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  • The Pentagon has ordered Patriots for Poland

    Works are to be completed by the end of December 2022, according to the Pentagon. The date coincides with the date of delivery of the “Wisła” system to fulfill its first part. The contract will most likely cover the main parts of the Patriot system and will include launcher elements, command elements including ECS stations and sector radars.

    The contractor is the American Raytheon company. According to the Pentagon, the US$1.5 billion dollar deal is a modification of the previously signed contract, as part of which the Patriot units are being delivered.

    The contract signed by the Pentagon concerns the first part of the “Wisła” program. It is an important step in creating an aerial defense system. This first part contains investments worth US$ 4.75 bilion: Poland will receive two Patriot batteries containing 16 M903 launchers, 208 missiles and four sector radars including a system designed for combat management elements IBSC.

    Negotiations of the second part of the program

    The Polish Ministry of National Defense is also negotiating the second part of the program. It foresees an additional purchase of six batteries with omni-directional radars. The other two batteries will be modernized and receive new stations.

    “Wisła” will also receive low-cost missiles (potentially SkyCeptor) and Polish radars of early detection will be integrated with the IBSC. The second phase of the program foresees a much broader transfer of technologies into the Polish industry in relation to all elements of the system.

  • Hungarians win education battle in Romania

    The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) has won a political battle over the question of Romanian language education in minority schools, prompting the resignation in Bucharest of the minister of education responsible for the government regulation that sparked the entire debate, Romanian news portal hotnews.ro reports.

    At the end of August, the Romanian government passed a regulation that teaching the Romanian state language in minority schools can only be performed by native Romanian teachers – contrary to previous practice that permitted ethnic minority teachers to also teach Romanian.

    Romania’s largest minority, the Hungarians opposed the change and the conflict peaked on Wednesday when Hunor Kelemen, RMDSZ party chairman, said it was suspending cooperation with the ruling Social Democrats (PSD). Although RMDSZ holds just 6.4 percent of seats in the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, their support is crucial to the PSD.

    The conflict was swiftly settled by PSD President Liviu Dragnea, who many say is the real power pulling the strings behind Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă. Following a meeting with Dragnea, Minister Popa announced his resignation, and at a cabinet meeting held shortly thereafter, the government withdrew the regulation.

    Popa

    Minister of Education Valentin Popa tendered his resignation on Thursday.

    Kelemen posted the following short announcement on his Facebook page:

    “We succeeded! At our request, the government withdrew the article of an August regulation that affected negatively Hungarian elementary school pupils. Hungarian teachers can again teach the Romanian language!”

    Kelemen

     

     

  • Macron from across the pond

    Virtual reality may have made it possible to hop across continents at the push of a button, but people will always be people. According to a famous Hungarian saying, “He who comes from afar can say whatever he wants”.

    This is all very fine as we are just discussing whether first names or surnames should come first, but when a supposedly high-ranking person says that he supports the distribution of migrants within the European Union based on quotas and says that at an important conference in New York parallel with the U.N. session: well, then we do have a problem. Because this agenda has failed already.

    On our side of the pond, this idea is no longer considered normative or even feasible. It has caused the fall of many politicians, it has rendered Germany lightweight and led to an ideological battle where the polar opposites are represented by Emmanuel Macron and Viktor Orbán.

    But there, in the chaotic bureaucratic monstrosity called the United Nations many have a vested interest in declaring migration a human right and a welcome step, instead of a bad phenomenon.

    We are ultimately talking here about money and influence, huge amounts of money, permanent cash flows that can be given a sugar-coating: that sounds wonderful, but it will still remain a colossal lie.

    This is the supposedly new liberal democracy, a uniform mass of people who believe in nothing, have respect for nothing. But this mass that stands for actual nations in the fantasies of Emmanuel Macron, DImitris Avramopoulos and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres does not exist.

    One could wish for its existence and many would gladly give an arm for people to be so malleable, but experience has shown that such human experiments are doomed to fail.

    But these people coming from afar will always be there and spin their tales. And the less a person is clear about his identity, the more he will believe these tales. So their goal is clear, but so is the antidote.

     

  • Liberals criticize progressive left

    Mikloš warned that while quite a lot is discussed about the danger of xenophobic populism or isolacionist protectionism, less is known about the so-called progressive liberal left and the culture of political correctness.

