Hungarian Standard

Hungary's Conservative Leader Visits Israel

2005-06-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Viktor Orbán, the leader of Hungary's largest opposition party, the Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance, is on a four day official visit to Israel. Mr. Orbán spent his first day in Jerusalem where he visited Christian holy sites and where he met with prominent members of Israel's Hungarian community. During his stay, the conservative politician will also visit sacred Jewish sites and pay a visit to the Yad Vashem Institute. Mr. Orbán will have the opportunity to meet with Silvan Shalom, Israel's foreign minister, as well as with Tomy Lapid, the leader of the opposition party Shinui and Reuven Rivlin, speaker of the Knesset.

Mr. Orbán struck a conciliatory tone aimed at fostering closer relations between Israel and Hungary. “We are of the opinion that Hungarian foreign policy must help ensure that Israel receives international guarantees for contined existence of its state. Israel has a right to safeguard its own security and the European Union does not and can not cast down on this”

More than 200 000 people of Hungarian origin live in Israel. Mr. Orbán noted that although he known relatively little of this community, he would like to integrate the Israeli diaspora into the network already in existence for Hungarians minorities of the Carpathian basin and the western world.

(Sources consulted: Magyar Rádió, Népszabadság.)

EU Budget Talks Fall Through

2005-06-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

The leaders meeting at last weekend's Brussels Summit failed to reach a compromise over the 2007-2013 EU budget. Holland, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland and Spain all rejected the budget accord. Following the recent constitutional flop, this is the European Union's second major failure within two weeks. Hungary's prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány, had some stinging remarks for the EU's western leaders who demonstated that common EU initiatives still take a back-seat to national agendas. According to Mr. Gyurcsány, the European Union is unable to energize itself and rather than seeking cooperation, member states prefer to follow separate paths.

Despite the difficulties surrounding the EU budget, the promised monetary assistance for Hungary did not form part of the debate. Hungary will receive 2.2 billion forints per annum from the EU. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with the EU was evident at the negotiations. According to Mr. Gyurcsány, "the desire to forge ahead has decreased and the spirit of the European project no longer lives in the souls of millions of Europeans."

(Sources consulted: Magyar Hírlap.)

Financial Crisis looms over the European Union

2005-06-17T12:33:00.000-04:00

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will veto any attempt to scale back the United Kingdom's EU rebate--amounting to 3 billion pounds--which Margaret Thatcher won back in the 1980s. Mr. Blair indicated that he would be willing to consider a compromise solution, provided that France relinquishes its system of farm subsidies and agrees to a wide-ranging fiscal reform of the EU. French president Jacques Chirac has, however, indicated that he is not willing to consider cutting farming subsidies in exchange for negotiations on the UK rebate.

Hungary expects to receive 13 billion forints in support from the EU between 2007 and 2013. This, however, is contingent on a budget agreement. Most analysts believe that a compromise solution will not be reached during the summit in Brussels. EU leaders still have more than a year to accept the 2007-2013 budget and to continue financial negotiations. Nonetheless, the combined effect of the rejected EU constitution, the suspension of the ratification process and the present budget row may create the impression that the EU is failing and rapidly unravelling. This may be of particular concern to the 10 new member states who joined a European club seemingly dogged by an array of problems.

(Sources consulted: BBC, MNO.)

The EU Constitution is dead

2005-06-16T10:13:00.000-04:00

Viktor Orbán, the leader of Hungary's largest opposition party, Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance, and the vice-president of the European People's Party has all but declared the EU constitution dead. According to Mr. Orbán, there is no further need to defend the EU constitutional order, "because it is over." "We must admit that the constitution, in its present form, has been rejected and the ratification process must be suspended." Mr. Orbán's comments came while being scrummed after a meeting of the European People's Party in Belgium. The opposition Fidesz voted in favour of the constitution's ratification during a vote in parliament earlier this year.

According to Mr. Orbán, the questions posed by the rejection of the EU constitution by French and Dutch voters may lead to eventual democratization within the union. "Does it matter that Europe's citizens have voted down everyone who supported the European constitution," Mr. Orbán asked rhetorically. According to the Hungarian conservative leader, the EU must demonstrate that it respects the decision of voters and politicians must admit that there is no need for the constition in its current form. According to Mr. Orbán, the real losers are the Hungarian minorities of the neighbouring countries who would have seen their rights more effectively protected by the now defunct EU constitution.

The failure of the EU constitution will almost certainly halt further integration and may also effect plans for the further enlargement of the European Union. For the moment, Anglo-Saxon Euro-scepticism appears to have won a decisive victory over the deep political integration proposed so enthusiastically by the French--and much of continental Europe's--europhile political elite.

(Sources consulted: HírTV, Gondola.hu, Magyar Hírlap)

Üdvözölöm a Magyar Standard honlapján!

2005-05-31T16:40:00.000-04:00

Üdvözöljük Önt a Magyar Standard internetes újság honlapján! Közéleti lapunk célja a pontos tájékoztatás valamint a magyar és a világ fontos híreinek és eseményeinek átfontolt elemzése angol nyelven. Kellemes olvasást kivánunk!

Welcome to the Hungarian Standard!

2005-05-30T11:02:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Hungarian Standard, a new online joural dedicated to providing English-language news pertaining to Hungarian politics. We hope to substantially increase the amount of English information and news analysis available on current events in Hungary and to present this information in an interesting and concise format.

We look forward to your comments and suggetions and are also pleased to publish letters and articles from our readers. You may post comments after each article, or you may send your letters to the editor by e-mail.