under pressure from Western reserves, Eastern prices

Falling prices and increasing competition from outside the European Union are worsening the position of Hungarian beekeepers, who trust that...

Deals

State wealth increased 52% in past decade

The book value of state assets has increased by 52%, or about HUF 6 trillion, compared to 2010, Minister Without...

Transport

Wizz Air ends Budapest-Frankfurt flight

Wizz Air has announced that it will cease offering flights between Budapest and Frankfurt from April 30, the low-cost airline...

Retail

MNB warns against Facebook cryptocurrency scammers

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has issued a warning against scammers offering “pre-sales” of Facebook’s planned cryptocurrency Libra, says...

Hotels

Hotels and offices seeing rapid expansion

There are currently 24 hotels being built in the capital, mostly in the historic downtown, while office building construction is...

Ecosystem

Food industry given HUF 360 bln in EU subsidies

The Hungarian food industry received more than HUF 360 billion in EU subsidies between 2014 and 2020, and the next...

Issues

European Court of Justice to rule on Hungarian special taxes

On March 3, the European Court of Justice will rule on a lawsuit filed by Tesco against the Hungarian state...

Competition

High number of offshore companies in real estate sector

The number of offshore companies in Hungary has halved in seven years, but this does not mean that concealment and...

Telco

GKI expects GDP growth of 3.5% in 2020

The Hungarian economy expanded last year by about 5%, one of the fastest in the EU. Overall, the October-November figures...

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...