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  • Moody’s leaves Hungarian rating unchanged

    It is entirely unjustified that with the Hungarian economy booming and the country’s public debt falling, credit rating agency Moody’s has left its sovereign debt rating unchanged, Szajlai writes.

    Although Hungary already has an investment-grade rating at all three major credit rating agencies – Moody’s, Standard&Poor’s and Fitch –  there is still ample room for advancement.

    Especially since Hungary already meets every critical economic and financial criterion. Moody’s analysts may not have seen the latest Hungarian indicators – five percent economic growth, falling public debt – so they probably relied on older data when they left the country with a Baa3 rating. But even the previous macroeconomic data has been good, so Hungary should at the very least have deserved a positive outlook.

    The Hungarian economy is very dynamic: the country’s banking system has an extremely healthy capitalization, lending to both households and businesses is growing faster than anticipated, as are private savings. Every single sector of the real economy contributes to the growth, there is no sector dragging it down.

    Public debt is being reduced faster than expected, the current account balance is consistently positive while central bank and government policy is in harmony.

    Now, Moody’s, we didn’t expect a Christmas gift from you, but performance should be recognized. Especially when not doing so gives the impression that the venerable credit rating agency is behind the curve in both economic trends and market pricing.

     

  • Meet Ryszard Petru, Poland’s King of gaffes

    “Polish faux pas: the creator of a new party forgot its name,” wrote the Czech news portal Tyden.Cz, referring to Petru’s recent mistakes. During an interview, Petru had mistaken his party Now! (Teraz!) for the Leftist Together (Razem) party. 

    tyden

    Tyden.Cz also highlighted the Polish politician’s other gaffes. One of them was Petru mentioning taking boys to see a gynaecologist. The Czech website also wrote of Petru calling “Three Kings’ Day” the “Six Kings’ Day” and his referring to former British PM David Cameron as David Kamerun. 

    Soon all of Europe will be laughing at Ryszard Petru. He is our comic export ware

    Polish internauts eagerly commented on Tyden.Cz’s entry on Twitter: “He is Poland’s Jozin z Bazin!” (a hero of a famous humorous Czech song); “Soon all of Europe will be laughing at Ryszard Petru. He is our comic export ware.”

    In 2015, Ryszard Petru who was named then by the liberal media as a “Polish Macron” founded political party .Modern (.Nowoczesna) which representatives managed to get into Parliament. Petru left the party in 2018 after a series of scandals and started a new movement named Now! (Teraz!).

  • Final decommunisation of Polish diplomacy

    A new bill will help investigate the Ministry and allow the firing of officials who had cooperated with communist secret services. 

    There are currently between 200 to 300 persons employed by the Ministry, who had cooperated with Poland’s communist regime, claims Andrzej Papierz, the director general of the Polish foreign service. 

    Papierz argues that the main consequence of hiring post-communist officials was what he calls replication. “Those who had influence over who was hired accepted people similar to themselves. Thus, there was a continuation of such a demoralizing standard,” he said. 

    Serving in the diplomatic corps, being multilingual isn’t enough. We need fighters

    The main issue of Polish diplomacy was the lack of assertiveness in politics. Papierz underlines that although the Civic Platform’s diplomacy was professional, “it was taught flunkeyism and the need to satisfy everyone, just to keep their jobs.”

    The director emphasizes the brutality of global politics and the need for Poland to have diplomats who will fight for its interests. “Serving in the diplomatic corps, being multilingual isn’t enough. (…) We need fighters. Most of the world’s diplomacies know this. We won’t have good diplomats if we don’t teach our staff to be convinced of their values and ideals, to be proud of Poland.”

  • Hungarian folk band plays at Prince Charles birthday

    Band leader István Pál, also known as Szalonna (Bacon) said the royal family is very fond of Hungarian folk music and they are often invited to play there – they also performed at Prince Charles’ 60th birthday.

    Hungarian folk band Szalonna leader

    Band leader István Pál reading The Times at Buckingham Palace. (Szalonna Facebook page)

    This is the fourth time the Hungarian band has performed for the royal family. It is a little-known fact that one of the ancestors of Queen Elizabeth II was Princess Claudine Rhédey of Transylvania. Band leader István Pál said on one occasion former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said after their performance that the music was the embodiment of the Hungarian heart and soul.

    Title image: Hungarian folk band “Szalonna és bandája” (L-R): Attila Gera, band leader István Pál, Gyula Karacs, Róbert Doór. (Szalonna Facebook page)

  • PM Orbán: Gloomy Brexit Sunday

    The video was set to the tune of Rezső Seres’s Gloomy Sunday, a famous song he wrote in 1933 and quickly gained fame as the “Hungarian suicide song”. It became well-known in the English-speaking world after Billie Holiday’s 1941 recording.

    In the video message Orbán spoke about the responsibility of the Euroepan Union’s leaders:

    “This is a gloomy Sunday. If there is Black Friday, then there is also Black Sunday. A wealthy country is leaving, and if a wealthy country is leaving, then this also means a material loss, thus Hungary – and I say again: beyond the historic, military policy loss and the loss of a cilivizational nature – has also lost money with this decision. Should the Brits have stayed, in the next years Hungary would also have received more money from the European Union’s budget. Those families, those Hungarians who currently work in England are safe, their position hasn’t deteriorated,” he said.

    “The leaders of the European Union have a responsibility that Brexit has occurred. What happened is that we let in the migrants but were unable to keep the Brits in. It should have happened the other way: keeping the Brits in and not letting the migrants in. If the Western European countries wouldn’t have let the migrants in, I think the Brits could have stayed.”

  • Poland wins Junior Eurovision

    Węgiel’s victory is Poland’s first in the competition. “I’d like to thank Poland, Europe, my dancers, my family and God,” the singer said during her victory speech in Minsk, Belarus and expressed her disbelief. The thirteen-year-old added that the dreams that are important are those which help us achieve greatness.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=PT-EzzJxySI (original performance by Roksana Węgiel)

    The final vote-count was very entertaining. Węgiel’s victory was decided by the audience vote. Even the Belarussian commentators could not contain their emotions.

    I’d like to thank Poland, Europe, my dancers, my family and God

    Owing to the Polish singer’s victory, the next final of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Poland. 

    tt

    Roksana Węgiel comes from Jasło, South Poland. She had previously won the first edition of a TV song contest “The Voice Kids.” 

  • Babiš and the theory of political relativity

    For example, opposition leader Jiří Pospíšil of TOP 09 party criticized Babiš for honoring the 17th November while he is governing the country with Communists, adding that the PM must be scared if he went there in the early hours, which is unworthy in his position. When Babiš attended the Czech Radio act despite being aware of the protesters, the very same people were shouting ‘shame on you, begone!’ at him.

    The same theory of relativity applies to politicians at the Prague 8 town hall. When they voted in a new Mayor, the post-election coalition changed at the very last minute, after TOP 09 had decided to switch sides to join the Civic Democrats with local Patriots, which ultimately allowed ANO to tip the balance.

    Leading psychiatrist Protopopov, who led ANO there and treated Babiš Jr., resigned after the Jr. scandal broke. The point is the town council got elected thanks to the support of ANO, despite coalition parties such as Civic Democrats and TOP 09 calling for Babiš’s resignation at the national level.

  • Italy refuses to revise its 2019 budget

    The Commission announced earlier this week that the Italian 2019 draft budget is seriously violating its recommendations and triggered a sanction process against the country. The Italian government claimed such a budget is crucial for the economy to grow. Therefore, they will not step back, as the Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini put it. His coalition partner Luigi Di Maio added that any changes to the budget are impossible before the European elections.

    Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has also declared that Rome will not step back when it comes to defending Italy´s budget interests. Conte, scheduled to meet Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Saturday, also said that the government was convinced the budget was excellent and in the interest of Italy and Europe. However, he called for a more peaceful approach from both sides.

    The EU member states now have two weeks to assess the situation. If they agree with the European Commission´s stance, the Commission will prepare disciplinary proceedings and new recommendations on how Italy could correct its deficit. At the end of the procedure, financial penalties may also be imposed on Italy.

  • Absurd green pledge made in Brussels

    There is a place for romanticism in literature and arts in general, however it has no place in the foreign nor energy policy where realism must prevail. Forcing member states to increase renewable resources’ share in the energy mix while lowering energy consumption is absurd and extremely costly.

    The cuts should be by 32.5 percent if compared to 2007 and renewable energy should take 32 percent of the mix. According to many experts, lower energy consumption so sharply in times of an economic growth is impossible. Economic growth has always come hand-in-hand with rising energy consumption.

    The Czech Republic, for example, cannot even comply with the required cuts to lower the consumption by 20 percent by 2020. As Deputy Minister René Neděla explained, the Czech Republic has been able to accomplish only one third of the target in the past four years.

    Increasing renewable resources’ share in the mix is less challenging but it will cost a fortune. According to ČEZ chief Daniel Beneš, it is going to cost between 280 to 1,250 billion CZK, which is truly eye-popping given that the high estimate roughly equals the Czech state budget.

    If we break the number down, every household in the country is going to spend an extra 300,000 CZK for the sake of renewable energy. And it will be missed elsewhere in investments to infrastructure and salaries for nurses and kindergarten teachers, to name just a few.

  • Babiš: Journalists abusing my son’s illness will get sued

    Babiš said the complaint has been filed over a hidden camera filming of his son in Switzerland, who is suffering from schizophrenia. It is against Swiss law to film someone without his knowledge, they abused him and his illness in order to take me down, he added referring to the case as the Palermo coup.

    Babiš also claimed he was completely unaware of what was underway at the Seznam, even though one of the journalists asked him about his son’s whereabouts, on which Babiš refused to comment. According to Babiš, journalists are now in Ukraine, trying to find his son’s girlfriend. The PM called their efforts vulturism, adding he met the girlfriend in Geneva without mentioning whether she is living with his son or not, in order to protect them.

    I haven’t had a single thought about my resignation, I don’t want to leave until all the work is done, because I succeeded in this country and that’s how I can get it back, Babiš said in the interview.

  • Terence Hill auctions his car for Budapest hospital

    The red dune buggy featured in his 1974 movie “Watch Out, We’re Mad”, co-starring his long-time screen partner Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli, 1929-2016).

    Terence_Hill_dune_buggy

    Terence Hill (79), born Mario Girotti, was very popular in the 1960s and 70s for his action comedy movies and so-called “spaghetti Westerns” (Italian style Westerns).

    Images: Terence Hill official Facebook page.

  • Kaczyński clashes with Wałęsa in court

    The trial against Wałęsa started on Thursday in Gdańsk. Law and Justice’s (PiS) chairman sued Wałęsa for the violation of his personal interests. The issue concerns Wałęsa posting on social media that Kaczyński is to blame for the Smoleńsk catastrophe of 2010. 

    The court proposed a conciliatory resolution, which was not accepted.

    Before entering the courtroom, the politicians had an exchange of strong words on camera: “Why did I bother with making you a minister?,” Wałęsa asked Kaczyński. “And why did I bother making you President?,” Kaczyński responded

    Wałęsa: Why did I bother with making you a minister? 

    Kaczyński: And why did I bother making you President?

    tt

    “I know that the defendant claims that I communicated with my brother [Lech Kaczyński] during the flight and ordered the landing. I never gave such an order and I was unable to give him any orders,” Kaczyński said in court. “The only topic of our conversation was the health of our mother.”

    Wałęsa stood by his comment and said it was part of a political debate. 

    Kaczyński has demanded an official apology and PLN 30,000 from Wałęsa to be given to charity. The verdict of the court is expected on the 6th of December. 

    Hostility between Wałęsa and the Kaczyński brothers dates back to the early 1990s.

  • Warsaw’s pavement eats smog

    The first of such pavements has been installed in the center of Warsaw. 

    The concrete utilizes photocatalysis with the addition of titanium oxide. Owing to sunrays, reduction of harmful substances (mainly nitrogen dioxide) occurs on the pavement’s surface. These further decompose themselves into harmless compounds and are washed away by rain into soil. Another positive of the concrete itself is its ability to self-clean.

    Measurements prove that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide has been reduced by 30 percent in the pavement’s area

    Measurements prove that the concentration of nitrogen dioxide has been reduced by 30 percent in the pavement’s area. Laboratory experiments prove that even a 70 percent reduction is possible. Skanska has declared that they plan to build a football field sized area of this new kind of concrete. This would neutralize the exhaust fumes of 10 diesel cars, assuming they will have travelled 17,000 km. 

    There are plans to further develop such pavements throughout Warsaw. The technology would also allow to build such concrete into the façade of buildings.

    The Polish partner companies of the project are Górażdża Cement, the Polish Institute of Geophysics, the Civil Engineering Department of the Warsaw University of Technology and the Geology Department of the University of Warsaw.

  • Hungary’s real wages rise by 6.8 percent year-on-year

    The average gross wage in Hungary hit HUF 322,800 while the net wage was HUF 214,000 in September, the Central Statistics Office announced. This was a nominal increase of 10.4 percent compared with the same month the previous year, or taking into inflation that ran at 3.6 percent in September, a 6.8 percent real wage increase.

    Wages rose even faster in the less developed regions of the country and in sectors employing manual labor, with blue-collar wages up by 12.7 percent year-on-year. Analysts say that due to a record low unemployment of 3.8 percent in the July-September period and a resulting shortage a qualified workforce, wages will probably continue to rise at the same pace or even faster.

    Takarékbank analyst András Horváth told Magyar Hírlap that the workforce shortage is likely to remain until domestic wages reach at least 80 percent of the levels in countries where most Hungarians seek work – principally Austria and Germany. Once Hungarian wages have reached that level, a reverse movement of the workforce is likely. Horváth also said that due to the workforce shortage Hungarian companies will now often hire unqualified people and are reluctant to fire underperforming employees for fear of not being able to replace them.

     

  • Storm in Iceland over article on Polish Independence March

    The author of the article, Jon Bjarki Magnusson, called participants of the March “Nazis” and “fascists”. According to the Polish embassy in Iceland after the article came out, people had been calling them and greeting them with “Heil Hitler”. 

    “The situation became sad and required an intervention. It was required of me by Poles living on Iceland,” said the Polish ambassador to Iceland Gerard Pokruszyński. The Polish diplomat sent a letter to “Stundin” and the Icelandic government, reminding them of Poland’s history and Poles’ approach to fascism. 

    How is it possible, for it to be so easy to use such phrases in democratic Iceland’s public space against ordinary Polish citizens and accuse them of association with that German criminal machine?