    Matúš Ritomský reacted to the article. He believes that Mikloš considers Slovak progressive leftist politicians, such as Ivan Štefunko and Zuzana Čaputová, are in a similar danger to far-right leader Marián Kotleba. Mikloš added that he meant rather the western progressive left, which is not present in Slovakia, but the threat is visible. Another politician, Miroslav Beblavý joined the discussion and argued that why in Slovakia a similar discussion couldn’t take place. But still, in the west this debate is ongoing and the criticism is not formulated, only by the conservatives and the alt-right.

    The latest issue is about political correctness and social networks. The environment of Facebook and Twitter, the short statuses, likes, shares are ideal for creating moral panic, herd mentality, virtual lynching and posing as morally superior. As if the old villages with total control and distrust in people’s behavior were recreated again. For classical liberals, like Mikloš, freedom of speech is one of the most important values.

  • European journalists follow Kuciak murder investigation

    Journalist associations are closely following the investigation. The journalists find it troubling that among the possible suspects there are former members of state security agencies.

    According to the Association of European Journalists, another important question is the identity of the person ordering the murders and it is vital to prevent further infiltration of organized crime into the police force, state administration and judiciary system.

    The Slovak Association of Journalists (SAN) welcomes the police action and believes that the events are a positive development. The SAN believes that a new law could regulate protecting journalists.

    Ján Kuciak was killed in Veľká Mača in February, the event started mass protests which led to the resignation of PM Robert Fico and Minister of Interior Robert Kaliňák. On September 27th, the police conducted a widespread operation in Kolárovo, Slovakia, while eight people were taken into custody – among them a former policeman and the former police chief of the city. It is not yet known exactly how the suspects were involved in the crime.

     

  • Merkel hits a more conciliatory note in Bavaria

    At a forum organized by a regional newspaper in the Bavarian town of Augsburg, Merkel grudgingly admitted Hungary’s role in defending Europe’s borders, Origo reports.

    “(Orbán) always points out how well he is defending the border, which I otherwise find correct and I have never spoken against his defense of the borders, because (Hungary) has outer Schengen borders, but this unfortunately was not yet built when so many migrants arrived,” Merkel said

    “But I also find it somewhat strange that he keeps lambasting us,” she added.

    Merkel – faced with one crisis after another within her shaky governing coalition – suffered her latest defeat on September 25, when the Christian Democrat/Christian Social (CDU/CSU) parliamentary group elected a counter-candidate to lead the group, replacing Volker Kauder who has been leading the formation since 2005, and who is considered by many as Merkel’s right hand. He is succeeded by Ralph Brinkhaus who won the vote 125 against 112, but more importantly, this was the first case since 1976 where there was an alternate candidate for the position.

    Referring to the migrant debate, Merkel said in Augsburg that there should be an attempt to reconcile opposing sides and “deal with the future instead of the past”.

    She again stated that she will run for the CDU presidency at the December party election and plans to remain chancellor until the end of her term in 2021.

  • Orbán opens football academy in Serbia

    Orbán posted a video of the opening ceremony on his Facebook page.

    “Win fairly and lose with your head held high. Those who are capable of this, know everything,” PM Orbán said

    “Sports – and football in particular – is the common language of Central Europe. It is natural that sports bind Central European people, as it binds Serbs and Hungarians. We live in a Europe where those who stick together are reinforced while those who pull apart will be weakened and will fall apart. Serbs and Hungarians have chosen cooperation.”

    A simple sports-related inauguration on the surface, the gesture combines many of the traits that define him: love for families, for sports, a fair fight, regional cooperation and the support of Hungarian minorities abroad.

    Topolya is one of the settlements in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina that has an ethnic Hungarian minority. Serbia is home to about 300,000 ethnic Hungarians. The Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) contributed EUR 9.5 million to establishing the academy.

    Orbán has played football from his early childhood. He was a professional player with Felcsút FC. After finishing his football career, he became one of the main financiers of Hungarian football and his hometown club Felcsút, later renamed Puskás Akadémia.

  • Czechs and Slovaks have many things in common

    There are other things, which are bringing together the two countries. For example, a strong business partnership. Slovakia is the second most important export country (after Germany) for the Czech Republic. And Slovak export is the same – 1st Germany, 2nd Czech Republic. Slovak businessmen are the second most frequent owners of Czech companies. And yet again, it is the same situation in Slovakia.

    The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Vladimír Dlouhý, also describes the political and economic ties of both countries as very tight. “The Czech Republic and Slovakia are small, export-oriented open economies. And it is not only our state who profit from the close ties. Last year, we were the second largest export destination for Slovakia, after Germany, ” Dlouhý said.

