#EU: Hungary Is "Not A Democracy" Says Euro Parliament

[world politics news]

Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy, the European parliament has said in a powerful symbolic vote against Viktor Orbán’s government.

In a resolution backed by 81% of MEPs present to vote, the parliament stated that Hungary had become a “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy”, citing a breakdown in democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.

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World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Landslide Victory For PM Orbán's Party

[world politics news]

 

The final results of Hungary's parliamentary elections have been published, confirming a landslide victory of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition.

The Fidesz-KDNP coalition will take 135 of the 199 seats in Hungary's parliament, NVI informed on Saturday, after counting the last votes cast in the Parliamentary elections held on April 3.

The opposition alliance, consisting of the Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum Movement, Hungarian Socialist Party and Dialogue for Hungary, received 57 seats.

While some have said that Orbán's victory is a victory for Russia's Putin, due to Orbán's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and his long-standing support for Putin, others have attributed the victory to purely national and local issues.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Orbán Refuses To Join In Imposing Russia Sanctions

[world politics news]

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says that he will not punish Hungarian families for the Russia-Ukraine conflict by participating in sanctions imposed by western nations on Russia.

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World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#FRANCE: Le Pen To Meet With Hungarian PM Orban To Discuss Unity

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The two euroskeptic politicians will meet for the first time today as Marine Le Pen continues with her electoral campaign to replace Emmanuel Macron in 2022.

The National Rally leader had so far been ignored by Viktor Orban but the two have become closer allies since the Hungarian Prime Minister's party left the European People's Party in the EU Parliament in March.

The two leaders, together with Matteo Salvini in Italy, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and 11 others, signed a declaration in July pledging to create a new far-right group in the European Parliament.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Defies EU Over Blocking Funds

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused the European Commission of blocking funds over the country's LGBT policies.

Orban has claimed that the EU had failed to approve Hungary's coronavirus recovery plan because of their disagreements over gay rights.

"The funds are loans that Brussels does not want to give us because of the debate on our LGBT policy," he said in an interview with state media.

In June, the Hungarian parliament banned the "promotion and portrayal of homosexuality" to citizens under the age of 18. 

Orban presented the legal amendment as a child protection tool.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: New Law Prevents "Promotion Of Homosexuality" To Children

[world politics news]

Hungary’s parliament passed legislation on Tuesday that bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change, amid strong criticism from human rights groups and opposition parties.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces an election next year, has grown increasingly vocal on social policy, railing against LGBT people and immigrants in his self-styled illiberal regime.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EU: Hungary's PM Orban Pulls Party From Conservative Bloc In EU Parliament

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has pulled his Fidesz Party from the European People's Party (EPP) in the European Parliament after the conservative bloc approveed new internal rules this week.

Orban issued the ultimatum that he'd act on February 28 in a letter to Manfred Weber, the German politician who heads the conservative EPP bloc, the largest faction in the European Parliament, representing the center-right parties in Europe.

The EPP parliamentary group, which includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, has been squabbling with Fidesz for years.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Prime Minister Orban Introduces Economic Program To Combat Effects Of Coronavirus

[world politics news]

The government of  Prime Minister Viktor Orban has introduced an economic program that aims to create as many jobs as the number of jobs destroyed by novel coronavirus. Orban told public news channel M1 that no Hungarian would be left alone.

He presented new economic protection measures, including a wage support scheme, reintroducing 13th month pensions, restoring highlighted sectors of the national economy and granting over 2,000 billion forints in loans with interest subsidies or state guarantees to companies.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Opposition Parties Delay PM Orban's State Of Emergency Declaration

[world politics news]

Opposition parties voted against "fast-tracking a bill in parliament to allow Prime Minister Viktor Orban to declare a state of emergency.

The opposition voted against deviating from house rules, so the earliest the bill can be approved in a fast-tracked procedure will be in six days’ time.

The proposal to deviate from house rules – which would have needed four-fifth majority to pass – was supported by 137 lawmakers from the ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrat parties, national minority representatives and four MPs of the Mi Hazank party. Fully 52 lawmakers voted against, namely opposition Jobbik, Socialist, Democratic Coalition, LMP and Parbeszed lawmakers and four independents.

The opposition said they voted against the bill because it does not contain a time limit for maintaining the state of emergency.

The proposal to fast-track the bill, which needed two-thirds majority support to pass, was supported with 152 votes for and 31 against.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Will "Use Force" To Protect Borders If Turkey Unleashes New Wave Of Migrants On Europe

[world politics news]

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned he will 'use force' to fend off migrants if Turkey delivered on its threat to "open the gates" and allow 3.6 million refugees to flood into Europe if EU leaders continue to oppose Turkey's military action in northern Syria.