    “How is it possible, for it to be so easy to use such phrases in democratic Iceland’s public space against ordinary Polish citizens and accuse them of association with that German criminal machine?,” Pokruszyński wrote in the letter.

    The letter was published by “Stundin” and the editorial board rejected the ambassador’s accusations and did not remove the controversial article. Magnusson said Pokruszyński’s letter portrayed him as “an enemy of the Polish nation”. Kristinn Hrafnsson, head editor of WikiLeaks, claimed it was “extremely insolent behavior from the Polish ambassador and should be criticized by the Icelandic government.

    Magnusson did admit, however, that he had not participated in the march in Warsaw, and had based his article solely on the reports of other media

    In the original article by Magnusson, one can read that the march was the “largest assembly of nationalists and radical Rightists in the world recently.” Magnusson also claimed that one could hear hate speech against immigrants and phrases denying the Holocaust. He also wrote that participants were waving banners with Nazi symbols.

    Magnusson did admit, however, that he had not participated in the march in Warsaw, and had based his article solely on the reports of other media. 

    10 percent of people in Iceland are Poles

    Out of Iceland’s 334,000 inhabitants up to 30 to 40,000 are Polish. Poles are the largest group of migrants in the country and in some towns, they even comprise the majority of inhabitants.

  • Hungary reassembles famous Renaissance library

    Matthias Corvinus was the King of Hungary and Croatia between 1458 and 1490. Born in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca, now in Romania) in 1443, he is best remembered for his professional army, military conquests and sweeping tax and administrative reforms.

    But he was also a great patron of the arts, the first to promote Renaissance art outside Italy. This was partly due to his upbringing but also to his third wife, Beatrice of Naples who brought a large retinue of scientists and artists to the royal court in Buda.

    Renaissance library

    One of the most famous cultural achievements of Matthias was his library, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, which at his death in 1490 consisted of 3,000 codices, some of them containing the only surviving copies of works from Greek and Latin antiquity. At the time it was the largest library north of the Alps and second only to the Vatican library in Europe.

    During the Turkish invasion of Hungary in the early 16th century most of the library was destroyed and the surviving 216 codices (or Corvinas) have been scattered across various European libraries.

    Now, as part of “The Buda workshop of the Corvina Library” the Széchényi library has loaned a majority of the books that are known to have been printed in Buda – from Paris, New York, Leipzig and various other libraries.

    The exhibition will be open until February 9th, 2019.

  • Morawiecki gained ground following backtrack on judicial reform

    The PiS disastrous results in large cities was mostly due to the fear of Center middle-class voters over Poland’s conflict with the European Union. These might have been the same voters who put both PiS and Andrzej Duda in power in 2015. 

    Some PiS campaign workers admitted that even voters sympathetic to PiS’ cause worried whether such a strong conflict with Brussels was necessary. Poles did not want Poland to grovel before Brussels like it did under Civic Platform, but they felt bad when Poland was reviled. 

    Poles did not want Poland to grovel before Brussels like it did under Civic Platform, but they felt bad when Poland was reviled

    Although many commentators suggested that PiS should forfeit the Center city electorate and focus on its traditionalist base, Jarosław Kaczyński seems to have a different opinion. PiS has decided to focus on PM Morawiecki, who supposedly encouraged Kaczyński to compromise with the EU over judicial reform, or at least remove the topic of the rule of law in Poland for some time, or to lessen the conflict with Brussels.

    Killed three birds with one stone

    Morawiecki has managed to kill three birds with one stone: he opened the way for an agreement with the EU, or at least to lower its pressure on Poland. He opened PiS towards a more Center-oriented electorate and has started to reset his image. The PM’s image had been damaged during the municipal elections because he focused on the base electorate instead of opening up to the Center. 

    Although the backtrack from the judiciary reforms is a hard pill for PiS to swallow, Morawiecki has come out strengthened.

  • Hungarian vs Greek crisis management

    Christian Anton Smedshaug is the leader of the Norwegian AgriAnalyse Institute, whose main areas of research are agricultural, economic policy and political analyses. He is also a professor at Oslo University and author of the book “Debt. How the West deceives itself”. The following are excerpts from an interview he gave to Hungarian news portal Mandiner.

    M: – What is the main message of your book?

    CAS: – The neoliberal globalist paradigm did not deliver the prosperity we expected it to. Neither did it result in a safer world. This model has of course served well the interests of the elites and the multinationals, but not the welfare of the masses. Traditional political parties continue to stick to this obsolete idea. In my book I argue that it is time to find a new, better equilibrium.

    M: – You wrote that Hungary and Greece are examples of entirely different crisis management approaches. What do you mean by that?

    CAS: – One cannot exactly say that the two countries were in the same situation, but it is certainly true that both were in very deep trouble. The public debt of Greece is higher, but the problem in Hungary has been made worse by the fact that many individuals had debts denominated in foreign currencies. The situation was similar in the sense that both countries had to make very difficult economic policy decisions.

    M: – And what was the difference?

    CAS: – Hungary has brought these difficult crisis management decisions on its own, in relative independence. It had protected Hungarian employees and households, because it had a strong central bank and currency, meaning it had its own monetary policy.

    Greece – being highly dependent on the European Central Bank and the European Union – did not have the sovereignty of Hungary to help it weather the crisis.

    M: – So you would not recommend Hungary to introduce the euro?

    CAS: – I wouldn’t recommend it to any country. The euro is a flawed currency and one of the fundamental reasons why Europe cannot find the proper balance between supranational and national. The only country the euro benefits is Germany, because the euro is seriously undervalued compared to what the German mark would be. It is neither fair, nor wise to use a monetary union to create political union.

  • Romania seizes Transylvanian Reformed Church property

    The school was built by the Reformed Church from private donations and operated until Communist Romania nationalized it – along with most other larger private properties in Romania. In May 2002, after lengthy legal proceedings the school was restituted to the church.

    But the Romanian state nullified the restitution, demanded monetary compensation from the Reformed Church and even sentenced three Sepsiszentgyörgy municipality officials to three years each for abuse of power. Their guilt was to have previosuly had testified in favor of the Reformed Church’s right to the property.

    Following a long series of appeals, the Romanian Supreme Court rejected the appeal, effectively giving the school back to the state. Reformed Church officials said they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

    The largest political party of the ethnic Hungarians living in Romania, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) said the decision went against all legal principles and practice.

    “We support the Reformed Church in its decision to appeal to the Strasbourg human rights court in the case of the Mikó College,” RMDSZ President Hunor Kelemen said in a statement. “This decision breaches the rule of law and all the duties Romania has declared both in its own laws and international treaties.”

  • Pointless no-confidence vote with no Plan B on the horizon

    The most divided are the Social Democrats, Babiš’s coalition partner. Its Prague organization called for the Prime Minister’s resignation and asked for the Ministry of Justice seat, both wishes are unlikely to be heard. Moreover, the stumbling block remains the same as for the opposition, they don’t actually know what they could achieve from a government fall.

    This is the biggest weakness of all plans for Friday’s vote. ODS Chairman Petr Fiala rejects the criticism of the absence of Plan B as an alibi. On the other hand, he adds that there is also a plan C, D and E. Chairman of the Pirate Party Ivan Bartoš then criticized CSSD for not having plan B itself.

    “Each MP who supports Prime Minister Babis’ government takes a responsibility for his problems,” said Fiala, and it is undoubtedly true, as it is undisputable that the opposition does not want to take any responsibility itself. It is the CSSD that should shut the government down instead of the opposition, and the movement ANO should replace the Prime Minister in co-operation with the president.

  • Screw you, Brussels!

    Stopping drawing European funds can only lead to early elections in which the current government parties will reach the so called Kimersen outcome. Thus, Juncker will not go for it, even if his “Zeman’s infection” develops into pneumonia. And if so, then Merkel and Macron would send him somewhere to the closed pavilion.

    If anything happens, it will be a fall in Italian debt ratings deep into the speculative band, and creditors like pension funds and banks will get rid of Italian bonds with losses for their clients and as usual with the help of taxpayers. This creates the ideal space for speculative investors who know that when the Italians stop paying, the Germans will begin to pay through the purchases of the ECB.

    The euro needs to be saved at any cost, and the question of who is paying the price should not be asked in a decent European society. The Italians will get through the rebellion, but it will help them as much as the Greeks, that is not at all. A really good club, the eurozone.

  • Babiš: There’s no crisis at all, the government works great

    Although the media is writing about it, the current crisis-situation is fictitious, Babis said. Stressing that the truth is on his side, Babis also said that he is now fighting against lies, misinformation and information without context. According to him, journalists who contacted his son behave like the mafia and their only goal is to put the prime minister in jail.

    “People are sending me thousands of positive messages. Even those who do not like me say that this has simply crossed the line,” the PM said.

    In the second part of the interview, Babis repeated that he was surprised that Social Democrats are not about to take part in a no-confidence vote in his cabinet. According to him, Jan Hamacek, head of the CSSD, saved the party with his decision to be part of the government. The prime minister also assured everybody of the good relations in the coalition. There is no problem in the government and the co-operation should continue.

    “Democratic elections have taken place with clear results and I do not understand why I should resign. I do not see any reason for new elections,” Babis said, refusing the idea of early elections at the end of the interview.

  • Hungarian national consultations – family edition

    “Europe is a continent of empty cradles. Within the national consultation, citizens can say whether they see Hungary’s future in Hungarian children, or in an exchange of Hungarian children for migrants,” said deputy minister for social affairs Katalin Novák. 

    Among the possible measures are for example, the introduction of a zero tax for women who have three or more children, or a no-interest loan for young married couples up to 10 million forints.

    The national consultation is, as always, supported by a massive campaigns in the media and billboards. The first national consultation was organized in 2016 under the slogan “Stop Brussels” followed by the campaign “Stop Soros” last year which was aimed at American billionaire George Soros who is, according to Orban, one of the key donors and supporters of illegal migration to Europe. The government collected almost 2.5 million questionnaires. They all spoke out against migration.

  • PiS backtracks on judicial reforms

    The amendment introduced by PiS foresees that judges of Poland’s Supreme Court (SN) and the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) will be able to retain their positions and complete their terms after reaching the age of 65.

    The lawfulness of PiS’ judiciary reforms had been questioned by both the European Commission and the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The reforms previously foresaw a forced retirement for SN and NSA judges over the age of 65, including Poland’s Chief Justice. 

    We are retreating to be seen in advance positions and that is in essence a victory. The question is: why did we need to push ourselves into this cabala in the first place?

    Many legal experts said that the forced retirement of the Supreme Court judges, including the chief justice, violated Poland’s constitution.The amendment is now being processed over in the Senate.

    Polish conservative publicists have voiced outrage on Twitter over the PiS backtrack on judicial reform. 

    “Ratifying the Lisbon Treaty (under Tusk), Poland joined the so called British Protocol, which reserves Poland the right to be sovereign in some areas, such as the judiciary. As far as I know, the government DID NOT refer to that protocol before the ECJ. Does this make sense to anyone? Because it doesn’t to me,” writes Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz.

    https://twitter.com/R_A_Ziemkiewicz/status/1065161498283204613

    Marcin Makowski of “Do Rzeczy” also voiced his disappointment with the government: “You state, that you will win by a landslide, you create a massive narrative backstage and explain to your voters, that only a sharp, personally way is effective. Then you politely retreat. How is this to be evaluated? With applause?”

    https://twitter.com/makowski_m/status/1065162576382836736

    Piotr Semka argues, that this conflict has given EU institutions a new area of influence: “This is a constitutional conflict. It shouldn’t be determined outside of the country which it concerns. The ECJ has just given itself a new area of power.”

    https://twitter.com/PiotrSemka/status/1065155380467167232

    Some publicists also pointed out how badly this reflects on President Duda: “I slightly pity the President and his tirades about the communist past of some judges in the Supreme Court,” wrote Łukasz Warzecha. And in a separate tweet added: “We are retreating to be seen in advance positions and that is in essence a victory. The question is: why did we need to push ourselves into this cabala in the first place?”

    https://twitter.com/lkwarzecha/status/1065171120037474304

  • First capsule hotel in Warsaw

    Seeming to have come right out of a science fiction movie, capsule hotels are two rows of “capsules’ placed on top of one another. Hotels of this style usually offer rooms of 2x1x1 meters. Inside, there is usually only a mattress, but some capsules offer a TV or gaming console. 

    tt

    Capsule hotels are attractive due to their low prices but are also useful in emergencies. They are often used by the unemployed, who are looking for work outside of their area of residence. In Japan, they are used by drunk men who are too scared of coming home to face the repercussions from their families.

    The first capsule hotel was designed by Kish Kurosawa in Osaka, Japan. They are usually located close to tourist and business sites and what they lack in luxury, they make up for with localisation and utility. 

  • OECD raises Hungary’s GDP forecast for 2018-19

    In its second annual Economic Outlook report released on November 21, the OECD increased its forecast for Hungarian GDP growth this year to 4.6% from a previous 4.4% and to 3.9% from 3.6% for next year.

    Last month, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) also increased its forecasts to four percent this year and 3.3% in 2019. The OECD said growth was mainly driven by domestic demand, rising real incomes, high consumer confidence and supportive macroeconomic policies. It also noted that unemployment fell to a historical low of 3.6% this year. It also said, however, that the inflation rate rose to 3.8% in October, above the Central Bank’s 3% target and inflationary pressure will remain, thus the Central Bank should increase interest rates in order to both contain inflation and prevent the economy from overheating.

    The OECD’s current 2018-2019 GDP forecast for the other Visegrád countries stands at 3% and 2.7% for the Czech Republic, 5.2% and 4% for Poland and 4.1% and 4.3% for Slovakia.

  • PKO BP most resilient in Europe

    48 of the largest European banks from 15 different countries took part in the tests. The banks came from both countries within the Euro zone (33 banks) and those without (15 banks). Combined, the banks which took part hold 70 percent of financial assets of the European banking sector.

    Poland was represented by its two largest banks: PKO Polish Bank and Bank Pekao SA. In this year’s edition of tests, PKO BP turned out to be the most resilient against potential economic turbulences in the region of immunity to external shocks.

    PKO BP confirmed that it is able to endure a strong crisis and escape it by holding the position of a European banking leader

    What’s more, the prognosis referred to a situation in which there is a GDP drop. Given the current macroeconomic conditions, such a scenario would be highly unlikely. 

