64 posts
So where is Hungary?
Response to Edward Hugh The financial crisis has re-shaped the regions and countries in financial terms. New country groups emerge in analyses and decisions by the investors receiving specific interest or countries far from one another are compared.
Hungary Isn’t Another Greece……..Now Is It?
I couldn’t help being struck earlier this week by the following statement in an interview the Financial Times had with Hungarian Finance Minister, Peter Oszkó: “Structural reforms of the pension and social welfare systems, plus a rebala...
Hungary’s Economic Correction Still Fails To Convince
“Hungary’s potential economic growth should be 2 percentage points over the corresponding EU figure in order to ensure convergence”. Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, speaking in London in October Two contrasting pieces of news about Hunga...
Horthy @ 90: The Anniversary of Hungary’s Authoritarian Ruler
About a thousand supporters of the far-right Jobbik party have participated in a peaceful march on the 90th anniversary of Horthy’s takeover in Hungary. Hungary has no real historical anti-Nazi and anti-Communist hero. That gives a little credit to...
Kati Marton
Type your sA child in communist HungaryLittle girls, big story Nov 19th 2009From The Economist print editionGetty ImagesCapitalist rulers are so much nicer Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America. By Kati Marton. Simon & Schuster...
Central Europe Activ on the new Hungarian Commissioner
Germany has nominated a very odd candidate for the next European Commission, but now Dániel from the Central Europe Activ blog reports about the coming Hungarian Commissioner Laszlo Andor - and the article doesn't paint the most promising picture:"M...
Hungary Names Probably Oddest Commissioner
Now that Poland and the Czech Republic had their turns in bringing Central European surrealism into the EU, it is Hungary's turn with naming the oddest Commissioner-in-waiting. Mr Andor's my prove to become a surprising talent but his past makes him...
Hungary.EU - EU.Hungary
Not much blogging this week as you have seen. The reason is simple: I spent some days in Hungary, combining holidays with being a Euroblogger.Upon the invitation by Café PR, a subunit of Café, one of the largest PR and communication agencies in Hun...
Fuck you, homophobia (not just in Hungary)!
Since this event in Budapest has not passed unnoticed, the following video by Hungarian artists may not pass unnoticed either:...
EU remains the best cure for Slovak-Hungarian frictions
After the fall of communism in central and eastern Europe, one compelling argument for bringing the region into the European Union was that the experience of prosperity, democracy and everyday multinational co-operation would ease national and et...
Dispute between Hungary and Slovakia a disgrace
Watching the dispute(s) between Hungary and Slovakia these days, I feel ashamed being a citizen of the EU.Both countries - and I have the feeling that Slovakia is pushing much harder for the conflict, e.g. through its recently introduced and disrespe...
Giving up the ghost (of Trianon)
If you ever wanted to know anything about the history of Slovak-Hungarian relations, just look at what they’re like now; the latest incarnation of the Slovak state language law is fairly indicative. Having spent the better part of the last thou...
Giving up the ghost (of Trianon)
If you ever wanted to know anything about the history of Slovak-Hungarian relations, just look at what they’re like now; the latest incarnation of the Slovak state language law is fairly indicative. The litmus test of relations between the two...
Hungary Struggles To Apply Its Own Unique Version Of “Internal Devaluation”
Just what the hell is going on in Hungary? This is the question which even the most cursory inspection of the latest round of data coming out of the country leads me to ask myself. What the hell is going on and just what kind of correction is this th...
Is Hungary Also Distancing Itself From the IMF?
So many things are so unclear at the moment. What attitude does the IMF actually have towards the current Latvian bailout programme? Is there really a “spat” taking place between the EU Commission and “the Fund”, and just what...
Hungarian Results: The Left-Wing Wiped Out
The Hungarian EP elections resutls are very surprising. The country has turned to the right in an unprecedented manner. ...
How we would heal Hungary's energy dependence?
Hungary feels the game of the energy superpowers better than the average of the EU. In the interest of the alleviation of the cat and mouse game the EP candidates would build new pipelines, energy industry investments would be favored as well as comm...
Is Hungary Set To Become The New Iceland?
Iceland, why on earth Iceland? Well, the issue I have in mind concerns the independence and viability of central bank monetary policy (especially in a small open economy like Hungary’s) and the role interest rates, and investor sentiment, and y...
