Focus on Hungary

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.

In cooperation with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague, our partners at the Hungarian think-tank Political Capital published a new study on the current state of Hungarian Far-Right. This is the third part of English summary.

In cooperation with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague, our partners at the Hungarian think-tank Political Capital published a new study on the current state of Hungarian Far-Right. This is the second part of English summary.

In cooperation with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Prague, our partners at the Hungarian think-tank Political Capital published a new study on the current state of Hungarian Far-Right. This is the first part of English summary.

In November 2020, our partner organization K-Monitor published a new study which showcases community solutions for municipalities, civil society and local communities during COVID-19 crisis. The full study can be found on their website (in Hungarian), here is the English summary.

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.

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?

“Shall we occupy the university?” “Yes!” cheered a roomful of applauding students from Hungary’s University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE), surrounded by the sound of drums, over a week ago. They then proceeded to block the entrance with the red and white stripes that have since become the symbol of a resistance movement supporting the autonomy of the SZFE and standing up against a further attack by Viktor Orbán’s conservative, nationalist Government on the freedom of art, culture and education in Hungary.

On the evening of 24 July, a crowd of 10 000 -15 000 people gathered in front of the office of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to show their solidarity for the journalists who had resigned that very same morning from the largest remaining independent Hungarian news portal.

In the last three months it has become crystal clear that, among other matters, the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary has taken its toll on a peculiar subject – the rule of law itself.