    According to banking expert Anna Łuszpińska, PKO BP’s director for capital adequacy and operational risk: “PKO BP confirmed that it is able to endure a strong crisis and escape it by holding the position of a European banking leader.” 

    Łuszpińska also confirmed that PKO BP possesses a “strong capital basis” and that the money of their clients is safe. 

  • Kubica back to F1 racing

    Kubica will be Williams’ driver and his sponsor will be Polish state petrol gigant PKN Orlen. In exchange for the PLN 100 million deal, the Pole will have a secured position for the next two seasons.

    The Pole’s return to racing has been the topic of speculation for the last several months. Kubica himself recently claimed that he has made a decision concerning his future. Today the news has been confirmed by Formula 1 on Twitter:

    “CONFIRMED: Robert Kubica will race for Williams Racing in 2019! He will make his return more than eight years since his last F1 race, and will partner George Russel for next year’s campaign”
    TT

    His return to being a fully-fledged driver will be without precedence in F1 history

    In the current season, Kubica was a test and reserve driver for Williams Martini Racing. His return to being a fully-fledged driver will be without precedence in F1 history. 

    “We’re back!” announced Robert Kubica on his Twitter account.

    tt

    2011 crash

    Kubica’s rising career was cut short by a car crash in 2011 during the Ronde di Andora race. His right arm was heavily damaged, and although the limb was saved, full recovery was out of the question. Commentators believed this the end of Kubica’s career, but the Pole has proven that anything is possible.

  • Ambassador: God bless Poland and Hungary

    Everyone in Europe knows and remembers that World War I ended 100 years ago. The terrible conflagration had a positive political outcome for some, while it hurt others. For Poles it has a special importance because we regained our independent statehood after 123 years of servitude. (…)

    In our case, our freshly regained independence hung by a thread when the young Soviet state marched against Poland. Thanks to the bravery of our troops, the wisdom of our commanders – led by Marshall Józef Piłsudski – and with the assistance of our Hungarian friends in the decisive battle (still remembered as the “Vistula miracle”) we managed to push back the invaders to the East and, as many historians say, halted the westward advance of Communism. (…)

    This was followed by two decades of hard work of rebuilding social and state structures. This process was interrupted by the outbreak of an even more terrible war. In this, we ended up on the winning side, but at an unimaginable cost in human lives and national wealth. Then came 45-years during which the winning major powers only allowed us – and other Central European states – limited sovereignty. (…)

    As a consequence, we are very sensitive about our entity and sovereignty and this is why we have the utmost respect for the feelings, attitudes and aspirations of other nations in a similar position. But we are worried about the visions of a Europe whose political future is one of a superpower, because the resulting uniformization would endanger all smaller languages, cultures and national identities. (…)

    For the past couple of years Poland – along with Hungary and the other Visegrád states – has enjoyed a dynamic development and has been closing the economic gap separating it from the Western countries. Polish-Hungarian economic relations have also been growing at the same pace and both Poland and Hungary have recently estbalished foundations for the promotion of cultural and scientific relations. (…)

    God bless Poland!

    God bless Hungary!

    God bless Europe and all of its states represented here!

    Note: Jerzy Snopek (66) is a literary and cultural historian, distinguished university professor, translator and diplomat. He has published five books, two of which are on Polish-Hungarian relations and has been awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit. 

    Title image: Polish ambassador to Budapest presents his accreditation letter to Hungarian President János Áder on November 24, 2016 (MTI archive)

  • Orbán attends HUF 14 billion stadium opening

    After three years of playing away from home, Hungarian first league team MOL Vidi inaugurated its new stadium with a capacity of 14,200 with a game against sixth-placed Újpest.

    Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a former professional football player with Felcsút FC and a self-confessed fan of the sport was there.

    He even got the T-shirt to prove it, but a small one, presumably for one of his three grandchildren and proudly displayed it on Facebook.

    Orbán_stadium_MOL-Aréna

    The stadium – complying with UEFA’s highest, category 4 requirements – was built at a cost of HUF 13.98 billion (US$49.5 million) and is the property of the municipality and MOL-Vidi leased it for ten years.

    The match against Újpest ended with a 1-0 victory for the home team, which advanced to third position in the first league while Újpest slipped one place to sixth.

    Title image: Orbán shows his purchase of a football shirt at the MOL Vidi stadium in Székesfehérvár, central Hungary.

  • Feminists and knickers

    It so happened that in the British city of Nottingham a shop window advertising fancy knickers for women in the Christmas shopping season sent feminists up in arms. These were named “must have” items, while the adjacent window showed elegant suits and shirts for men.

    This gross discrimination sent a group of feminist activists protesting and one  of them even wrote “full human rights” on the window.

    It is not entirely clear though why all the fuss and why shouldn’t women receive or buy exquisite and expensive underwear for Christmas. Feminists claim that while women were being offered racy red knickers and thus being reduced to sexual objects, the suggestions for men were for elegant suits. But what can you do if men’s underwear is boring, unexciting and functional?

    The activist went on the BBC and said that the juxtaposition of the two different offers for men and women was offensive, especially with “must have” written next to the knickers. Yes, yes, women should not radiate sexuality. But what if they want to, what if that’s exactly what they need? There are plenty of women who are more excited about eroticism than social justice or the glass ceiling.

    Marks and Spencer responded with saying that this is the season they sell the most underwear for women and sales figures clearly show that women love beautiful, quality underwear. Even if not all of them can afford it, they would gladly have them as Christmas gifts.

    Because women don’t care for the opinion of feminists.

  • Controversial priest Piťha not allowed to preach in Italy

    Piťha was supposed to visit Arco on the occasion of a ceremonial unveiling of a statue of St. Wenceslas, the Czech nation’s patron, a few days prior to the Czech national day celebrating him. Originally, the Archbishop and cardinal Dominik Duka was invited, however he offered his place to Piťha as he was not able to attend due to his tight schedule.

    Later, the Prague Chapter in a brief official statement claimed that Piťha won’t be preaching in Arco due to diplomatic reasons. According to information Lidové Noviny gathered, it wasn’t the Czech Embassy’s order, but because of flaws in the event’s organization. For example, after several changes, the Czech guest was given only a three-minute-long slot.

    “An unforgiven fanaticism of Islamists is behind the migration, but we are to blame for the migrants’ surge as we got eroded by a long-term well-being,” was supposed to be a part of the sermon. 

  • Italy asks France to seize the Aquarius

    The ship has been operated by the Médecins Sans Frontières and SOS Mediterrannée since 2016 and is now investigated by prosecutors in Catania. The ship is suspected of labelling 24 tons of potentially toxic waste as ordinary waste. Prosecutors are looking into how migrants’ clothes, food leftovers and sanitary waste had been handled.

    The accused organizations categorically refused to press charges, claiming that standard procedures had been followed each time, including waste disposal procedures. It is for the first time when authorities are questioning operations of the Aquarius, they added.

    The Aquarius has been a focal point of several diplomatic disputes. It started to operate under the flag of Gibraltar, which had to be replaced in August to the Panama flag. When Panama revoked its flag in October as well, MSF and SOS Mediterranée said it was done under political pressure. Now, the ship has a temporary Liberian flag, which limits its search and rescue operations.

  • The IC is unnecessary and dangerous

    The Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence is one of the most controversial agreements to be ever tabled by the Council of Europe. In fact, it’s much ado about nothing and both conservatives and progressivists have chosen the Convention as their ideological proxy war battlefield.

    No one is saying that violence on women and children does not exist, but it is extremely difficult if not impossible to eradicate them as some people are violent and stupid. Therefore, it can only be tackled by a more effective enforcement of the current legislation and education.

    The IC is supposed to include a definition of sex as a socially established role, however it does not define and mention sex but gender. And while sex is based on a biology, gender is a social construct. A real effect of such definition will always be limited. Both camps are overestimating a power of international agreements.

    On the other hand, it is truly hard to agree with some parts of the IC. A need to remove customs and traditions based on stereotypes of men’s and women’s roles for example. Mother taking care of a child up to a certain age and a male’s importance during other phases of childhood are patterns developed over thousands of years.

    The so-called traditional family concept come to an end as a side effect of emancipation on women and for many young people, marriage has no value. So instead of debating useless agreements, maybe it would be wiser to look for new concepts.

  • ANO movement to support its chairman Babiš

    Saying that all party´s deputies will vote against the proposal, deputy chairman Jaroslav Faltýnek expects a no-confidence vote to fail. The Communists promised to support Babiš´ cabinet earlier this week and Faltýnek thinks the Social Democrats will do the same.

    The Social Democrats are to decide on Wednesday whether to support the ANO-led government. Its chairman Jan Hamáček is in favor of remaining in government with ANO but has suggested Babiš could step down as prime minister. Also, the Prague branch of the Social Democrats called on the national party to push for the prime minister’s removal.

    Rumor has it that CSSD will need more time to decide as the leadership wants to further negotiate the situation with Babiš.

    Czech opposition parties agreed to push for a no-confidence vote in the government after a news report published by website Seznam.cz said Babiš´ son had been sent to Crimea to hinder a fraud investigation on what has become known as the Stork Nest scandal.

    But Babiš has repeatedly denied all accusations and said he would never resign. PM explained that his son had been treated for schizophrenia since 2015 and travelled to Crimea voluntarily.

  • Columnists clash over Hungarian-Polish friendship

    Kristóf Trombitás – in the wake of of the celebrations of a century of Polish independence – wrote a critical article about the “unconditionally enthusiastic” tone of the reports about the anniversary, saying that while there were indeed times when Hungarians and Poles have supported one another and even fought side-by-side, there were also times when the two countries had been at odds.

    He mentioned the fact that Polish troops invaded a northern Hungarian county at the end of World War I and that King Bolesław I the Brave (Bolesław I Wielki) took control of the northern part of Hungary shortly after the turn of the first millennium. Trombitás wrote that while the current Hungarian-Polish friendship is both a good thing and should be maintained, “there is no need to fabricate and perpetuate over generations of unfounded fantasies”.

    Enter Miklós Mitrovics, another columnist of the same portal – incidentally, also a historian whose main area of research is Polish-Hungarian friendship – who responded in a long article, listing ten points in which his colleague was wrong.

    Chief among these is Trombitás’s claim that a short rhyme often quoted in both countries, “Pole, Hungarian — two good friends, together they battle and drink their wine” (Polish: Polak, Węgier — dwa bratanki,/i do szabli, i do szklanki, Hungarian: Lengyel, magyar – két jó barát,/ Együtt harcol s issza borát,) is far from being as old as many claim but is a recent fabrication.

    To this, Mitrovics points out that there is evidence that the rhyme was born in or around 1772, when Polish patriots attempting to reclaim their country from Russia took refuge in northern Hungary.

     

  • Leos most likely to be murdered, Romanian study finds

    The Romanian Prosecutors’ Office conducted a statistical study of all murders committed in the country in the five years from 2011 to 2015, a total of 2,529 cases. The study found that about half of all crimes had been committed after nightfall and the other half during daylight, with streets being the most likely locations of a crime.

    But the prosecutors – while giving no explanation why they did it – also looked into the Zodiac signs of both victims and perpetrators. They found that Leos were the most frequent victims, followed by Virgo and Gemini.

    The top of the killers’ list consists of Capricorn, Taurus and Cancer.

  • Lithuanian director Nekrošius dies

    Nekrošius grew up on a farm in a small Lithuanian village, studied one year at the Vilnius Conservatory after which he enrolled in and graduated from the Lunacharsky Institute of Theatre Arts in Moscow. He was Lithuania’s internationally best-known theatrical director, recipient of many prestigious awards at international festivals and also many state awards from several countries.

    His most famous play was the 1997 staging of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Avignon festival, with Lithuanian rock star Andrius Mamontovas in the title role.

    Andrius Mamontovas

    Andrius Mamontovas plays Hamlet

    He was a returning guest of the Budapest International Theatre Meeting MITEM, where this year he directed an acclaimed performance of Chekhov’s Ivanov by the Croatian National Theatre of Zagreb. He was due to return to Budapest next year.

    “An entire theatrical era departed with Nekrošius,” one of his Lithuanian colleagues, Oskaras Koršunovas said.

  • EU must be able to defend its outer borders

    The meeting of the two ministers was focused on migration, energy security and cooperation projects, Szíjjártó told Hungarian news agency MTI afterwards.

    “We must bring help where the problems are, meaning that we have to have development projects in the source countries of migration to prevent further migration waves,” he said. Both ministers found it unacceptable that Austria has reinstated controls on its borders with Hungary and Slovenia.

    “This Austrian measure lacks both legal and factual foundation,” Szíjjártó said, adding that legally it is incompatible with the Schengen agreement while on the other hand both Slovenia and Hungary commit significant resources to defending their borders. Hungary, for example, has spent one billion euros on it over the past three years.

    Regarding cooperation in energy supply, the two countries will speed up the construction of a gas pipeline connecting them and by 2023 Slovenia will complete its LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal in Krk and by 2021 the high-voltage power line linking the countries will also be finished.

    Szíjjártó said the Hungarian Air Force will continue to patrol Slovenian air space, a task it had been sharing with Italy for the past four years. Slovenia does not have the air capabilities to police its airspace in accordance with NATO standards, nor does it plan to develop such capabilities.

    Title image: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szíjjártó and Alojz Kovsca, the President of the Slovenian Parliament’s upper house meet in Ljubljana MTI/Mitko Sztojcsev

     

  • Sapkowski optimistic about Netflix’s “The Witcher”

    “I’m an optimist. The show is being prepared by true professionals,” Sapkowski told Argentinian magazine Clarin. He also spoke highly of showrunner Lauren Hissrich, whom he called “professional.”

    Sapkowski said that he has given the producers many tips, but he can’t reveal any details as everything is classified for now. Previously, he has joked that he “assures that Ed Sheeran will not play in any of the episodes,” referring to an HBO Game of Thrones episode which featured a cameo from the famous pop musician. 

    Although the choice of Henry Cavill to play the lead role of Geralt has sparked some controversy on the internet, the author approves of the choice. “He [Cavill] has my approval. I think he’s a talented actor,” he said. 

    Cavill

    Sapkowski has underlined that he will not interfere with the TV series’ production, although he does remain a consultant. 

    2001 “The Witcher” disaster

    The previous most well-known “The Witcher” film adaptation was the 2001 Polish movie “The Hexer” directed by Marek Brodzki. It received a massive backlash from fans of the books. 