    However, according to economist Miroslav Zámečník, our eastern neighbors are more ambitious and willing to travel abroad, even though they are also bigger patriots. “Give them another ten or fifteen years without external shocks – and with a lot of talks in the Czech Republic about how we are going to leave the EU like Great Britain – and we can wake up to being a poor oddball in Bratislava,” said Zámečník.

  • “Liberal” media are experiencing difficult times

    The Austrian Ministry of the Interior issued recommendations for the police. Firstly, the police should cut down on cooperation with those newspapers, which unfairly inform readers about the security authorities. Secondly, the police should publish the nationality and residence status of criminal suspects.

    The response to these instructions focused primarily on the first point. However, the second point will have more fundamental power and political consequences.

    The previous Vienna government adopted a resolution to publish information on nationality, religion or skin color of criminals only if necessary. At that time, there ruled a coalition in Austria which opened borders to migrants just as Germany did. That is why the two conservative parties ÖVP and FPÖ won the last elections.

    The new government is making a new information policy, and the so-called liberal media is doing as if the state was commanding them what to write.

    The same so-called liberal media, who do not want to give any details about (sex) crimes, is these days reporting in disgusting detail about alleged actions of Brett Kavanaugh, Trump´s candidate for Supreme Court, at student parties thirty years ago.

    Austrian journalists cry out that the government is threatening the freedom of speech. In reality, however, they do not like the idea that people who do not believe in their information cocktail will be able to learn more from the police.

    And so the media have extensively reported that Sebastian Kurz rejected the recommendations of the Interior Ministry. The truth is, however, that Kurz criticized only the first recommendation concerning the relations of the Interior Ministry with unilaterally informing newspapers. He did not comment on the second and more substantial recommendation on publishing the origin and religion of criminals.

  • The Czechs are the richest in Eastern Europe

    The net financial assets of Czechs are two and a half times higher than Slovaks. In the global rankings, Czechs improved their position last year by two places to 26th place. 

    The growth of Czech households´ financial assets reached 4.4 percent in 2017, compared to 6.8 percent in 2016. The average net wealth per capita was EUR 15,290 in the Czech Republic last year, which is about CZK 390,000 according to the current exchange rate.

    In Slovakia, the average wealth per capita was about 2.5 times less than in the Czech Republic last year. The wealth of average Poles in the year 2017 amounted to 211,000 koruna. The difference between former Western and Eastern Europe is still considerable, German-speaking neighbors are financially about 3.5 times better than the Czechs.

  • Czech police ready to face any migration wave

    According to Interior Minister Jan Hamáček, the Czech Republic must be ready even though migration has recently fallen and numbers are much lower than before.

    We have all seen that the Czech Police is ready to face any migratory wave, the minister said praising police exercises.

    The Minister of the Interior has the authority to immediately introduce border controls for five days, the government can do so for 30 days, with the option of extending to half a year.

    “Words are not enough. Therefore, we do specific actions,“ Hamáček said on his Twitter.

    The police checked three border crossings, guarded the so-called green border, and practiced a search for a group of migrants. Officers tested for example a heartbeat detector, which can detect people hiding in a truck. They also used the special technique for recognizing counterfeit documents.

  • The increasingly curious case of Kozlovska

    A television series featuring Lyudmyla Kozlovska in the main role is a truly unique experience. The protagonists are just perfect in their roles. Everything is planned, studied and well thought out. There are no accidental gestures. Even seemingly chance photos communicate precisely what they are meant to: confidence and control.

    tt

    Nothing is able to shatter Mrs Kozlovska’s confidence. Neither compromising leaks about the financing of her foundation (it turns out she maintains it alone), nor the exposure of political motivations and eastern affiliations, nor surprising video recordings that were taken in a hotel and later reported in the media. She and her husband always appear to be smiling, proud, conscious of the game.

    There is a bigger secret to this. Do activists of non-governmental organizations behave like that? From where does this professionalism come from? What trainers and training are behind this?

    Her aim is not only to humiliate the Polish government; she’s all over the head of the Polish state and all of Poland. Her provocations have a clear message: look this isn’t a serious structure, they wrote me onto a list and I’m still doing what I want

    This isn’t just between Mrs Lyudmyla and the current Polish government because Mrs Lyudmyla is representing more than herself. Her aim is not only to humiliate the Polish government; she’s all over the head of the Polish state and all of Poland. Her provocations have a clear message: look this isn’t a serious structure, they wrote me onto a list and I’m still doing what I want.