Hungary | A borderless country?
It´s Pécs. Pécs, fifth-largest city of Hungary, was elected the European Capital of Culture 2010 (together with Essen, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey). It will try to present itself as a "borderless city [...] right in the middle of Europe". The 1...
Hungary, on the map of ice hockey - First in supporting
By TÓTH Gábor The Ice Hockey World Championship is just before the final, yet we already have a winner: the fans of the Hungarian team. Although the national squad finished its part on the last place on Monday already, each of us around Hungarian...
Eight Parties Qualify for EP Elections in Hungary
Twenty-one political parties have intended to run for the Hungarian MEP seats, eight parties have qualified with collecting 20 thousand signed recommendations from the electorate. The qualification for the EP elections is easier than for the national...
A reaction to "Something unique in elections: a direct democracy model in Hungary"
Since I wasn't able to comment directly, let me reply to the post "Something unique in elections: a direct democracy model in Hungary" by kiazami on Blogactiv.He writes about a Hungarian party running for the EP elections:"The system is, that if IDE...
Puskás Hungary
Written by Ádám Terjék There is a new documentary film in the Hungarian cinemas about the football icon, Puskás. It is an epoch-making work using several archive photos, videos and original letters of his life. The new techniques and ideas appl...
Hungarian prime minister resigns for EP elections – high time, but keeps getting worse [rekapapp]
The prime minister of Hungary resigned last week, also giving up his position of party leader for the socialists. It's great to get rid of him, but an even worse one comes next.
Czech, Hungarian Prime Minister Resigns
The economic and political crisis looms in Central Europe: Mirek Topolanek's minority right-wing, and Ferenc Gyurcsány's minority left-wing government failed this week. Although many would prefer a continouity in the government and later elections i...
Hungarian Prime Minister Gyurcsány steps down - now what?
Here’s another post which isn’t exactly from me, but from my Global Economy Matters co blogger, and Election Resources On The Internet elections wonk, Manuel Alvarez-Rivera. Anyway, here we go again: Last Saturday’s announcement by...
A bit of autopromotion never hurts :-)
If you want to watch me say a few brilliant things on BBC's The Record: Europe go here . I would paste it in here if only I knew how.
PM Gyurcsány: Hungary needs a new prime minister
Written by Balázs Rákóczi On Saturday the Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány expressed his willingness to step aside and proposed to nominate someone else at the head of the government: "I have been mistaken regarding our power and our p...
Hungarian Prime Minister Offers Resignation
In a little-awaited party conference Mr Gyurcsány, the prime minister of Hungary's minority Socialist government has offered his resignation in case the five parliamentary parties agree on a new government. ...
Hungary Prime Minister Gyurcsany Resigns
Hungary’s Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, announced this morning (Saturday) his intention to resign as Prime Minister. Gyurcsany informed a congress of the Socialist Party of his decision following a sharp fall in the popularity of his gover...
Hungary, the energy super state! [Csacsillus]
The Russian-Ukrainian gas disputes are making Europe feel – not just in the recent months but in the last few years - the rules of this game, and the fact who makes these rules. Although our dependence is hardly mentioned, it is quite obvious that...
Hungary, Watching A Tragedy Unfold
According to Secretary of State at the Hungarian Finance Ministry László Keller Hungary will post a public sector deficit of HUF 332.9 billion in the month of March, up from the preliminary forecast of HUF 329.8 bn made only a month ago. At the sa...
Hungary To Help Montenegro’s NATO Application
Montenegro’s official bid for EU membership has overshadowed the small republic’s NATO-integration. The Hungarian military diplomacy has offered mentoring services to Montenegro and will expand the Podgorica mission. Hungary has just fini...
EP Elections in Hungary: The Conservative (EPP) Candidates
After a brief overview of the Hungarian party system, the Socialist and the Liberal candidates, here are the likely winners. The EPP has two member parties in Hungary, and the smaller one just decided (and possibly split) over the issue of its party...
EP Elections in Hungary: the Liberal (Alde) candidates
The picture on the Liberal political field is as simple as on the Socialist, so this is the second post in a series of the Hungarian MEP candidate lists. The Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) is a member of the ALDE group in the European Parliament...
It’s Official, The Hungarian Banking System Is Sound
It all started as an idle conversation in the loo. The next thing The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) and the Hungary’s Financial Supervisory Authority (PSZÁF) had to come out in public to declare that they were closely monitoring the status of...