    Sapkowski himself, when asked about the production, commented on it in this manner. “I can answer only with a single word, an obscene, albeit a short one,” he said.

    Netflix is set to air its version of “The Witcher” in 2019.

  • Poland out of Marrakesh agreement

    The Polish government has declared that it will not support the GCM at the upcoming Marrakesh conference or at the United Nations General Assembly.

    The government information centre (CIR) has declared in a dispatch that “the document has not fulfilled Poland’s demands concerning the confirmation of strong guarantees of sovereign laws to decide which countries they will accept into their borders. As well as differentiation between legal and illegal migration.” 

    The dispatch also underlined that the lack of such differentiation could lead to “significant difficulties in interpretation and implementation of the conduct.”

    This isn’t a method which would help contain the migration crisis – it would compound the crisis and compound its effects

    “We believe that this is not a good solution,” said minister Błaszczak. “This isn’t a method which would help contain the migration crisis – it would compound the crisis and compound its effects.”

    During the summit in Marrakesh in July 2018, Poland and other states supported the UN’s project. Over the course of the next months, however, voices in opposition to the GCM became more prevalent. 

    Poland is not the only country which will not support the GCM. Last year, the USA withdrew from works on the conduct. Hungary and Austria declared a rejection of the conduct at a later date. A few days ago, Bulgaria also declared a lack of support for the project. 

  • Talks in PiS on earlier parliamentary elections

    Parliamentary elections are scheduled for Fall 2019 in Poland and voting to the EP is to take place in May 2019. Attendance at elections to the EP are usually low in turnout in Poland – 20 to 25 percent. It will probably increase in the coming year just as it had during the municipal ones, which is a bad sign for PiS. This is because people in major cities usually vote in the EP elections, and PiS had not won in any of the major cities recently.

    The argument in favor of early and combined elections is the possibility of mobilizing the right-wing electorate, which usually hasn’t taken part in EP elections

    The media reported that the topic of early parliamentary elections had been touched upon during PiS inner circles meetings. The idea was supposedly shot down by chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, however. This is because Kaczyński had called for an early election during his government’s term in 2007, which ended in disaster for PiS as they lost majority in parliament. 

    Polls show that PiS is ahead, but that may not last forever. The argument in favor of early and combined elections is the possibility of mobilizing the right-wing electorate, which usually hasn’t taken part in EP elections. The issue is that there is no guarantee who will vote in such double elections: whose electorate and with what mindset?

    The main counterargument is that if parliamentary and EP elections were combined, then they would have a “European” character. More so than if the parliamentary elections were held in the Fall. This would probably not bring PiS more votes. 

  • Pilecki’s story conquers Broadway

    According to American critics, the monodrama by a Polish actor living in the US, Marek Probosz (pictured above in a role of Pilecki), “Auschwitz Volunteer: Captain Witold Pilecki”, was one of ten must-see plays at the United Solo theatre festival. 

    Probosz himself has been promoting the figure of Witold Pilecki on stages in the USA and Canada for the last five years. The monodrama is an adaptation of the book “Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery” – the first English translation of Pilecki’s report from Auschwitz. The owner of the book’s publisher, Terry Tegnazian fulfills the role of narrator in Probosz’s play. 

    Pilecki

    Capt. Witold Pilecki in Auschwitz

    The book-report has garnered many positive reviews, including one from the “New York Times” which called Pilecki “one of the greatest heroes of the 20thcentury.” 

    Pilecki famously said that in comparison to his torture at the hands of communists “Auschwitz was a trifle” 

    On the 11thof November, on Poland’s independence centenary, the tickets for the play on Broadway sold out immediately. The show was so popular that the organizers of United Solo decided to put it on twice more during the following week. 

    Pilecki

    Capt. Witold Pilecki in 1930s’

    During the Second World War, Captain Witold Pilecki volunteered for a Polish resistance operation which involved imprisonment in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The aim was to gather intelligence and later escape. 

    After the communist takeover of Poland, he was arrested for espionage in 1947 by the Stalinist secret police and executed after a show trial in 1948. Pilecki famously said that in comparison to his torture at the hands of communists “Auschwitz was a trifle.”

    In 2013, he was promoted to Colonel by the Minister of National Defence.

  • The Left more bizarre than we thought

    Ocasio-Cortez proved that she is not able to take care of her own money. If she had at least a basic economic education, she would earn some money or she would take a loan which she could pay back immediately. The young congresswoman shows how the modern Left thinks. They only wait for help and then take money from the government.

    The example of Ocasio-Cortez shows that the United States will have a serious problem. Giant debt, incompetent Democrats in the House of Representatives, it is not good for America. In past, the Left had at least some leaders who were intelligent, just like Marx. This young woman so far proved that she is not able to manage her finances. But she thinks she knows how to manage money for someone else.

    Miss Ocasio-Cortez is only one of the prototypes of economically uneducated left-wing activists. Another example can be seen in Germany where Social Democrat Secretary General Lars Klingbeil came up with an original idea. According to him, people will be entitled to not go to work every twelfth year and will receive money for it. It would be 1,000 euros net.

    Klingbeil said, “I am 100% convinced that social democracy can be attractive if it brings new ideas.” Social democrats understand that they have survived and have nothing to offer, so they try to go more and more to the left until the program begins to coincide with Communism. Left-wing activists tend to think that money grows on trees and want more and more loans. However, these ideas are very risky and dangerous. One of the threats is that this way of thinking might be tempting for poor people in Africa. In the end, the Left and its fairytales can lead us to yet another migration crisis.

  • Czech Republic to send 11.5 million euros to Turkey

    The EU agreed with Turkey on financial assistance schemes in 2016, in return, Turkey is expected to stop migrants fleeing to Europe via the Greek islands. In 2016, the assistance approved by the EU added up to 3 billion EUR and earlier this year, EU28 agreed to allocate additional 3 billion EUR to Turkey, out of which 2 billion will be taken from the EU budget and 1 should be covered directly by the member states.

    According to a current proposal that is a part of the government’s agenda to be discussed on Tuesday, the Czech Republic should pay 11.38 million EUR (296 million CZK) in annual installments. Next year’s payment is supposed to be 2.57 million EUR, with 3.34 the year after. The three remaining payments from the Czech budget will be lower.

    Turkey has accepted over 3.5 million Syrian refugees so far, the most of all countries. In the past, migrants used to continue on boats to the Greek islands and seek asylum in the EU. In this regard, the EU-Turkey agreement has been successful. The agreement includes a commitment for Turkey to accept the return of all migrants who reached the Greek islands through Turkey and by sea.

  • Merkel unable to eat humble pie

    The Chancellor refused to eat humble pie and reflect on her policy of 2015 in a way which could be bearable for citizens of a city where migrants are suspects in the murder of a German. Merkel said that mistakes were made as the government did not pay enough attention to countries of migrants’ origin, instead of regretting her decision to open Germany’s borders to migrants.

    In fact, her explanation can be interpreted in several ways. Her government should have expected certain kinds of a behavior from immigrants and be better prepared to oversee them. Another interpretation may be that opening borders and letting unlisted people in are two separate things.

    Let’s say it was a government’s stupidity that is not going to be repeated. Therefore, Germany indeed learned a lesson, but at what price? A dangerous trend is coming hand-in-hand with such an approach – a nurtured openness to Muslims and their demands on governments. 

    Let’s take the UK as an example. They refused to grant asylum for Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, because it ‘would lead to riots and attacks on civilians and embassies’. Although it may sound like a part of Sharia law, it is an official statement of the British authorities.

  • V4 shares a positive stance towards nuclear energy

    Nováková hopes that nuclear energy will be ‘pardoned a little bit more’ by the EU in accordance with its climate protection goals. Nuclear energy might be one of the solutions for de-carbonizing of economies, added Nováková and mentioned that the EU must remain competitive in the global market, keeping in mind the US and China.

    The four Visegrad Ministers, or their deputies, responsible for the energy domain held a meeting in Bratislava. Slovak Economy Minister Peter Žiga announced a plan to terminate subsidies for coal mines used for energy purposes in 2023. Nuclear power plants have a great share of the electricity production in Slovakia and two blocks of the Mochovce plant are under construction.

    Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš earlier this year stated that Czechia plans to further develop nuclear energy and build new blocks at the Temelín and Dukovany power plants.

  • France wants European army because its own is weak, claims Polish General

    General Polko argues that France wants to create this army because the 2014 war in Libya proved the weakness of the French military. “Their potential to conduct colonial policies is too weak, and a European army would help with that,” the general claimed in an interview for DoRzeczy.pl. 

    “This is in contrast with Poland’s vision, who treat every alliance as a defensive one, whose aims are to protect allies from a mutual threat,” Polko said.   

    Although Macron would want this new army to oppose Russia and China, it would also be a force opposing the USA. “Putting the USA right next to China and Russia is not completely understandable. We are in the same defense pact. Americans have saved Europe during both world wars, the Cold War and also during the war in Yugoslavia,” Polko reminds. 

    Putting the USA right next to China and Russia is not completely understandable. We are in the same defense pact

     

    The general puts forward the question, whether Macron’s proposition isn’t to build something to oppose NATO. “If so, then that isn’t good. Luckily, no one will allow it.” 

    Strengthening Europe, but not against USA

    The Polish General agrees that Europe’s defense potential should be strengthened. He argues that Macron’s idea will not lead to that, however, since it is directed against USA and it proves that the interests of European states strongly differ. “Putin wins because we are unable to build something together. Because everyone is working for their own interests. Those who lose out the most on this are countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia,” the general explains.

    The EU’s economic potential proves that its army could be on par with that of the USA. “The biggest issue would be the disunity, incompatibility and incoherence,” says Polko. 

    As an example he pointed at the different types of tanks in every country. A defense project would have to start from creating a uniform armament. “Then we should build a European structure as part of NATO, not against it.”

  • Millions watched “Independence” documentary on Polish TV

    Famous names such as Józef Piłsudski (pictured above), Roman Dmowski, Ignacy Jan Paderwski, Wojciech Korfanty and Ignacy Daszyński aren’t the only heroes of “Independence”. It is also a movie about the lives of ordinary people during the dawn of the Second Polish Republic. 

    “The documentary “Independence” tells the story of Poland’s rebirth in the years 1914-1923. Come and see unique, colorized chronicles from the time, 80 percent of them were never published before. Uncover the events from 100 years ago anew,” wrote Polska on twitter. 

    tt

    “What pride for the Fatherland being reborn must’ve been felt there. The pride of the Leader [Piłsudski], pride for the Polish uniform,” tweeted Marcin Czapliński and shared a short clip from “Independence”. 

    https://twitter.com/czaplinskiii/status/1064208219302780934

    Some viewers were also interested in the behind-the-scenes of the documentary’s production. Twitter user Agata shared a material prepared by Polsat News about how “Independence” was created: “I bow to the creators of the documentary “Independece”! Here you can see Polsat News’ material about how the film was made”.

    https://twitter.com/1Ragata/status/1062083194072244225

    More than 3.5 million viewers watched “Independence” when it aired on the 12thof November on TVP and Polsat. Another 3.7 million watched the documentary four days later on TVP. It also had tens of thousands of views on the internet. 

    The movie was crafted from colorized historic films and photos which show Poland from the years 1914-1923. “Independence’s” creators had to search American, German, French, Ukrainian and Russian archives for the almost 100-year old tapes. 

  • Morawiecki warns that completion of NS2 could lead to war

    Morawiecki referred to Nord Stream 2 during the Future of Transatlantic Relations conference in Hamburg, Germany. He stressed that the NS2 issue is one of European security. 

    “I know the position of the German government, that this is a business project, but no one East of the Oder believes that,” he said. He also spoke of the security of Ukraine, by arguing that “Putin is now dependent on transferring gas through Ukraine. When NS2 is constructed, that will no longer be the case.”

    If it turns out that after constructing NS2 the Ukrainian gas transfer system will no longer be useful, what’s to stop Vladimir Putin from marching into Kiev?

    “If it turns out that after constructing NS2 the Ukrainian gas transfer system will no longer be useful, what’s to stop Vladimir Putin from marching into Kiev?,” concluded the Polish Prime Minister.

    Kremlin’s reaction

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitrij Pieskow responded to the Polish PM’s claims, by stating that his speech was “unfortunate” and that “such insinuations belong to the category of attempts to politicize the project [NS2].”

    pipelines

    Pieskow also repeated the often brought up Russian opinion, that NS2 is “profitable commercially” and “economically justified”, since LNG gas from for example the USA, would be more expensive. He also criticized American threats over the planned pipeline. 

    Poland and the United States are not the only ones opposing the project. The European Commission has deemed it to be “not purely commercial” and underlined its political aspect. Ukraine’s government sees NS2 as “an element of hybrid warfare.”

  • Hungary 13th on OECD tax competitiveness list

    The report compiled by the Tax Foundation shows that Hungary achieved 13th position, just behind Slovakia and Turkey, but overtaking Finland and Norway. This was primarily due to the country having the lowest corporate tax rate of 9 percent among all member states, where the average is 23.9 percent. 

    Hungary’s score could have been significantly better, were it not for its 27 percent value-added tax, the highest among OECD member states. The United States has the lowest consumption tax rate of 9 percent. Hungary is also among the few (13) OECD members that has a tax on financial transactions.

    Estonia has consistently headed the list for the past three years, followed by Latvia and New Zealand. Among the Visegrád countries, the Czech Republic is 9th, Slovakia 11th and Poland is third from the bottom in 33rd position. France has for the fifth consecutive year been trailing the list due to its high property taxes and a corporate tax rate of 34.4 percent.

  • “PiS is treated like the Jews were by Goebbels,” says deputy PM Gliński

    “The language used to describe PiS is meant to isolate, annihilate, dehumanize, delegitimize, we are meant to be treated like the Jews were by Goebbels. It is meant to provoke disgust towards us,” Gliński said in an interview with weekly “Wprost”. 

    The minister referred to the period during which PiS was in opposition. “We were treated like lepers, I remember how I was unable to rent a hall for a meeting of experts in the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), of which I had been a member for 30 years,” he said. 

    The language used to describe PiS is meant to isolate, annihilate, dehumanize, delegitimize, we are meant to be treated like the Jews were by Goebbels

    The deputy PM argued that today, on the other hand, PiS is compared to fascists, dictatorships and he himself is called a “censor” who is pushing for Stalinist purges in theaters. “I’m not complaining. I just want to draw attention to that fact, that someone wants Polish public life to look like this,” he adds.