    Someone might say: that’s the message people like Verhofstadt want to send. True, but not just them. They’re just useful donkeys, to put it mildly. Mrs Lyudmyla is in great spirits today. Many activists from the East, including those waving the banners of democracy do not respect Poland and never have.  

    There is a Polish saying that someone will always get the last laugh. Mrs Lyudmyla and her friends and sponsors still can’t be sure who will win the 2019 Polish elections. After all, Poles like to ruin even the best of scenarios.

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  • Yes. These are restroom doors in Brussels, the heart of the European Union

    Journalist Marcin Wikło posted a photo of the restroom on Twitter, showing the distasteful use of Christian symbols. He wrote: “Brussels today. A toilet for ladies and gentlemen…a fall.”

    https://twitter.com/marcin_wiklo/status/1045020830042902528

    The reaction of Polish internauts ranged from outrage to straight up disbelief that something like this is possible.

    “I’m waiting for an argument. Why won’t they hang pictures of Muhammad and his wife Aisha?,” writes one user.

    The sacred portraits were taken down from the doors on demand of Polish journalists

    “The Blasphemy!”, “Dear God…”, “What a pathetic leftist provocation”, “Lenin and Marx would be proud of the continuation of their work”, “The house shows the owner and because that owner is a neocommunist then the house will be a marxist kolkhoz,” others wrote in response.

    The sacred images were later removed from the doors at the request of Polish journalists. 

    “By request of Polish groups, the pictures have been taken down. Distaste lingers,” writes Wikło on Twitter.

    tt

     

  • The end of the world as we know it

    Grzywaczewski just returned from Washington where he attended a CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis) conference.

    “From the American perspective, from the perspective in Washington, we have found ourselves in a historical moment,” says Grzywaczewski, a reporter, writer and an expert on Eurasian issues. “For the first time in five hundred years the center of the world has moved from the Atlantic Ocean to the West Pacific.”

    Poland should maintain its attempts of cooperation with the US, so that America does not turn its resources from Central Europe and to the Western Pacific. “Poland is a kind of headstone between Russia, China and the EU, which is a difficult position but one that can be used to Poland’s advantage.”

    Grzywaczewski approves of Poland’s alliance with the US but urges to keep China in mind as it is America’s greatest competitor on every level. In his view although still important, Russia is not the US’s most pressing issue anymore. China is. 

    Poland is a kind of headstone between Russia, China and the EU, which is a difficult position but one that can be used to Poland’s advantage

    Grzywaczewski underlined that during the CEPA conference, they discussed how influential and strong the Three Seas Initiative could be. “Appealing before the USA as a united Eastern-Central European block would ease over many issues for us.”

    He did not agree, that the Three Seas would serve to fulfil American interests and would lead to the vassalization of the region under the USA. “This is not vassalization, but an attempt of carrying out a strategic decision as to which power we should tie our interests to,” he says and once again points at China as a potential rival to the US in Central Europe. “This is a great challenge for Polish authorities.” 

    He also drew attention to the fact the 68’ generation is fading and the 89’ generation is coming to power. This generation will most likely be disappointed with the end-goal of globalization. “To them, the experience of the exploding liberalism is a kind of contradiction of freedom, a liberal dictatorship.”

  • Kaczyński decides elections first, knee operation later

    For the last several weeks Kaczyński had to move around using a crutch. Yet the closer it came to the time of the campaign, the less of the crutch was to be seen.

    “The chairman is not resting. He knows that the upcoming elections are important. There’s barely a month left and Jarosław Kaczyński is to visit many places in Poland,” an unnamed source close to PiS told the tabloid.

    The chairman is not resting. He knows that the upcoming elections are important. There’s barely a month left and Jarosław Kaczyński is to visit many places in Poland

    In addition to struggling against osteoarthritis, Kaczyński also had to deal with a bacterial infection on his knee and undergo heavy antibiotic treatment.

    “The chairman is in much better shape. He’s beaten his infection and is undergoing rehabilitation,” says the source. “Next year, he’ll have an operation of the knee by implanting an endoprosthesis.”

  • Think tank raises Hungarian GDP growth forecast to 4.4 percent

    The Hungarian economy is performing above expectations: unemployment is falling, wages are rising, inflation is low and investments are booming. As a result, think tank Századvég has raised its GDP forecast for 2018 to 4.4 percent, Origo reports.

    In the second quarter of the year, GDP growth reached 4.6 percent, mainly fuelled by consumption and investments. While Századvég expects a moderate slowdown in economic growth next year mainly as a result of external factors, its 2019 forecast is still a solid 3.5 percent.

