Nicholas Pongratz

Residential

Homebuyer preferences expanding

Even if slowly, the preferences that influence the decisions of buyers of new or branded homes when choosing their next...

Government

Most COVID Restrictions Lifted for all but Healthcare Workers

Experts believe the fifth wave of the pandemic “is approaching an end,” Gergely Gulyás, head of the Prime Minister’s Office,...

HR

Better pay remains strongest draw for young jobseekers

The strongest reason to look for a new job is poor pay, according to a recent poll conducted by the...

Innovation

EY: Hungarian companies plan to invest HUF 100 mln in 2022

In addition to investment subsidies, several energy efficiency and R&D resources will be available to domestic companies in 2022, EY...

Recycling

Rossi inaugurates HUF 45 mln expansion

Rossi Biofuel has inaugurated a EUR 45 million expansion at its biofuel refinery at Hungarian oil and gas company MOL's...

Automotive

Automotive manufacturing output up 6.8%

The output of automotive manufacturing, the most significant segment of Hungary's industrial sector, rose 6.8% year-on-year in January, after six...

Banking

Banks’ retail loan portfolio expanded 15.2%

Hungarian banks' retail loan portfolio expanded 15.2%, or HUF 1.231 trillion, last year, supported by outlays of credit for homes...

Initiatives

Fire ban in place across country

Prolonged dry weather has resulted in a fire ban across the country until revoked, according to the National Directorate General...

HR

Hungary had fastest employment growth in EU

The number of employed in Hungary increased by 1.2% from the third quarter of last year to the fourth, which...

Manufacturing

Schott to spend HUF 28 bln on Lukácsháza base expansion

The Hungarian unit of German company Schott, which makes specialty glass products, plans to spend HUF 28 billion to expand...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Crisis: Refugee effect not yet present in rental market

Rents continued to rise in the Budapest rental market in February, but the effects of the Russo-Ukrainian war that broke...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Crisis: Magyar Suzuki suspends exports to Russia, Ukraine

As of March, Magyar Suzuki has suspended car exports to Russia and Ukraine due to the war, the company's head...

HR

Employment rate among women at 67%

The employment rate among women in Hungary stands at 67%, just under the 68% average for the whole European Union,...

Ukraine Crisis

Ukraine Crisis: Decree provides refugees with prepaid SIM cards

A recent emergency government decree will allow service providers to provide refugees with prepaid SIM cards with some restrictions, so...

Government

COVID: Visiting restrictions eased at social care institutions

Visiting restrictions at health and social care institutions have eased, according to the Department of Human Capacities, writes koronavirus.gov.hu....

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...