    The minister also questioned what would happen if Donald Tusk’s or Grzegorz Schetyna’s “tactic of hatred” would succeed. “Will there suddenly be peace? Will the millions of people who voted for Jarosław Kaczyński vanish from the face of the Earth? No. Yet someone, not Poles, would be happy with such an eternal hell.”

    Great celebrations

    The minister of culture expressed his delight at the celebrations of Poland’s 100th Independence Anniversary. “I think I was touched the most by the mass, spontaneous participation of so many Poles.” He stressed that in a survey conducted after the commemoration, 70 percent of Poles positively evaluated the celebrations. “In the time of today’s divisions, this is very heart-warming,” he said. 

  • Hungary airs Bud Spencer documentary

    The documentary about everybody’s favorite action comedy hero, entitled “Following Piedone” was directed by Levente Király and is the work of four years, portraying the actor through testimonials from friends and former colleagues in four countries and with the participation of over 40 contributors.

    Bud Spencer was born Carlo Pedersoli in Naples and was a prolific athlete in his youth: he was the first Italian to swim the 100m freestyle under one minute and as a water polo player he won gold with the Italian team at the 1955 Mediterranean Games in Barcelona.

    He also had a degree in law and registered several patents, but was known for his action-comedy movies with long-time acting partner Terence Hill (Mario Girotti). He died on June 27th, 2016 at the age of 86 and his death brought about an unofficial mourning day, with the Italian embassy in Budapest literally flooded with candles, flowers and various homages.

    Piedone

    Candles on the fence of the Italian embassy in Budapest, June 28th, 2016

  • Prolonged drought hinders Hungarian grain exports

    Hungary harvested 4.84 million tons of autumn wheat this season. While both the total crop and hectare yields remained a few percent short of last year’s, the domestic annual demand of about 2.5 million tons still leaves over two million tons to be exported.

    While wheat export prices around HUF 55,000 (US$196) per ton are some 20 percent higher than last year and demand is also good and maize prices are also slightly higher at HUF 46,000 (US$164) producers have no trouble finding buyers, but transport is a major headache. Traditionally Hungarian grains exports leave the country on Danube barges, but record low water levels have brought fluvial shipping to a standstill.

    Tamás Petőházi, head of the Hungarian Grains Producers’ Association told Magyar Idők that since harvest began in July, not a single loaded barge has left the country. This has left grain depots bulging at the seams. Road or rail freight would also be an option, but would increase transport costs by about 15-20 percent, so most producers would rather wait, especially since the better part of their crop has already been sold, albeit with delivery to be delayed until water levels rise.

    Although Hungary has seen some sporadic rainfall in the past few days, a significant increase in Danube water levels is only expected in the spring. But storage also has its costs and the longer the delay, the more it will eat into farmers’ profits.

  • Germany seeking Merkel’s successor

    The question of who will succeed Angela Merkel as the head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is important both for Europe and us, Hungarians. The fundamental question is whether the suicidal Willkommenskultur will remain or whether there will be a government policy willing to tackle migration and defend European and German culture.

    With the December party congress nearing, the list of candidates has become clear.

    One of them is Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, often just referred to as AKK, the current secretary general of the party. Should she be the successor, nothing will change. She is a follower of the current government policy, a supporter of Willkommenskultur and – quite tellingly – she ran Merkel’s last election campaign. Should AKK come out on top and later become chancellor, Germany will continue to walk down the blind alley leading Germany and Europe into an even deeper crisis.

    Then we have health minister Jens Spahn, who clearly represents another line of thought. He is the proponent of strictly defending German borders and separating the issues of migration and asylum, as well as making migrants accept the legal and cultural tradition of the country.

    Unlike the more liberal Merkel, he is also more on the national than the federalist side when it comes to Europe: he has previously opposed the establishment of supranational EU bodies and spoke in an interview about the need for a modern conservativism.

    From Hungary’s point of view he is the best candidate, but the odds currently seem to favor Friedrich Merz, also from the conservative wing of CDU. He is a seasoned politician and business leader, with the latter quality much appreciated by the majority of Germans. He has also recently received the backing of CDU’s emblematic speaker of parliament Wolfgang Schäuble.

    Merz is also a proponent of traditional German values, but a supporter of a federal Europe and approves some of Donald Trump’s economic policies. So whichever way we look at it, the picture is mixed. One thing, though, seems obvious: there are some commonalities between the CDU and Orbán, especially with regard to preserving European and national identity. This does not mean that there will be no disagreements, but at least there is a chance that instead of confrontation we could move towards mutual concessions and agreements.

  • The West should get its own house in order before preaching to the Visegrad

    Even though the countries of the Visegrad are significantly poorer than the so-called West, which is of course directly affecting wages and living standards, they are not really lagging behind.

    The gap between the richest Germans and the runners-up from France is striking. 45,000 USD versus 38,000 USD if compared the GDP per capita makes a huge difference. In general, the gap between Germany and France is much bigger than between France and the Czech Republic.

    It is evident that there is no such thing as the European first class. Poorer Visegrad countries are able to compete with the wealthiest countries in healthcare, education, diligence etc. Moreover, they are often beating the West in some categories.

    The Germans and more so the French tend to pontificate the Central Europeans. However, they themselves don’t play a premier league anymore. The Brits, now leaving the EU, are outclassing them in several aspects, just as the Danes, Finns and Estonians. Not to mention a comparison between the US and Australia, for example, a country that is usually pilloried for its hardline approach toward migration.

  • CDU against the UN migration pact

    If needed, we can opt in later, said Spahn to the Bild am Sonntag. Minister Spahn mainly criticizes the procedure and a lack of transparency towards the public. The German media has not been covering the issue properly and German politicians have been debating the pact behind closed doors only, he added. It is the same as with the TTIP agreement and it only raises concerns.

    Spahn’s initiative comes as a surprise given the fact that the UN pact on migration has already been approved by the union’s fraction in Bundestag. According to its statement, the pact should help to organize refugees and migration. In fact, Spahn is openly confronting his party’s leadership.

    The non-legally binding pact is now to be adopted by UN member states, though some countries, including the US, Australia, Austria and the Czech Republic already showed their disagreement and willingness to opt out. The saxon organization of the CDU also stood against the pact and many Germans are applauding to the above-mentioned countries, at least on social media.

  • Szijjártó calls on the EU to proclaim its Christian roots

    According to Szijjártó, there are some powerful groups within the EU trying to destroy Christian heritage and the Christian foundations of Europe in order to bring us all into the post-Christian and post-National era. He believes Europe is undeniably a Christian continent and European politicians must find enough courage to admit and support it. He also criticized that no reference to Christianity can be found in the Lisbon treaty.

    Hungary wants a strong EU consisting of strong nation states, which are openly proclaiming their culture and Christian roots, said Szijjártó, adding that migrants coming to the EU don’t intend to adapt to our culture. The Minister mentioned a French law, which prohibits wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in public schools, sadly including the Christian ones.

    The Hungarian government led by PM Orbán has been by the European Parliament to act against the rules of the EU. Now, Hungary faces a sanction process that may ultimately lead to a loss of its voting rights in the union’s institutions. Many member states, however, already stated their support for Hungary, so such a scenario is not expected.

  • Babiš claims the truth is on his side

    Babiš also commented on his visit to his son in Geneva, he said he explained to him what is going on. That some journalists are trying to tear them apart, he added. Babiš Jr.’s mother sent a video message to the TV in which she condemned the latest developments and asked the media to leave them alone.

    According to Babiš the scandal triggered by a story of Seznam news, is fabricated. Regarding a controversial trip of his son to Crimea, Babiš explained it was in his best interest given his state of mind. Babiš Jr. wasn’t kidnapped, and it wasn’t an obstruction during the Stork’s Nest investigation, continued Babiš.

    The PM regrets that people were demonstrating to convince him to resign, as he believes the truth is on his side. Babiš also didn’t forget to express gratitude to the President for his support. Zeman earlier this week stated he would still reappoint Babiš to form a government. Babiš now wants to ask Communist party leader Vojtěch Filip for an opportunity to speak in front of Communist MPs, because they are backing Babiš’s government.

  • Stolen Picasso allegedly found in Romania

    The painting was one of seven artworks stolen six years ago from the Kunsthal gallery in Amsterdam by a group of Romanian thieves in what was called “the heist of the century”.

    The 2012 art grab lasted only three minutes: three men broke in through the emergency exit doors during exhibition time and grabbed the seven paintings by Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, and Lucian Freud on loan to the museum.

    TV channel Antena 3 reported that the painting was found by Dutch writer of Romanian extraction Mira Feticu, who earlier wrote a book on the art theft. She allegedly received an anonymous tip to where the painting could be found, so she returned to Romania with a partner and dug up the painting wrapped in plastic near a tree.

    The two then handed over the painting to the Dutch embassy.

    The four-person gang was arrested in 2013 and jailed in 2014 for the heist but the paintings have never been recovered. One of the thieves – Olga Dugaru, mother of the ring leader – said she burned the paintings in her stove to protect her son but later retracted her confession.

    Romanian police, prosecution and forensics experts are currently investigating the reported recovery and are attempting to establish the authenticity of the painting.

     

  • Budapest airport freight volume at record high

    This October, freight volume at Budapest Airport has for the first time exceeded 13,000 tons, a 22.9 percent increase over the same month in 2017. The exact figure is 13,313 tons, of which 9,205 tons was so-called “belly cargo”, i.e. cargo shipped in the holds of passenger aircraft.

    In recent years passenger airlines have found the belly cargo business to be a very lucrative one, with as much as 50 percent of global air freight being transported this way.

    The increase in Budapest cargo traffic was mainly due to a continued strong growth of the Hungarian economy which grew by 4.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, according to seasonally and working day-adjusted figures. Successful Hungarian companies are among the biggest cargo customers, with their high-value, low-weight cargo needing a fast and predictable route to world markets. Most important among these are pharmaceuticals, electronics and automotive parts.

    In the first ten months of the year cargo volume at Budapest airport totalled 120,603 tons, a 16.3 percent increase over the same period last year. In view of the growing demand for cargo transport, Budapest Airport has recently begun the construction of a new logistics and warehousing base called Caro City at a cost of HUF 10 billion (US$35.4 million), capable of simultaneously handling two Boeing 747-8F cargo aircraft.

    Budapest Airport has also recently opened a 16,000 square meter logistics center for parcel services TNT and DHL Express.

  • Macron hits rock bottom

    While over seventy heads of government and state attended last week’s commemorations of the WWI armistice, a row between Macron and Trump stole the show. Macron is in an increasingly difficult position, and not just because of lashing out at Trump. He is the least popular president of the Fifth Republic, rated even lower than his former boss, the Socialist Hollande.

    Macron is very fond of citing one of his great predecessors, De Gaulle. He recently said the French should better follow De Gaulle’s example and complain less. But he would probably be very surprised to learn what the great national hero of WWII said: “Those who don’t love their own mother more than any other mother or their homeland more than others’ homeland, neither love their mother nor their homeland”.

    In contrast to this, Macron recently said in Denmark that there were no longer real Danes and real French, only real Europeans. This adventurer who switched from investment banking to political investment believes nations are a thing of the past and only stand in the way of a Europe envisioned by him. A British political analyst and former advisor to Nigel Farage recently said Macron is wrong in stating that nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism, because in reality patriotism stands against globalism. Globalism, as a new form of imperialism, tries to impose its own lifestyle, currency, tradition, flag, anthem and demographics upon nations.

    But this is exactly what is rejected by Central Europeans, the British, the Danes, the Bavarians and Italians. And this is why Macron – like his comrade, the German chancellor – are rapidly going down the drain.  

  • “Solaris” by Lem voted book of the centenary

    Solaris by Stanisław Lem won the plebiscite. Second came A World Apart by Gustaw Herling-Grudziński and third was Witold Gombrowicz’s Ferdydurke.

    Two female authors found their way into the top ten – Maria Dąbrowska with her Nights and Days and Zofia Nałkowska’s Medallions. There was also one play, Tango by Sławomir Mrożek, two poetry collections: Poems by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński and Mr. Cogito by Zbigniew Herbert. Brunon Schulz’s Cinnamon Shops and Stefan Żeromski’s The Coming Spring concluded the best works. 

    I think that Lem himself would be surprised, because he’d always complain that he was treated as a second-rate author and was unappreciated by literary critics

    “I think that Lem himself would be surprised, because he’d always complain that he was treated as a second-rate author and was unappreciated by literary critics,” said professor Maciej Urbanowski of the Jagiellonian University. 

    The plebiscite was conducted by Polish Radio and the Book Institute. More than 21,000 people voted between the 18thof September and the 11thof November. The 100 books to choose from were prepared by Polish literature professors and literature experts. 

  • Bannon: Orbán is a natural-born talent like Trump

    RTL – You said repeateadly that Orbán is a hero of yours.

    S.B. – One of them.

    RTL – Who else do you consider to be a hero?

    S.B. – Looking at Europe, people like Salvini or even Marine Le Pen, or Nigel Farage, those who stood up against the system, whether by putting populism or sovereignty first. They took on a situation, stood up for their country and its citizens. I could have sat there all evening and listened to people criticizing him. But I never would have said that I don’t admire him, that I don’t look up to him or that he didn’t do a good job. I think he did an excellent job.

    RTL – When did you first hear about him?

    SB – A few years ago at Breitbart in London. Maybe when Breitbart’s London office was opened in 2013. Then at the end of 2013 and early 2014 attention was growing for the 2014 spring European elections… We felt it was going to be an important event. But I think he really became an important figure for the conservative press during the migration crisis in 2014-2015. If you look back at the material from our Breitbart London office, you will see that we had several stories about him running in parallel.

    RTL – Did you have any other connection with him, did you give him advice?

    SB – No, I have only met him since then. But I hope I will get to know him better once the Movement is running at full steam. But we have common projects and I spoke with his people. If I could, I would make Budapest the headquarters of the Movement. I love to be there, but unfortunately it is impractical. But we will be there a lot until the elections.

    RTL – Does this mean you will provide training for him and his team?

    SB – No. The situation is like with the others: they are very good at what they do… Let’s not forget that he is also a man of the street. He has a gut feeling for things, he is a true populist. He has a knack to feel what people want. He is like Trump: a natural-born talent.

     

  • PiS must enchant Poles with Poland again

    Until now, the strategy of going out onto the streets (ulica) and turning to foreign powers (zagranica) was the opposition’s main strategy. Although the international aspect still seems to be working, the street one, not so much. Proof of this is the collapse of the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD).