    In the first seven months of the year, wages increased by 12.1 percent. Adjusted for inflation, that still comes out to a 9.4 percent boost in real wages. Tourism and retail revenues are up by 6.8 and 8.9 percent, respectively, and Hungarians are also spending more of their holidays abroad.

    As a result of higher wages, the state’s income tax revenues have also grew by 13.9 percent in the first half of 2018. Unemployment has reached its lowest since the regime change in 1990 at 3.6 percent.

    A lasting 5 percent depreciation of the Hungarian currency, however, means that inflation is expected to somewhat exceed the Central Bank’s target and come in at 2.8 percent in 2018 and 3.3 percent in 2019. Századvég projects a budget deficit of 2.0 percent for 2018 and 1.7 percent for next year.

  • Brussels wants to speed up the inflow of illegal migrants

    Both the Sargentini Report and the proposed changes in the EU’s migration policies show increasing pressure from pro-migration forces, Hungarian State Minister for EU Affairs Judit Varga told Magyar Hírlap in an interview.

    Varga said earlier this year that Sargentini stressed in an interview that it was an illusion to think that EU member states are sovereign and the Union cannot interfere in what are perceived by people as internal affairs.

    “This statement (of Sargentini) clearly shows that the report is political blackmail, aimed at depriving Hungary of its sovereignty and to exert pressure on its migration policy,” Varga said

    It is clear that the report was not aimed at the government, as they claim, but at Hungary, punishing its people for refusing to become a migrant country. Moreover, they had to cheat their own rules to pass the report. But ever since Roman law it is well known that lawlessness cannot result in law.

    The EU is pressuring Hungary to change its migration policy and they have it on the agenda to take border control away from us if they cannot force this on us in another way. They want us to accept a pro-migration policy but we are having none of it.

    At last week’s informal EU summit in Salzburg the Hungarian Prime Minister has clearly said that Hungary has already proven the ability to defend its own borders and those of the Union.

    We must remain vigilant and we still have many battles ahead of us. Pro-migration forces will not abandon their plans and should they achieve a majority at the coming EP elections, they will accelerate the flooding of Europe with illegal migrants.

  • The beginning of Merkel’s end

    Merkel just lived through her worst moment. It was important for her that the 246 MPs of the CDU/CSU elect the 69 year old Volker Kauder as a parliamentary group leader. The politician was serving in this position for 13 years as her right hand. However Kauder was defeated by the relatively unknown Ralph Brinkhaus, who ran in the elections against the will of the chancellor and was smiled at because of trying. In the end Brinkhaus won 125-112 and everyone understood the voting was not about him or Kauder, but rather a symbolic act against Merkel.

    Shortly after the apparently troubled Merkel admitted her defeat and the German media was starting to write about the end of her career. The position of the group leader in the Bundestag is traditionally very strong. This was understood by Merkel who in 2002 pushed out Friedrich Merz, her party rival from the position and as a result secured the loyality of the CDU’s MEPs. Her alliance with Volker Kauder was another smart move, she gained a loyal ally, a conservative catholic, who was able to counter Merkel’s weaknesses.

    On the elections of 2017 the CDU lost 8 percent and it was widely expected that Merkel would nominate a younger cadre, sending a signal of renewal towards the public. In the beginning of the summer, it turned out that Kauder is unable to manage the CDU, especially regarding the issue of migration, when many MPs of his party were agreeing with the CSU’s more radical policies. Still, the elections about Kauder should be only a formality and his fall is an unprecedented example, which is interpreted as a distrust towards Merkel.

    The chancellor’s luck lies in the weakness of her opponents, still, her allies are facing serious problems. The big coalition with the SPD is not performing well, the CSU is facing a historic defeat in Bavaria in October, where the CDU could lose every fourth supporter in Hessen. The situation emulates the final years of Helmut Kohl, which were merely about keeping the power, with one difference: while Kohl was able to deceive the public until the end of his last term, Merkel’s mask has fallen from the very beginning.

  • Slovaks are less wealthy than Visegrád neighbors

    Data has been collected from 53 countries around the world to calculate wealth. This wealth was calculated using the sum of their personal properties and the value of owned real estates, while the debts were also taken into account. According to Allianz the richest people are living in Switzerland, with an average wealth of 173,990 euros, followed by the United States.

    In the Central European region Austria is topping the chart (53,980 euros), while from the former Eastern block the Czechs (15,290) are followed by the Hungarians, Poles and the Slovaks, where the average wealth of an individual is only in th range of 6,190 euros. The worst-performing country of the region is Ukraine (530 euros).