EP Elections in Hungary: the Socialist candidates
The Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) is the only party which is represented in the Party of European Socialists (PES), which has the second largest group in the European Parliament. MSZP has also the second largest group in the Hungarian national ass...
EP Elections in Hungary
In a series of posts I will write some information about the party lists in Hungary for the 2009 European Parliament elections. The order of the parties does not reflect any personal preference; there are still not announced lists and candidates. But...
Hungary, the energy super state!
The Russian-Ukrainian gas disputes are making Europe feel – not just in the recent months but in the last few years - the rules of this game, and the fact who makes these rules. Although our dependence is hardly mentioned, it is quite obvious that...
Green news from Budapest
Written by Balázs Rákóczi Budapest is the winner of The European Mobility Week 2008. The Hungarian capital came before the Portuguese Almada and the Croatian capital, Zagreb. The seventh European Mobility Week was held from 16 to 22 September...
Hungary’s Second Recession In Two Years Worsens
Hungary’s gross domestic product fell by 2.1% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2008 following a 0.7% increase in Q3, according to the first estimate by the Central Statistics Office (KSH). Quarter on quarter GDP fell by 1.0% GDP, even more...
The Cozma Murder Case: A New Form Of Ethnic Tension in Central Europe
A tragic act of crime, the killing of Marian Cozma, a great Romanian handball player, has sparkled ethnic tension in the region to an all-high point. The scene is Hungary, the victims are Romanian and Serbian sportsmen, and the public accuses the ...
Mayor under arrest - a moment of faith
How long we’ve been waiting for this! Mayor of one of the downtown Budapest disticts was arrested yesterday. The site where i blog, lmv.hu is mainly used by bloggers busy about urban issues, most probably real estate affairs. Panamas, as we cal...
The Second Great Depression Spreads…..
The Second Great Depression seems to have now spread from Ukraine, and arrived in Hungary. Hungarian industrial production fell the most in December since at least 1991 as a recession in western Europe cut export demand and dragged the economy into...
Hungarian in Google Translate
Eventually Hungarian was added to Google Translate, which now has Albanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian and Ukrainian from this blog’s focus area. All language are to and...
The Slovakian-Hungarian Football War
A month ago, a Slovakian domestic top league football match was interrupted by police action...
Right-wing extremism: bad blood between Slovakia and Hungary
pSkinheads in bomber jackets and Doc Martens, cars congesting the road to Slovakia, Hungarian flags, banners carrying anti-Slovakian slogans, hordes of press photographers and a large police presence: the atmosphere at the otherwise unrestricted Slov...
After Wearing The Hair Shirt For Over Two Years Hungary Is Now Helped Into The Straight Jacket
Well we now have some of the details of the IMF package for Hungary, and interesting reading it makes. Hungary has in effect secured a 20 billion-euro ($25.5 billion) loan which is going to be sourced by three institutions: the IMF, the EU and the Wo...
Ukraine and Hungary To Receive IMF Loans, While Belarus Joins the Line
Hungary announced on Sunday that it had reached agreement with both the International Monetary Fund and the European Union on a broad economic rescue package, which will include substantial financing, in a bid to stabilize a Hungarian economy which...
And So It Ends - Hungary’s Government Announces Foreign Currency Loan Wind-up Package
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány announced yesterday (Wednesday) that the government had reached an agreement with commercial banks intended to protect the interests of those who have taken out foreign currency loans. The agreement, which i...
IMF To Step In With Rescue Package For Hungary
Well, these are indeed troubled times. According to the latest news to come off the Reuters wires the International Monetary Fund has announced its readiness to offer financial and technical help to Hungary, effectively stepping in and providing sup...
Kaya Ibrahim's business empire
The most well known Turkish citizen in Hungary is a truck driver living near Stuttgart...
Hungary’s withering population
The population decline across Eastern Europe is nothing new here, but worth mention from time to time. Bloomberg News has a focus story on Hungary and its population: According to projections by Eurostat, Hungary’s population may drop 13 perc...
Hungary faces rude awakening from welfare state dreams
The release of a recent poll showing that most Hungarians preferred life under communism caused a mild shock in the foreign community, but provoked little more than a characteristic shrug from Hungarians. After all, under János Kádár Hungary was o...