    All those marches in defense of the constitution and the courts attracted only a small number of voters. The majority of people saw the protesters as aggressive or even insane. Mainly because no one felt that their freedom had been limited or that they were being repressed. The opposite was true – most people felt that their standard of living had improved. 

    If they were able to captivate Poles with a vision of a better future, like they did in 2015, then few would be eager to believe in the whole KNF affair. Or the hogwash about Polexit

    Environments opposing PiS could not find a good method of attracting voters for a long time. What they needed was something to discredit PiS, not a storm around the constitution, but something what those groups themselves saw as breaking the rules. 

    KNF corruption scandal

    Hence, the search for scandals and the recent tape affair. The KNF corruption scandal, despite what it really is about, is perfect for the opposition’s goals. Although the government had swiftly conducted an investigation into the matter, that won’ be enough. 

    The Right is missing a captivating story about Poland. It has a problem with answering the question of why it wants to win next year’s elections. If they were able to captivate Poles with a vision of a better future, like they did in 2015, then few would be eager to believe in the whole KNF affair, or the hogwash about Polexit. It’s time to wake up from the coma, because there will be no leniency. 

  • Polish satellite to clean Earth orbit

    Space debris is waste left by humans from their missions into outer space. These include derelict satellites, fragments of satellites, dirt left by space rockets and abandoned rocket stages. 

    Brona argues that the amount of space junk is increasing, especially in low Earth orbit. There are said to be 20,000 large objects, hundreds of thousands of objects smaller than 10cm and over 200 million objects smaller than 1cm. All of this debris poses a risk to space missions. It also threatens the whole global telecommunications system which could lose us access to a market worth trillions of USD. That is why it is important to remove space debris. 

    There are said to be 20,000 large objects, hundreds of thousands of objects smaller than 10cm and over 200 million objects smaller than 1cm

    There are two types of companies interested in this sector. The first are companies wanting to observe and research Space to locate space junk. The others are companies which have started to specialize in systems meant to remove the junk from the Earth’s orbit. “These can be both systems using laser beams to burn smaller junk, but also robotic systems travelling around the orbit and removing larger debris,” Brona explains.

    European project

    Although the USA is the leader in this initiative, Europe has also recognized its importance. France, Germany, Spain, the UK and Italy are operating as part of the Space Surveillance and Tracking European Consortium meant to address this issue. Poland would also like to join this initiative. “We are currently on the final stretch to join this research-executive European consortium,” Brona says.

    Brona is also happy that Polish companies are not looking to compete in developed cosmic areas: “they are trying to surface in sectors which are only starting to develop on the global market.” 

    The Polish satellite PW-Sat2 which was to launch on Monday as part of this space debris clearing initiative was created by students from the Warsaw University of Technology.

    On Sunday, SpaceX revealed on twitter that the launch is cancelled “to conduct additional pre-flight inspections. Once complete, we will confirm a new launch date.”

  • Moscow calling

    Whilst realizing her expansionist and imperialist ambitions, Russia uses all the instruments available to the state’s administration. The formal ones as well as those supposedly independent of the government. These can be the intelligence agency, diplomacy or the army, as well as private and state entrepreneurships (the energy sector being the most obvious), research institutions, think-tanks and universities. 

    Propaganda

    A key role belongs to any kind of political information tools, however. At the head of this are internet portals, TV stations and other electronic media (so called troll factories). The goals of these are to spread content and narrations creating an image desired by the Kremlin throughout the world. 

    This whole machine is aimed at actively creating certain political and economic situations in chosen countries. This is mainly achieved through intervening in elections, building a business infrastructure working to Moscow’s benefit, manipulation and public disinformation campaigns, intelligence penetration of opinion-making centers and escalating social conflicts and creating international tensions. 

    To heat conflicts

    Although these techniques are adapted depending on the chosen countries, some of these mechanisms have universal aspects and are utilized throughout the whole Euro-Atlantic region. The end goal is to strengthen the crisis of the European integration project. One of the main means to achieve this is to heat conflicts with a historic basis between neighboring states. 

    It is not impossible for Moscow’s actions to give results in the not so far away future. For the Kremlin to succeed, a series of negative phenomena in the EU and NATO would have to accompany a flawless propaganda apparatus. This would lead to their breaking apart. Otherwise, especially if those organizations overcome their crises, Russia’s plans have no chance of success. 

  • Morawiecki: V4 is more than just allies

    According to Morawiecki, the Visegrad countries are more than just allies, their views and interests are overlapping to a large extent. And when it comes to alleged Euroscepticism of PiS, there isn’t any, he added. Morawiecki said that they are only fighting for what is good for Poland, just as any other Western European country.

    The recent march at the centenary of Poland in Warsaw was attended by the highest number of people in 30 years and it was clear for all of us what patriotism is, Morawiecki said. He believes that Poles are different when it comes to thoughts about history, because they had a chance to become a great empire and lost it. The 1918 brought a new hope for both our nations, and these days we are looking into the future and wish for a strong EU with strong V4 and the Three-seas, he added.

    Morawiecki also commented on the bond with the Czech Republic, saying the economies supplement each other and called the country a very important trade partner. He also mentioned that he pushed for tax system changes within the EU together with the Czech PM and praised their relationship.

    The Polish PM shares similar views to Babiš on the issue of migration and efforts to establish himself as a strong European leader.

  • UN migration pact becomes a baton

    Let’s be honest, if there was a migration pact 500 years ago, would it be acceptable for native Americans? The official statement goes that the Czech Republic will opt out from the pact because its comments have not been taken into account. Additionally, there are a couple of things wrong with the pact that must be mentioned.

    First of all, the pact was signed in Marrakesh on Human Rights Day on the 10th of December. On that day in 1949, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, migration is not one of the human rights the Declaration mentions. A right to leave any country is fundamental but not a right to be accepted in another.

    Secondly, countries are not divided on the pact into the West and East as usual. In this case, countries across the globe criticize the pact – the US, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland, etc. 

    And finally, it is often reminded that the pact is legally non-binding, thus its completely risk-free to adopt it. If that is true, why is there a need to adopt it in the first place? In the EU, values are usually mentioned instead of a legally binding character of an agreement. And we already know that those values, if breached by any country, could be used as a baton. Therefore, it might be wise to opt out, as a precaution.

  • Szijjartó heads to the Czech Republic

    The press office of the Czech Ministry announced that Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjartó and Tomáš Petříček will discuss the current state of both regional and international affairs. The meeting with the Hungarian foreign minister is one of his first important meetings since taking office in October. Petříček’s first official visit was to Germany where he met Heiko Maas, followed by talks with his Slovak and Polish counterparts. The Czech ministry is already preparing his next visit to Austria.

    One of the main topics of discussion surrounded mutual cooperation within Central Europe. The Czech Republic and Hungary are partnering under the Visegrad group framework, for which the current common denominator is a stance against illegal migration and refusal of the migrants’ redistribution. Both countries also rejected the UN global pact on migration.

  • Zeman will reappoint Babiš no matter what

    According to Zeman, Babiš could still govern for months in resignation and in the meantime, the situation would calm down. Zeman, however, doesn’t expect a no-confidence vote to end Babiš’s government. The vote has been triggered by the opposition because of current developments in the Stork’s Nest case and Andrej Babiš Jr.’s allegations.

    Babiš Jr. told a journalist that his father’s employee took him involuntarily to Russia amid the investigation. PM Babiš rejected such allegations and claimed his son is suffering from schizophrenia.

    Zeman’s prognosis is that it will all fade away soon. He also called thousands of protestors who gathered in Prague on 15th of November a ‘barking crowd’ and actions of the journalists investigating Babiš’ Jr. a ‘disrespectful vulturism’. 

    The President met with Minister of Interior Jan Hamáček and earlier that day with Vice-president of ANO Jaroslav Faltýnek to discuss the situation. 

  • V4 to form joint army group

    Benkő said the Hungarian government considers paramount the safety of Europe, a position shared by all the members of the Visegrád Group. He also said Croatia – not a member of the group – has offered to join the initiative and the offer was accepted by the V4.

    Benkő said the other main topic of the defense ministers’ meeting was migration. All four countries agreed that the unchecked entry of illegal migrants posed a security threat. He said that the other countries of the group have been assisting the Hungarian armed forces in combatting illegal migration since 2015: the Czech Republic and Slovakia contributed with military personnel while Poland with equipment.

    Benkő said the army group will be active in 2019 and expected to be re-activated in 2023, but gave no further details regarding the scope or concrete goals of the cooperation.

  • Hungary did not assist Gruevski’s escape from Macedonia

    Gulyás said Gruevski – who has been sentenced to two years in prison on corruption charges – showed up at a Hungarian diplomatic mission at an undisclosed location, but not in Macedonia.

    He said Hungary did not have any part in getting him out of his country. Gruevski’s whereabouts – after he did not begin his prison sentence and seemed to have disappeared from Macedonia – became known on Tuesday when he posted on his Facebook page that his was in Budapest and applying for political asylum after “countless threats” on his life.

    Gruevski

    Gulyás said that Hungary “in no way” wished to “intervene in the internal affairs of sovereign countries, and we consider the assessment of the former Macedonian prime minister’s asylum request to be solely a legal issue”.

    Title image: Minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás at a press conference. (MTI/Noémi Bruzák)

  • Orbán congratulates Poles on centenary

    “Let me congratulate you and the Polish nation on the occasion of the 100thanniversary of Poland regaining her independence,” Orbán wished in the letter.

    “The 100th anniversary of establishing the Polish Republic is a great celebration for the whole Polish nation. We, Hungarians, share that will all our heart,” he added. 

    The Hungarian PM warned that although both nations can say that they are free and independent, the “winds of history are not subsiding around us. The independence of Hungary and Poland are at risk of serious attacks, even today.”

    Winds of history are not subsiding around us. The independence of Hungary and Poland are at risk of serious attacks, even today

    PM Orbán also emphasized the Europeaness of Poland and Hungary: “We, Hungarians and Poles, are European nations with a millennium long past and that is why we’ve always wanted a strong Europe. A Europe proud of her history and religious and cultural traditions. We know what it means to fight for freedom, which is why we care for it in any circumstances.”

    The prime minister stressed the special friendship which Poland and Hungary share: “We are united by a true and selfless friendship, thanks to which we’ve always could and still can count on each other.”

    The Hungarian leader concluded his letter with the words: “Long live free and independent Poland!” 

  • Polish beer industry is booming

    The industry flowered after 1989 mainly due to investments from international brewery groups. Polish breweries were developed and new technologies installed. 

    “After thirty years and PLN 13 billion investments, Poland’s beer industry represents a world-class level,” said Bartłomiej Morzycki, the general director of Polish Breweries. 

    Over 210 breweries comprise the brewing sector, all located in every voivodship. They come in different sizes – from microbreweries to beer plants producing over 200,000 hectoliters of beer a year. These combined make Poland the third largest brewery industry in Europe (after Germany and the UK). 

    After thirty years and PLN 13 billion investments, Poland’s beer industry represents a world-class level

    The entire industry employs 9.3 thousand workers, in every age gap. These include people with the lowest qualifications and the elderly. The majority of large breweries are located in Eastern Poland, near towns such as Lublin, Łomża or Białystok. 

    Over 150,000 jobs

    “The entire influence of the brewery industry on the work market in Poland reaches 157.5 thousand workplaces,” reports Irena Pichola, a Deloitte partner. 

    Poland’s hops plantations are located to the South-East. 90 percent of the hops used to craft Polish beer come from home plantations. 

    In 2017 beer comprised 13.4 percent of all food spending and 46.7 percent of alcohol spending. 64 percent of beer purchases occur in local and family shops, which has a direct impact on creating workplaces in trade. 

    64 percent of beer purchases occur in local and family shops

    PLN 440 million went to local governments from income tax, social insurance contributions and local taxes. This money was generated by the brewery industry. For small administrations, breweries are an important source of income whose investments increase the quality of living for citizens. 

    “The Polish beer market is a mature and saturated one. We have a diverse sector which functions very well in all of Poland. There is a place for breweries of various sizes and production profiles. All of this has a stimulating effect on the economy,” Andrzej Olkowski, the chairman of the association of Polish regional breweries summarized. 

  • Orbán attends Hungarian opera premiere in Milan

    This was a mould-breaking move from Orbán – formerly a professional player with Felcsút FC and a self-confessed football fan. So much so that in the knowledge of his love for football one could almost detect a hint of sorrow in his Facebook message, which says:

    “This is the first time that a Hungarian opera is being premiered at the Scala. This is where we need to be. This is the most important event for Hungarians today.”

    The opera – by classical pianist and composer György Kurtág – is based on Samuel Beckett’s Fin de partie, (Endgame) a one-act play written in French by Beckett.

    György Kurtág

    Hungarian pianist and composer György Kurtág (92) – image: fidelio.hu

    The production was put on via co-operation between the Scala and Dutch National Opera, directed by French-Lebanese director Pierre Audi, also marking his directorial debut at the Scala.

    Title image: Viktor Orbán’s Facebook page. Left to right: Orbán’s wife Anikó Lévai, Viktor Orbán and Hungary’s consul general in Milan Jenő Csiszár.

  • PM Orbán: One hundred years of solitude is over

    PM Orbán – paraphrasing the title of Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s landmark novel – said Hungary now has good relationships with the majority of its neighbors. The Diaspora Council gathers the representatives of ethnic Hungarians living abroad in scattered groups.

    He said we live in an age where information is generally accepted to be the most valuable commodity, whereas the true value lies in logically ordering this information along Hungarian interests. PM Orbán said Hungarians value stability very highly and this is why since the country joined the European Union, it was the only one which didn’t have early elections.

    He said that while in 2010 the main mission of the government was to close the chaotic transitionary period to market economy and the next cycle – from 2014 – was about reinforcing the new construct. The current government cycle needs to take a longer perspective and set out goals ranging to the year 2030.

    This includes making Hungary one of the EU’s five most competitive member states, solving the population decline, ending Hungary’s unilateral dependence on energy sources and build up a Central European economic area.

    PM Orbán also said beyond its good relations with most of its neighbors, Hungary is also interested in mutually beneficial cooperation. The stability of Turkey, Egypt and Israel are crucial for Hungary, as only these countries can stem the migration flow towards the European Union.

