Nicholas Pongratz

Ukraine Crisis

Hungary Finally Allows Sweden in From the Cold

Feb. 24 marked the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hungary had blocked European Union member states from issuing...

Ukraine Crisis

Resolution of Sweden’s NATO bid Finally in Sight

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán promised the Hungarian Parliament would ratify Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), once...

Ukraine Crisis

Progress on Ukraine, Frustration over Sweden

Hungary finally allowed the passage of EUR 50 billion in European Union support for Ukraine at the latest EU summit...

Ukraine Crisis

Progress on Ukraine Funding and Sweden’s NATO Bid?

Hungary continues to press for annual reviews of the Ukraine Facility, the European Union’s proposed instrument to provide financial support...

Ukraine Crisis

Orbán Makes New Year Offer on his Ukraine Funding Veto

Hungary may be willing to lift its veto on EUR 50 billion in European Union financial aid to Ukraine if...

Ukraine Crisis

Focus on Hungary’s View on EU Membership, Funding for Ukraine

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were seen having a brief but apparently heated discussion at the...

Ukraine Crisis

NATO Pressure Mounts as Hungary Takes Pulse on EU Actions

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, urged both Hungary and Turkey to promptly follow through with officially...

Ukraine Crisis

Issues Swirl Around Education, EU Accession, and Funding

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said he would oppose European Union efforts to continue providing financial support for Ukraine when...

Tourism

Gov’t Plans Renovation of Tokaj

The Hungarian government has adopted a plan to renovate the 950-year-old town of Tokaj (225 km northeast of Budapest) on...

Retail

Hungarians Spending HUF 11,000 More This Christmas

Hungarians are planning to spend HUF 11,000 more at Christmas, and this year the price of the gift is less...

Sustainability

Wizz Air Carbon Emissions Down 8%

Hungarian low-fare airline Wizz Air achieved a carbon intensity of 51.2 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometer in...

Banking

Magnet Bank Launches PayPlus Program

With the introduction of mobile payments, Magnet Bank has launched a new program to support a local NGO, according a...

Ukraine Crisis

Questions for Hungary on Funding Ukraine, Putin Handshake and Sweden’s NATO Aspirations

Leaders from the 27 member states of the European Union met at a summit on Oct. 27 to debate the...

Ukraine Crisis

Orbán Meets With Putin in China

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a government guest house in Beijing on Oct. 17,...

Ukraine Crisis

EC, Hungary and Ukraine allManeuver on Funding, Accession

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to release EUR 13 billion in frozen funds to Hungary to solicit further support...

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...