Dossier:

Focus on Hungary

The Heinrich Böll Foundation is compiling a dossier containing articles on the situation in Hungary since the right-wing government came to power in April 2010.

The arguments and opinions presented in the dossier provide an acute, sometimes trenchant critique of the current government and its policies. We see our role in supporting the democratic voices in Hungary and raising public attention in Europe with regard to critical developments in our common political space.

We hope that this dossier will help our readers get a better grasp of the controversies surrounding the socio-political changes in Hungary, and thereby involve members of the European public in the crucial debate on democracy in a changing Europe. This debate is not limited to current developments in Hungary. We see democracy as a never-finished task. There is no guarantee against retrogression, and it’s always up to citizens to reinforce democratic structures and procedures through their engagement in the public sphere.

Ellen Ueberschär, President, Heinrich Böll Foundation
Zsófia Deák, Editor of the dossier (zsofia.deak@cz.boell.org)

Latest articles
Viktor Orban

Hungary’s Fidesz will lose influence after departing the EPP, but how much?

Analysis
The Hungarian ruling Fidesz party’s delegation to the European Parliament announced on 3 March that they would leave the EPP parliamentary group after the latter approved changes to its internal rules, allowing the caucus to suspend or expel entire national delegations instead of individual MEPs only. Later, Fidesz left the EPP party family as well. It is, therefore, crucial to assess how the end of the Fidesz-EPP relationship will influence the Hungarian cabinet’s ability to represent national interests in the EU and the future of PM Orbán on the European political scene. In short: the decision constitutes a blow to Hungary, but not necessarily to Fidesz.
By Patrik Szicherle
Stock photo.

Hungary: Pro-government scare tactics to intimidate critical voices amid vaccination rollout

In the cacophony of information about the available, authorized, or emerging COVID-19 vaccines, including issues of liability for potential side effects and the long-term consequences of the shots, as well as the length of the immunity conferred, the European Commission has been struggling to procure sufficient COVID-19 vaccine supplies for its member states. So far, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has authorised the use of three vaccines: Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech), AstraZeneca and Moderna. Meanwhile, Hungary’s government has set off on its own path, turning to Russia and China for additional help, as vaccine delivery through the EU is slow due to both its robust regulatory framework and ordering issues.
By Anna Frenyó
More
Budapest / stock photo

Money Pits and Public Duty: How Orbán’s government fails to restore Hungarian public’s trust

Analysis
The EU summit in Brussels has brought the attention of the public to the issue of how the European idea should be approached. Is Europe a mere community of countries sharing similar economic interests, or is it more than that? A clear response is still awaited to this question, even if the circumstances arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed with unusual clarity the stance taken by the EU member countries concerning the rule of law.
By Emese Pásztor
Viktor Orban / Wikimedia Commons

What to make of Hungary’s budget veto?

Analysis
Hungary and Poland indicated in November that they would veto the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 and the Next Generation EU (NGEU) economic recovery fund. However, recent developments indicate that Hungary’s and Poland’s views on the matter have diverged. Hungary continues to risk delaying the arrival of new EU subsidies that would allow the Government to make new spending commitments in the last full year before the 2022 general election. Yet, considering the current politico-economic situation in the EU, Hungary does stand a chance of achieving some of its immediate goals. So, the key question is: What does Budapest stand to gain by using its veto?
By Patrik Szicherle
All dossier articles

Campaign to support Hungarian NGOs

The Hungarian taxpayers have a chance to offer 1% of their tax to NGOs each year, however not so many (more than 50% of the taxpayers) are either don't know about this possibility or they just don't pay attention to it. Moreover, the Hungarian government has been trying to hide this option, or at least make it harder to offer the 1% of the tax, therefore money won't get to the NGOs critical to them. This year the Hungarian NGOs decided to do an unusual joint campaign to promote this possibility, therefore a music video was made which primarily targets the young generation. The video is about a lame and spoiled guy (played by a popular young actor, Márkó Linczényi) who is complaining about many annoying first world problems. Though he pays attention to offer his 1% of the tax for the NGOs, because its a serious topic, and it goes beyond our everyday problems, since it's very important for others who have to handle harder situations than the marginal daily issues. 

Publications

Political integration of Hungarian students, 2019

After a four-year absence, the Active Youth (Aktív Fiatalok) Research Group has
returned with a new survey about the political attitudes of higher education students
in Hungary. The significance of this year’s findings relies on the fact that the political
views of the majority of students sampled in this most recent survey – including
some born as recently as 2000 – were formed during consecutive terms of prime
minister Viktor Orbán and his government, considered by many political scientists
and commentators to be a hybrid regime.

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Building Blocks for a Renewed Human Rights Narrative

This study aims to lay the foundations of a collaboration that can be joined by other organisations still being formed, as well as by actors sharing human rights values who can reach out to additional potential supporters. This text is designed to be continuously expanded in the future, so as to further incorporate increasingly sensitive analyses along with a growing pool of creative ideas and recommendations.

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Interview-Series "Agents of Change"

Cultures of History Forum

In this special feature of the Cultures of History Forum the authors seek to place the ‘Lex CEU’ in a broader context, both regionally and historically, and ask what the state of academic freedom, civil society and liberal values is in the countries that came out of communist dictatorships more than 25 years ago.

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