    Title image: Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén (L) and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the meeting of the Hungarian Diaspora Council in Budapest (MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák)

  • “Our state is no longer theoretical,” says Ziobro

    “We had acted immediately, and our actions visibly differ from what was happening during the previous PO government,” Ziobro argued in an interview with TVP. The minister referred to the recent corruption scandal in Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). 

    Ziobro compared the KNF scandal with that of Amber Gold during PO reign. “When the notification was received by the Prosecutor’s Office concerning Amber Gold, it had been two and half years, not two days, before an investigation was conducted.” 

    When the notification was received by the Prosecutor’s Office concerning Amber Gold, it had been two and half years, not two days, before an investigation was conducted

    In response to criticism from PO politicians for not creating a committee of inquiry concerning the KNF scandal, Ziobro said that “there is no basis for creating such a committee, since the Prosecutor’s Office and the CBA [Central Anti-Corruption Bureau] are fulfilling their job very well.” 

    “Really, how insolent can you be?,” Ziobro added, commenting on PO accusations of the state is delaying in its investigation of the KNF. 

    He commended the work of the state, claiming that it is “no longer theoretical” and “operates practically, efficiently and quickly. What’s more, the state works in a broader context in this case.” 

    The minister compared the situation to a “historical giggle” as “PO wants a committee of inquiry, calls the state malfunctioning, whereas the state is working exemplary.”

  • Gazprom knows it is losing Poland

    “The contracted amounts of LNG gas, own mining and planned supply through the Baltic pipe will allow Poland to completely resign itself from purchasing Russian gas,” reports Russia’s “Wiedomosti” while commenting on Poland’s recent 24-year LNG deal with the USA.

    The signing of a contract between PGNiG and Cheniere Marketing International, which foresees significant LNG supply from the USA, has started to worry the Russian media.

    Poland is continuing its struggle in becoming independent of Gazprom

    These worries are not surprising, as Gazprom may lose its fifth largest, after Germany, Italy, the UK and France, gas recipient.

    “Poland is continuing its struggle in becoming independent of Gazprom,” comments “Wiedomosti”. 

    [block:views=related_articles_field-block]

    In October 2018, the Polish Petroleum Mining and Gas Industry (PGNiG) signed a historic 20-year trade agreement over LNG gas with US companies, followed in November by another deal for 25 years. 

    The Baltic Pipe is a planned natural gas pipeline between Denmark and Poland. When completed, it will transport gas from Norway to Poland via Denmark.

  • Vondráček: V4 wants to be part of the ‘healthy core’ of the EU

    Vondráček initiated a meeting of representatives of the Visegrad countries, Germany and France, which will be held on Thursday in Bratislava. Among the topics on the agenda will be the upcoming European elections and Spitzenkandidaten, migration, and Brexit. As Vondráček told Info.cz, he is most interested in discussing Marcon’s circle vision for Europe.

    President of the Czech Chamber of Deputies considers migration one of the strongest topics of Visegrad. Although the V4 countries managed to convince the European partners that the quota system and mandatory allocations do not work, the topic is still alive, and it is good to remember what Visegrad’s attitude is. Vondráček, for example, will be interested in Germany´s response to the fact that the Czech Republic has joined other countries and rejected the UN migration pact.

    According to Vondráček, the V4 countries should discuss a common approach to migration regarding assistance in the African countries where the migrants come from, as well as the protection of the external borders and Frontex.

    Visegrad will also be interested in Macron’s vision of Europe as a circle of the eurozone and “the most cooperative”, surrounded by the second outer circle, in which it is in the interest of stability to engage dialogue with countries like Russia.

    The ALDE political group, which includes the Czech ANO, decided to cooperate with the Macron movement for the upcoming European Parliament elections. In the campaign, it wants to fight Euroscepticism, and according to Vondráček, a message from Visegrad should be clear: we are pro-European, we do not want to break the EU, we want to be part of its “healthy core”.

    The meeting will also discuss the so-called Spitzenkandidaten, promoted by the President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble. However, the Czechs are more reserved, and Visegrad sees the main legitimacy in the European Council, consisting of prime ministers who have been elected and have the support of national states.

    Regarding Brexit, the attitude of V4 is also united. Visegrad emphasizes the preservation of the four freedoms – the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital.

    In the end, Vondráček described the meeting with Germany and France as part of a larger plan for a common foreign policy of Visegrad and added that the countries would try to find a repeated format for the meeting. Further meetings with representatives of the Benelux countries and with the Baltic states are planned.

  • European army project ends Trump-Macron bromance

    Even before Trump’s visit to France, he was outraged when Macron said it’s necessary to build a common European defense. Later, during their meeting, all seemed to be forgotten. But not for long. 

    Trump attacked Macron on Twitter over his statements during an event for the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1. Macron criticized Trump for his nationalist approach and policies and he responded sharply, mentioning Macron’s failing preferences and unemployment in France.

    Their dispute is, however, still mainly caused by the common European defense issue. While Macron is a long-time proponent of European integration in the field of security, Trump repeatedly threatens his allies that NATO might not be defending those not contributing the promised 2 percent. 

    Paris does not reach the 2 percent limit yet. It expenses amount to only 1.8 percent of GDP in defense. “Emmanuel Macron suggests building its own army to protect Europe against the U.S., China, and Russia. But it was Germany in World Wars One & Two – How did that work out for France? They were starting to learn German in Paris before the U.S. came along. Pay for NATO or not!,“ the American president wrote on Twitter. 

    European activities also attract the attention of the Alliance itself. At first, NATO had been skeptical about the ideas, now it cautiously admits them under certain conditions. “We welcome Europe’s greater efforts in the defense field, but it has to realize them within NATO. If there is something we have learned from the two world wars and the Cold War, then it is how important transatlantic unity and friendship are,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

    According to security expert Rachel Rizzo, working for the Center for a New American Security, Macron´s effort does not necessarily undermine NATO as critics fear. Rizzo has previously stated that the efforts may lead to better cooperation. She thinks that both parties will finally understand that undermining each other is of nobody´s interest.

  • Czech Senate has a new conservative leader

    Kubera, well known as a conservative and eurosceptic politician, won 46 votes in the second round of the secret vote, nearly twice as much as his opponent Václav Hampl who gained the support of 24 senators.

    Jan Horník, a nominee of the Mayors & Independents ended his run in the first round. Kubera has been in the Senate since  2000, he served as a Vice-president and a leader of the Civic Democrats’ club. He was also a long-time mayor of Teplice but stepped down after the last local elections even though he won.

    Kubera has been married for 50 years, and last year considered his candidacy in the presidential election. His opponent, Václav Hampl, has been an independent senator for four years (elected for KDU-CSL). Previously he was the rector of Charles University.

    The election of the leader was followed by the election of the Deputy chairmans. Jan Horník (56 votes) and Jiří Růžička (63) from the Mayors, Jiří Oberfalzer (71) from ODS, Milan Štěch (74) from ČSSD and Miluše Horská (66) from KDU-ČSL were elected.

  • Czech Government rejects UN migration pact

    The main priorities that the Czech Republic favored are a right for sovereign states to decide who will enter their territory and under what circumstances, a clear separation between legal and illegal migration, a commitment of the countries of origin to accept their citizens back and a mechanism for following an implementation of the compact without new institutions and expenses, added Brabec at the press conference. 

    The Office of the Government also noted that UN should focus more on its primary goal, a lowering of conflict tensions among countries, instead of focusing on the migration, so that money spent on warfare could be used for countries where mass migration originates. 

    As PM Andrej Babiš stated previously, migration is not one of the human rights and the Czech Republic will not accept any illegal migrants, adding that because of the UN pact, the difference between legal and illegal migration became blurred. This view is also shared by Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček, who added that by blurring the difference, the pact fuels migration.

    Babiš already announced his intention to opt out of the pact to follow the US, Austria and Hungary in front of the Chamber of Deputies. More and more countries have started to question and criticize the pact, for example Bulgaria, Poland, Italy, Japan, Australia and Switzerland.

  • Finland ready to assume EU presidency instead of Romania

    Earlier this week Romanian President Klaus Iohannis – reacting to the resignation of minister without portfolio in charge of EU affairs Victor Negrescu – said Romania is “totally unprepared” to assume the EU’s revolving presidency on January 1st, 2019.

    Klaus Iohannis said “things have gone off the rails” and there is a “political necessity to replace the government” which he called an “accident of democracy”. But with the country embroiled in political infighting, Iohannis said the Romanian government should step down instead.

    “It’s the 12th hour [and] we are totally unprepared,” Iohannis said. “There’s no chance of a good government… or proper involvement in European affairs.”

    Iohannis

    Romanian President Klaus Iohannis

    Romania has a semi-presidential system where the head of the state has a relatively strong mandate. Iohannis  – an ethnic Saxon from Transylvania and the first ethnic minority president of the country – won the 2014 presidential elections on an anti-corruption ticket.

    While his initial cooperation with the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) has been widely lauded in the country, he called for then Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s resignation after Ponta faced criminal prosecution for 22 alleged corruption charges.

    The country still has a PSD-government led by Viorica Dăncilă, but most agree that the real power behind her is party president Liviu Dragnea, who cannot hold office because of his previous convictions for fraud and election rigging.

    In response to the Finnish offer, the Romanian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that Romania is ready to assume the EU presidency and does not wish for Finland to step in.

     

  • The surprise growth of the Polish economy

    Economists had foreseen that 2018 will see an overall slowdown of the Polish economy. The market consensus saw a 1.0 percent quarter-to-quarter increase in GDP and a 4.7 percent year-on-year increase in the unadjusted season. 

    Meanwhile GUS reported a PKB increase of 1.7 percent quarter-to-quarter and 5.7 year-on-year year after the seasonal adjustment. The increase in the unadjusted season amounted to 5.1 percent year-on-year – the same amount as the preceding quarter. This is the highest annual GDP dynamic in the last 10 years.

    This is the highest annual GDP dynamic in the last 10 years

    Rafał Benecki, a Bank ING economist foresees that the 3rdquarter of 2018 will be the last to see an over 5 percent GDP increase. He predicts that the 4thquarter and 2019 will see a deceleration of the economy. This is due to a decrease in export and a deceleration of international trade, which will hit the open European economy, the German economy and Polish companies connected to them. 

    The numbers published today are a so-called quick estimate. They may be revised. The regular GDP estimate for the 3rdquarter for 2018 will arrive on the 30thof November. Then it will be possible to see where this surprise growth has come from as there will be more details and statistics concerning matters such as: consumption, investments, supply, public spending and international trade. 

  • The liberal misinterpretation of migration

    Since the spring and summer of 2015 Europe has been the target of millions of people headed over from Asia and Africa, a phenomenon we can safely qualify as invasion. We should ask the fundamental question: what is the theoretical basis upon which we can interpret and handle migration?

    Currently there are two main approaches in Europe. One is the mainstream liberal – or rather neo-liberal – position that while these migrants arrive in groups and are seemingly well-organized, they are ultimately independent individuals and their cases should be evaluated as such.

    This is a classical human rights premise, shared by the European Union, international media, the left, the United Nations and of course George Soros’ global network. A rather distorted version is the one in the U.N. migration pact which says migration is a fundamental human right, regardless if it is motivated by actual persecution or just economic and existential reasons.

    The national-conservative approach, on the other hand, while acknowledging the human rights aspect, also looks upon migration as a clash of groups, nations, cultures and civilizations with diverging values. It is also looking at ways for the majority hosts to preserve their culture, religion and value set.

    The liberal approach to migration fails to comprehend the crucial issue that migration does not consist of a collection of individuals but groups with different cultural and religious beliefs that represent an existential threat to the host societies. It is also a question of dominance and survival or, more bluntly, the spread of Islam and Europe’s future.

    This may seem surprising, but migration is primarily a question of numbers. As long as it remains a sporadic phenomenon, the host nations have a chance to individually integrate them into its society, avoiding the formation of groups separated from the mainstream of the society.

    When tens, hundreds of thousands or millions are coming, the situation becomes radically different, though – which is the case right now. These groups have no intention to integrate into the legal, religious, social and cultural order of the society. On the contrary: they will attempt to assert increasing influence on the majority and ultimately take over power.

    Experts say that the threshold is somewhere around ten to fifteen percent: if the mass of migrants exceeds that mark for a sustained period of time, change can become irreversible.

    History is offering us the learnings on a platter, showing the results of indiscriminately taking in everyone based on a misguided Wilkommenskultur. As opposed to the liberal view, the national-conservative approach is the one that grasps the essence of migration and any solution can only come from this direction.

    Title image: Migrants on the Hungarian border in 2015 (MTI/Zoltán Máthé)

  • Verheugen defends Poland

    Verheugen, who until 2010 fulfilled the role of European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, presented a skeptical approach to the European Commission’s actions against Poland. His main concern is the conflict around Poland’s Supreme Court.

    “First of all, I believe that the Commission’s actions will lead to most Poles backing their government. That’s how it usually goes. The exact opposite to what was wanted will be achieved. If you want PiS or Kaczyński to change their position, you have to do so diplomatically,” Verheugen explains. 

    In Germany, the judges are not virgin born, but are chosen politically

    The politician further argued that he is unsure whether the accusations against Poland are fully justified. As an example, he compared how judges are chosen in other European countries to how they are in Poland. “In Germany, the judges are not virgin born, but are chosen politically. If I’d tell you what sort of behind-the-scenes political moves accompany choosing judges for the German Federal Constitutional Court, you’d be surprised.”

    Verheugen claimed that Poles have a right to say that different standards are being used towards them. “Nevertheless, I’d advise the Polish government to find a way to solve their conflict with the EU,” the former Commissioner warned. 

    He urged the Polish government to accept and instill the Venice Commission’s recommendations because it is a “neutral and independent” organization. 

  • Hungary wants Europe of nations, not open society

    Dömötör said the Hungarian government organized several forums in Budapest and in the countryside to ask people’s opinion on what kind of Europe they want to belong to. He said that the government will send the conclusions to both the European Commission and French President Emmanuel Macron.

    It was Macron himself who previously suggested that all member states of the European Union should hold consultations on the future of Europe

    He added that the main conclusion of these forums was that security is the most important consideration for Hungarian citizens. Additionally, Hungarians would like to live in a Europe based on the cooperation of nations, not an open society.

    Dömötör said the consultations touched upon all the major topics in which Hungary is at odds with Brussels such as taxation, energy price regulations and immigration.

