Latest from Budapest Times
Budapest Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Orbán: EC should refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs of member states
Responding to a post by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on X late on Wednesday that the European Commission should refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs of member states. In her message, von der Leyen had called on the Hungarian authorities to allow the Budapest Pride event to go ahead on the weekend. In his response, PM Orbán said: 'Dear Madam President! I urge the European Commission to refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs of member states, where it has no role to play. 'I also call on the Commission to focus its efforts on the pressing challenges facing the European Union – areas where it does have a clear role and responsibility, and where it has made serious mistakes in recent years, such as the energy crisis and the erosion of European competitiveness,' the prime minister said.
Budapest Times
a day ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
Food markup cap reduces prices by 20%
Róbert Zsigó, a state secretary at the Culture and Innovation Ministry, said prices of food products affected by a mandatory cap on markups have fallen by 20pc, on average, since the government introduced the measure on March 17. Speaking on commercial broadcaster TV2 on Thursday, Zsigó said prices of close to 870 of the some 1,000 food products affected by the 10pc markups cap had dropped. He added that the prices of 276 products had fallen by more than 30pc. Zsigó noted that the European Commission had launched infringement procedures against Hungary seeking the rollback of the food markups cap and another, 15pc cap on a range of household products. He added that Hungary had been attacked repeatedly for putting the interests of its citizens ahead of the profits of multinationals.
Budapest Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
Defense Minister: Hungary has a vested interest in NATO remaining a strong defense alliance
Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said Hungary has a vested interest in NATO remaining a strong defense alliance. Speaking after a summit of NATO leaders in The Hague on Wednesday, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that 'we trust in the success of President Trump's efforts for peace' but at the same time, it was unavoidable that Hungary and the alliance should possess the military and deterrence capabilities that guarantee its security. This, he said, required a further increase in defense budgets, which was also a focal point of the summit. 'We welcome the US's commitment to Europe's security, and we agree with the Trump administration that European allies must take a greater role in guaranteeing Europe's traditional security,' the minister said. 'Our country has for long actively supported efforts to strengthen NATO's and especially Europe's defense capabilities that supplement and strengthen but cannot substitute national efforts,' he added. Hungary continues to be dedicated to guaranteeing Hungarian people's security, he said. In addition to an army which is getting stronger thanks to the modernisation of the military, Hungary's security is based on NATO membership, he said, adding that the country agreed with the need to boost defense budgets but in order to meet the recommended 5 percent target, it was necessary for the EU to relax its fiscal regulations.
Budapest Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Budapest Times
FM: Presence of Trump at NATO summit ‘changed everything'
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the presence of US President Donald Trump at the summit of NATO leaders 'changed everything' from the previous years' summits, shifting the focus from supporting Ukraine to strengthening the alliance's defense capabilities. Speaking at a press conference after the summit in The Hague, Minister Szijjártó said that if he had to summarise the difference between this year's summit and the ones in the last three years in just two words, he would say 'Donald Trump'. Minister Szijjártó said Trump's return to office 'changed everything', and now everyone was 'free to use words like peace, ceasefire and peace talks without fear of immediate public shaming'. 'With Donald Trump, peace efforts have also made a comeback,' Minister Szijjártó said. 'Today's summit finally had NATO and the strengthening of the transatlantic community's own defense capabilities on the agenda rather than unrealistic support to be given to Ukraine and its NATO membership.' He noted that the closing statement from Wednesday's summit is 'unusually short' at just eight pages long,' yet it says more and is better than the previous one'. Minister Szijjártó said the statement reaffirms member states' commitment to Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty as well as to Article 3 on national resilience obligations. Hungary, he said, was a frontrunner when it came to the development of defense capabilities, as it accounts for 45 percent of the country's military budget. Minister Szijjártó welcomed that NATO did not exacerbate tensions with Russia, as this year's statement 'doesn't contain any lengthy details when it comes to Moscow'. He said it was important that NATO has identified the growing threat of terrorism as a serious challenge which had been made more significant by the tensions in the Middle East, as it increased the risk of attacks in Europe. Member states also agreed to raise their defencs spending to 5 percent of GDP, investing 3.5 percent in core defense and 1.5 percent in building critical infrastructure and networks, maintaining civil preparedness, as well as developments and innovation, Minister Szijjártó said. The allies have also agreed to submit annual national plans detailing how they will increase their defense capabilities, he said, adding that there was no set amount of progress member states were required to make each year. 'We will review the situation in 2029 and determine how we are doing in light of the security situation at the time,' he added. Member states also agreed that it was their sovereign right to support Ukraine, he said, adding that this was a welcome outcome given that the Hungarian government did not want NATO 'to cross certain red lines and end up in a direct confrontation with Russia'. The allies also affirmed their commitment to strengthening their defense industries, and a decision was made on holding next year's summit in Turkiye and the following one in Albania, he added. They also adopted resolutions on bolstering NATO's southern strategy and recognising illegal immigration as a risk factor, he said. Also, they approved recommendations on the swift implementation of innovative technologies in order to reduce bureaucracy and administration, he added. Minister Szijjártó also highlighted the renewal of the strategy on countering hybrid threats, adding that it had to be made clear that it was each member's responsibility to take the necessary steps to implement the strategy as a national competence in order to bring collective defense to an acceptable level.