Orban built a steel fence on Hungary's border with Serbia to seal off the Balkans route of migration, where hundreds of thousands of people marched through from the Middle East to Western Europe at the peak of the migrant crisis in 2015.

'If Turkey sets off further hundreds of thousands (on top of those it has already), then we will need to use force to protect the Hungarian border and the Serbian-Hungarian frontier and I do not wish for anyone that we should need to resort to that,' Orban said Wednesday night. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Orban Gov't Forces Out George Soros-Backed University; Moving To Vienna

[world politics news]

The George Soros-backed Central European University will close its doors in Budapest, after Hungary's government passed a law preventing it from accepting students in 2019. The university has plans to move its campus to Vienna, Austria, reports The Washington Post. The decision concludes a long battle between CEU and Hungary's government, which has criticized the Hungarian-born Soros' influence in the country. The school obtained accreditation from a New York-based university in an attempt to remain.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Considers Legal Action After EU Imposes Sanctions Over "Undemocratic" Practices

[world politics news]

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says his government is considering launching a legal challenge against the European Union, after the EU's legislative body imposed sanctions against it, citing "undemocratic" practices by Orban's government. In turn, Orban claims the vote - in which a two-thirds majority of MEPs voted to start so-called Article 7 disciplinary proceedings against Hungary - is “invalid” because it did not take into account abstentions. Hungary has clashed with the EU repeatedly, because it has resisted many attempts by the EU to take in its share of migrants being allowed into Europe. Orban said the European Parliament has a "clear pro-migration majority."


[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Party of PM Viktor Orban Moves To Ban Gender Studies Programs

[world politics news]

Fidesz, the conservative party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has introduced legislation to shut down accredited gender studies programs offered by universities in Hungary. The ban will primarily impact students at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest - the only institution in Hungary, other than Central European University, to offer gender studies at the graduate level, and the only one to provide this program in Hungarian. Numbers of students affected would be low. Only 11 students have applied for the program this year.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#HUNGARY: Parliament Passes "Anti-Soros" Bill; Makes It A Crime To Help Recent Immigrants

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Hungary’s parliament has passed a package of legislation making helping asylum seekers punishable with up to a year in prison. The legislation swept through a lower house of parliament dominated by the ruling Fidesz Party, in a 160 to 18 vote. Under the provisions of the "Stop Soros law," it becomes a criminal offence to carry out "organisational activities" that assist immigrants not entitled to protection with asylum requests, and to help people “residing illegally in Hungary” to get a residence permit.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Defiant At Mass Re-Election Rally; Condemns EU For Forced Mass Migration

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Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told a huge rally in Budapest that they must fight the "external forces and international powers" who want to allow mass immigration into their country. Orban is seeking a third consecutive term when elections take place on April 8.

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#AUSTRIA: Chancellor Kurz Stands With Hungarian PM Against EU Immigration Quotas

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The EU migrant redistribution scheme "isn't working," Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said while welcoming Hungary's Viktor Orban in Vienna. The two leaders called for opposition to illegal migration to Europe. At the same time,  Austria should work to ease tensions between western and the eastern EU members, Kurz said in Vienna at a joint press conference.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#HUNGARY: PM Bills EU For Walk Construction

[world politics news]

Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, is set to send the EU a bill for €400 million, in order to help pay for the fence it built to keep illegal migrants out.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EU: Far-Left Parties In EU Parliament To Investigate Whether Member State Hungary Is Still A Democracy

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In an unprecedented move, the European Parliament have called for the triggering of a check on the state of Hungary's democracy which could lead to the suspension of the country's EU voting rights. A resolution proposed by the socialists, far-left parties, the greens and the liberals to trigger Article 7 of the EU treaty was passed with a majority of 393 votes against 221. Votes from members of the center-right European People’s Party tilted the balance.

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#HUNGARY: EU Skeptic Said To Have Moderated His Stance Toward Complying With EU Laws

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised to respect EU law after the EU's conservative EPP party's leadership told him during a recent meeting that his attempts to close the Central European University and his open campaign against Brussels were "unacceptable." It's unclear whether this pledge - which followed the contentious meeting - will mean any kind of reversal in policy from Orban.

Pictured: PM Viktor Orban, left, on the way to the EU meeting Saturday.

#HUNGARY: Gov't Passes Bill Banning Wind Power In Hungary

[world politics news]

The Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans wind turbines within a 12-kilometer radius of populated areas. The legislation will leave no area in Hungary where it will be possible to install new wind energy capacity. Parliament originally passed the amendment in October, but Pres. Janos Ader, however, sent it back to the parliament for review, arguing that it would not help reach the targets of the Paris climate accord. The bill then passed without any substantial modification.

[FULL STORY HERE]