    He said the government will stay its course in order to keep strategic decisions within national competence because, should the decisions regarding immigration, taxation and energy prices be taken away, “there will be no way for subsequent corrections”.

    Dömötör said the Hungarian government is of the same opinion as the founding fathers of the European Union: a Europe of nations based on Christian-democratic values.

     

     

  • Swift response to KNF corruption scandal reports

    Officers from the CBA have begun an investigation of the KNF headquarters in Warsaw due to allegations of KNF Head Marek Chrzanowski being involved in a corruption scandal. 

    According to the largest liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza, the owner of Getin Noble Bank Leszek Czarnecki reported that Marek Chrzanowski allegedly offered favors to the bank in March 2018. This was to be in exchange for PLN 40 million (USD 10.5 million). Czarnecki recorded the offer on tape and informed the prosecutor’s office. 

    After these reports, Chrzanowski resigned and PM Mateusz Morawiecki requested an investigation of the KNF. Morawiecki met with the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro and the heads of Poland’s special services.

    The Prosecutor’s Office has started an investigation. It is very intensive and is happening in cooperation with the CBA

    The PM has committed the institutions to cooperate in quickly solving the issue. Earlier, Zbigniew Ziobro requested an investigation concerning the possible crime committed by Chrzanowski. 

    “The Prosecutor’s Office has started an investigation on my orders. It is very intensive and is happening in cooperation with the CBA,” says Ziobro. “We will be requesting updates from the prosecutors in charge.”

    Piotr Kaczorek has confirmed that the CBA has been securing files and documents concerning protocols and recordings of KNF meetings. These meetings related to updates of Getin Bank’s correction program, protection of its capital and KNF’s involvement in purchasing shares of GetBack SA and selling of GetBack stocks.

  • Finance Minister: Hungary’s Q3 GDP at ten-year high

    Seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP rose by five percent in the third quarter of the year, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office. Compared with the previous quarter growth was 1.2 percentage points higher, while for the first nine month of the year it was 4.7 percent.

    “There hasn’t been higher growth than this in the past ten years, which is a clear indication that everything is given for a full-year growth above 4 percent,” Varga said.

    He said recently the European Commission increased its forecast for Hungarian GDP growth this year to 4.3 percent, meaning that both domestic and international analysts expect growth to exceed four percent, which is also the government’s expectation.

    Varga said full year growth would likely be in the 4.3-4.5 percent range. K&H Bank analyst Dávid Németh said the data was surprising because after a strong showing in the second quarter of the year most analysts expected a slowdown in the third quarter. The surprisingly good figure was probably due to a continued strong performance in services.

    Takarékbank analyst Gergely Suppán said that in light of the latest figure the bank would probably increase its full-year forecast to 4.8 percent from the current 4.6 percent and to 4.2 percent next year from 4.1 percent. 

  • US threatens Russia with sanctions over NS2

    Ambassador Gordon Sondland has claimed that the United States will reach for different “harsher measures”, if Moscow will not cancel the construction of NS2. “We have not yet employed the measures that could seriously damage or halt that project,” said Sondland during a meeting of the think tank “European Policy Centre” in Brussels.

    We have not yet employed the measures that could seriously damage or halt that project

    Sondland hopes that the US objection towards NS2 will be successful. This is due to the EU affirming that dependency on Russian energy is not a good long-term geo-political decision. The ambassador has also argued that if Europe’s energy supply became problematic, it would also affect the US. “The trans-Atlantic relations are as strong as ties between Siamese twins,” he said.

    US LNG for Europe

    President Trump has criticized the construction of NS2 on multiple occasions. As an alternative, he has offered Europe the purchase of American LNG gas at competitive prices. In October 2018, the Polish Petroleum Mining and Gas Industry (PGNiG) signed a historic 20-year trade agreement over LNG gas with the United States followed by another deal for 25 years in November.

    Poland, Ukraine, Denmark and the Baltic States are openly opposing the German-Russian gas project. Germany argues that NS2 is a purely business investment and not a political one. 

    The construction of NS2 is meant to be completed by the end of 2019. Russia is determined to avoid Ukraine in gas supply and transits. The pipeline will also avoid Poland.

  • Babiš: It is a disgusting assault on my children

    Sabina Slonková and Jiří Kubík investigated Babiš’s children’s involvement in the Stork’s Nest case. In a story for online TV channel Seznam, they published footage showing Andrej Babiš Jr. shocking claims. In a reaction to the story, PM Babiš said they used suggestive questions when they assaulted his son at his place in Switzerland and recorded him on a hidden camera.

    PM Babiš stated earlier that his two children involved with the Stork’s Nest are suffering from mental illness. As he mentioned his daughter Adriana has a bipolar disorder. However, police investigators doubted their inability to testify due to their state of mind and press charges against both. Some politicians reminded Babiš that he himself dragged his children into the investigation when announced they were owners of the Stork’s Nest.

    According to PM Babiš, this campaign is yet another attempt to end his political career and to destabilise the political situation and the government. The story has been used to put pressure on law enforcement agencies regarding the Stork’s Nest and additionally it is of course used by the opposition, because anti-Babiš is their only agenda, he added.

  • Czech MEP Zahradil is the Conservative Spitzenkandidat

    The two candidates announced so far, Manfred Weber and Frans Timmermans, are alike – they want to strengthen the role of Brussels at the expense of member states. Therefore, there should also be an alternative view from a conservative perspective, even more importantly from one of the so-called new member states, he added.

    Zahradil plans to start his campaign in Brussels on the 28th of November. However, he already highlighted three priorities of his candidacy. First of all, a revision and simplification of the communitarian law package, which is outdated and burdensome for the business sector. Secondly, in current times of increasing protectionism, the EU can be a global free trade leader and for that it’s necessary to remove trade barriers and interconnect markets, the EU-Japan trade agreement is a great example. And finally, the EU has to restructure its budget to be able to help border countries instead of exaggerating its agencies, if it seriously wants to tackle illegal migration.  

    Zahradil became the third official Spitzenkandidat. The largest group in the European Parliament, the EPP nominated a Bavarian, Weber, while Socialists and Democrats selected current Commission Vice-president Timmermans.

  • Opinion of the majority is not populism

    According to Klaus, Halík’s take lacks content, but it is strong in its aggressive appeal. Halík apparently abandons his original defense of a modernist ideology with concepts like liberal democracy, genderism and mass migration. He is positioning himself in the middle, between radical supporters and radical opponents of the gender ideology, which is impossible. One cannot just sit in the middle, moreover as a priest, simply has to take a side.

    Is seems like Halík is seeing a populist when somebody disagrees with him or likeminded people. But that cannot be labeled as infectious populism. The opinion of the majority is not populism, just as the criticism is not to be mistaken for a media lynching. Especially in the case of a handful of disagreeing articles, fabricated only to make an impression of a plurality of views.

    Piťha’s sermon was a warning against the dangers of the Istanbul Convention and gender ideology in general. There are many of us who rightfully fear the consequences, therefore it was not an abuse of a sacred place, but only in order to stampede the public as Halík put it. Halík wants us to believe that a hysteria is spreading across the Catholic Church. In fact, the Church remains silent on this, which sadly leaves enough space for ideologists like Halík. Unfortunately, when he advises his fellow priests to focus on preaching gospels only, it is a textbook ‘do as I say, not as I do’ case.

  • In defense of Roger Scruton, against lousy journalism

    However, when you see news about something you’ve experienced, something you know, it can quickly become horrifying. Which is exactly what happened in the case of the recent controversies surrounding Roger Scruton. Allegedly, Scruton has been under pressure since Buzzfeed uncovered some of his views. First of all, how they could have uncovered something that has always been widely and freely accessible online and in libraries. It looks like Buzzfeed only ‘collected a file’ on Scruton in order to take him down. It’s not a work of an independent media but an ideological task force.

    The UK government appointed Scruton a member of some of its commissions and Buzzfeed ‘exposed’ him as a man who claimed islamophobia and homophobia are all made-up, homosexuality as unnatural and pointed out his ties with Orbán. After reading such allegations, it would be easy to say it’s good that there’s finally someone saying ‘the truth’ or, on the other hand, to condemn the post-Brexit Britain as doomed.

    The truth is, the article about Roger Scruton is a clear example of a lowly journalism. Sadly, it gained traction and many leftist outlets wrote about him in a similar manner and it had been adopted by the Czech media. Scruton is a British conservative philosopher, respected lecturer and writer who never had an ambition to build cultural barricades.

    For the Czechs, it would be absurd to buy into such allegations. He is one of the best-informed Western intellectuals on the Czech Republic, someone who shaped our history. He founded an educational foundation, organized visits of renowned philosophers, his Dictionary of political thought got translated and published immediately after the revolution in 1990. He often visits the Czech Republic and he understands us, the Czechs well. Moreover, he was awarded by President Havel back in 1998.

    His words on homosexuality are nothing but a descriptive statement. His relationship with Orbán goes back to the 1980s when he was fighting Communism. Contrary to those allegations, Scruton even spoke in favor of the CEU with Orbán.

    If the UK government surrenders to a bunch of Twitter warriors and repeal Scruton, it would be one of those moments that we would have to admit that the liberal West as our idol has fallen and we don’t want to be a part of it anymore.

  • Salvini: Italian budget decided in Rome, not Brussels

    The budget deficit goal will remain unchanged at 2.4 percent of GDP while the economic growth forecast will remain at 1.5 percent. The other Deputy Prime Minister, Luigi Di Maio, leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S) also said that the key figures of the budget will remain unchanged and the government will closely monitor spending and ramp up the sale of state assets.

    “We are convinced the country needs this budget so the economy can gain fresh momentum,” Di Maio said.

    On October 23rd, the European Commission called on Italy to revise its budget figures, after it became clear that the coalition government has tripled the 2019 budget deficit goal to 2.4 percent of the GDP from a 0.8 percent deficit planned by the previous government.

    On November 5th, the meeting of the Eurozone finance ministers (Eurogroup) also warned that Italy should reduce its budget deficit figure or face an excessive deficit procedure as early as November 21st. Should the EU finance ministers go ahead with the procedure, Italy might face financial penalties of up to 0.2 percent of its GDP or EUR 3.4 billion (US$3.84 billion).

    Among EU member states, Italy has the second highest debt to GDP ratio of 131.8 percent m, only surpassed by Greece at 178.6 percent.

    Title image: Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini (MTI/EPA/Guillaume Horcajuelo)

  • Polish festival honors Hungarian cameraman

    Vilmos Zsigmond – born in Szeged, southern Hungary – emigrated to the United States in 1958 and initially worked in Los Angeles as a photo lab technician and photographer and also worked on many low-budget films during the 1960s. His breaktrough was Robert Altman’s revisionist Western McCabe & Mrs. Miller.

    He later worked with Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, Michael Cimino and Woody Allen. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for The Deer Hunter.

    “We had the opportunity to see a fantastic commemoration of Vilmos at the world premiere of the film at Camerimage,” Alan Lowne, editor-in-chief of British Cinematographer wrote. “The film showed us the black-and-white images taken by him during his life, the way he saw life.”

    Vilmos Zsigmond died two years ago in his California home at the age of 85.

    Robert De Niro

    Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter (Collection Christophel/© Universal Pictures / EMI FIlms/Universal Pictures / Emi Films)

  • Saxon Palace in Warsaw will be rebuilt

    Minister Gliński told TVP Info that a whole committee of people are involved in the project. It includes presidential representatives, the voivode and members of different ministries. The Palace is meant to be recreated in accordance with its old blueprints. 

    tt

    The Saxon Palace (Pałac Saski) in 1932

    President Andrzej Duda signed a declaration which foresees the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace. The President’s Chancellery’s twitter account shared photos of the event:

    “President Andrzej Duda signed the declaration to rebuild the Saxon Palace on the occasion of the 100thanniversary of Poland regaining its independence.”

    tt

    The Saxon Palace was demolished by the Germans during the planned destruction of Warsaw after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising during the Second World War. Today, only a part of the central arcade remains, which is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

  • Hungary asks U.S. to help diversify energy supply

    The United States opposes a planned Russian gas pipeline to Central Europe and would prefer that Hungary does not take part in the project, Perry said at a press conference after the meeting of the two ministers. He said Russia is using energy sources as a weapon, thus reducing dependence on Russian sources is a security issue.

    Szíjjártó said that Hungary may have two alternative gas sources: the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Krk, Croatia – but that is an expensive alternative. The other is the Black Sea natural gas project, which depends on the decision of a U.S. and Austrian firm.

    A day before this meeting, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis signed the gas mining law already approved by Parliament, opening the way for extracting the natural gas under the Black Sea. Oil and gas firms ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom have a concession to exploit 50 percent of the area. The Black Sea gas reserves are the reason why four countries, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria decided to build the BRUA pipeline in a bid to lessen the region’s dependence on Russian natural gas.

    Szíjjártó said that while Hungary is developing the necessary infrastructure for the two alternative routes, the country is also counting on U.S. support to mediate the deals. He added, however, that double standards are also at play, given that Central Europe is blamed for importing Russian gas while Western European countries are on the verge of closing a huge agreement with Russia.

    Title image: U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szíjjártó meet in Budapest. MTI/Lajos Soós

  • “A step forward” on Fort Trump

    Meanwhile, Poland’s Minister of Defence Mariusz Błaszczak is in Washington where he met with US Secretary of Defence James Mattis. Talks were focused on Fort Trump – plans to build US military base in Poland. “We made a step forward,” Błaszczak said after the meeting. Błaszczak is to talk with some Members of Congress today.

    The Polish ambassador to Washington Piotr Wilczek and US ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher underlined that both the US Congress and the Pentagon are considering an increase in US military presence in Poland. The Polish side’s commitment to supply the necessary resources for this endeavor was also emphasized in the letter.

    Wilczek and Mosbacher argued that “the efforts of the United States to increase Poland’s security increases the security of Europe.”

    The efforts of the United States to increase Poland’s security increases the security of Europe

    As part of increasing Europe’s security, the ambassadors pointed to the 2017 European Deterrence Initiative. 

    Nord Stream 2 – threat to security

    The ambassadors agreed that Nord Stream 2 is a “threat to the security of Europe” and that diversification of energy sources is paramount to Poland’s security and independence. 

    As an example of the Polish-American friendship working out, the ambassadors pointed to the declaration of strategic partnership signed by presidents Andrzej Duda and Donald Trump in September 2018. 

    The ambassadors also declared that their aim is to further develop the partnership and cooperation between Poland and the United States.