Budapest Times
a day ago
- Business
- Budapest Times
International arrivals boost tourism segment
In May 2025, 1.7 million guests spent nearly 3.9 million tourism nights at tourist (commercial, private and other) accommodation establishments. The number of tourist arrivals was up by 3.5% and tourism nights by 1.9% compared to a year earlier. In January-May 2025, the number of domestic and international guests arriving to tourist accommodation establishments was 3.5% and 15% higher than in the same period of the previous year. In May 2025 overall, the number of tourist arrivals and of tourism nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments increased by 3.5% and 1.9%, respectively. Based on seasonally adjusted data, the number of arrivals expanded by 2.9% and that of tourism nights by 1.5% compared to May 2024. 70% of guests arrived at commercial accommodation establishments, where their number grew by 2.8% from the previous year. Private and other accommodation establishments recorded 5.1% more tourist arrivals than a year earlier. The number of domestic tourist arrivals and of domestic tourism nights were 1.9% and 1.5% higher respectively than in the same month of the previous year. Based on seasonally adjusted data, the number of domestic arrivals grew by 2.1% and that of domestic tourism nights by 0.5% compared to May 2024. The 851 thousand domestic guests spent around 1.8 million tourism nights at tourist accommodation establishments, within which commercial accommodation establishments registered 608 thousand tourist arrivals and nearly 1.3 million tourism nights. Hotels received 70% of the latter arrivals, where their number grew by 2.6% compared to a year earlier. The number of domestic tourist arrivals in private and other accommodation was 1.2% lower than in May 2024. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the number of domestic arrivals increased the most in the tourism area2 of Greater Budapest (by 12%), while it decreased the most in the Gyula region (by 9.6%). The number of domestic arrivals to tourist accommodation establishments was 3.9% higher at Lake Balaton and 3.1% lower in Budapest. The number of international tourist arrivals was up by 5.1% and that of international tourism nights by 2.3% compared to the same month of the previous year. Based on seasonally adjusted data, the number of international arrivals grew by 8.8% and that of international tourism nights by 4.0% compared to May 2024. The 851 thousand international guests having arrived at tourist accommodation establishments spent nearly 2.1 million tourism nights there, of which commercial accommodation establishments registered 582 thousand tourist arrivals and 1.4 million tourism nights. Hotels received 84% of the latter arrivals, where their number was 3.3% higher than a year earlier. The number of foreign tourist arrivals in private and other accommodation establishments was 12% higher than in May 2024. Compared to the same month last year, the number of international arrivals increased most (by 11%) in the tourism area of Greater Budapest and decreased most (by 26%) in the area of Tokaj and Nyíregyháza. The number of international arrivals to tourist accommodation was 10% higher in Budapest and 6.4% lower at Lake Balaton. A total of 28,636 tourist accommodation establishments, within which 2,734 commercial and 25,902 private or other accommodation establishments welcomed guests. Of commercial accommodation establishments, 987 hotels and 1,126 boarding houses were open for part or all of May. The total gross sales revenue of tourist accommodation establishments amounted to HUF 104.4 billion, 15% more at current prices than a year earlier. Széchenyi Recreation Card was used by cardholders to spend around HUF 2.9 billion, 8.8% less at current prices compared to the same month of the previous year, at tourist accommodation establishments. In January-May 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year tourist accommodation establishments recorded a total of 6.3 million tourist arrivals, up 8.9%. The number of domestic and international tourist arrivals was up by 3.5% and 15% respectively (3.0 million and 3.3 million) in tourist accommodation establishments.