    The long-term changes are showing that Slovakia is left behind by its western neighbor: in five years an average Czech citizen gained 4,000 euros, in Slovakia the rise represents only 1,100 euros during the same time period.

  • Sweden vs the Dragon

    The beginning of the story was quite mundane, Magyar Idők writes: a Chinese family showed up at two o’clock in the morning at a Stockholm hotel, but their booking was for the next day. They asked the staff to allow them to stay in the lobby, but were refused and thrown out on the street. The Chinese family resisted, the father shouted “murder”. All the while the police just watched.

    At least this is the version of rapper Pissy, member of the government-sponsored CD Rev (a.k.a. Chengdu Revolution) Chinese gangsta rap band.

    But after presenting Pissy’s version of the events, the song veers right into government propaganda: 

    “What da heck was going on with this? / Is it cultural difference? / you just don’t give a shieeet

    Western nations, Sweetie Sweden / always talk about human rights, pay attention 

    You don’t know how to treat your guests / None of us would do the same to the guests we have”

    Subsequently Swedish state television aired a satirical program about China subtitled in Mandarin, containing negative stereotypes about China. The video begins with tips to Chinese to avoid cultural clashes: “For example, we do not poop outside historic buildings. And if you see someone who’s out walking a dog, it’s not because they just bought lunch.”

    The spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry, Geng Shuang said the program was “a gross insult to and vicious attack on China and the Chinese people” and that it was “full of prejudices, biases and provocations against China.”

    Thomas Hall, editor of entertainment programs at the state television channel apologized for the satire admitting that “it could be interpreted as offensive”. But by then it was too late. Chinese social media now has several calls from well-known figures with millions of supporters demanding the boycott of Swedish companies such as H&M and Volvo. Volvo was purchased by Chinese automotive group Geely in 2010.

  • EP elections are about Europe’s future

    Hungarian speaker of the house László Kövér met his Polish counterpart, Marek Kuchciński (officially: Marshal of the Sejm) in Budapest and later the two gave a joint interview on national television channel M1, Magyar Idők reports.

    “The attitude of Brussels will change after the elections because there will be a new EP and a new Commission,” Kövér said

    He said low turnout at the past EP elections disproves that a common European identity can be forged instead of the national identities, adding that this will be the first EP election where voters will not evaluate the performance of their own governments but will give their opinion on Europe’s future in the light of migration.

    He expects significant gains of the side supporting national sovereignty and hopes that the “leftist aberration” will be pushed back. Kövér said that if the majority of the EP “returns to normality” they can finally tackle the real problems such as the North-South or East-West divide or the global challenges posed by a selfish U.S. policy, emerging China or Africa.

    Kuchciński said the most critical European issue in the coming years will be that of migration and its repercussions on security, the labor market and social policies. He said migration proves that the Visegrád countries can achieve results if they stand together.

    Earlier in the day, the two unveiled a statue of Józef Piłsudski, the father of the Second Polish Republic, re-established in 1918.

     

  • Trump has done more for Europe than Obama

    According to Brzezinski, Trump´s rhetoric gives confusing signals in terms of US commitment to Europe, but in terms of transatlantic relations, Trump is a president whose team has brushed up American security commitment to Europe.

    Obama withdrew the last American tank from Europe and during his administration the units left. He tried to rectify relations with Russia but he weakened ties with Europe. Obama´s policy was defined by his attempt to avoid conflict as it was evidenced for example in his reaction to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

    “Instead of sending battalions to Ukraine, we sent companies with aid and moved aircraft to Central Europe (…) This hesitant strategy persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States are intimidated or are even seriously afraid of wider conflict,” Brzezinski said.

    “Although Donald Trump speaks of friendship with Russia, it is a rhetoric that is addressed to some of his voters. After all, he still changes what he says, depending on who he is talking to. But it is another thing with his actions, especially when it comes to spending money or military action. Trump’s picture is not as black as many people in Europe are eager to draw,“ Brzezinski said.

    Trump has dramatically extended the so-called European deterrence initiative, which extends US presence in Europe, he speaks about sending another combat brigade to Central Europe. According to Brzezinski, the concertation of NATO troops in Central Europe is negligible and should increase, the permanent military bases with technologies and tanks should be built. “It could be a permanent presence of American soldiers. But it would be much better if it were West European units. If European keep their promises of raising the military budget, they will have the means to do so,” said Brzezinski.

  • Czech Republic is 30th most economically-free country

    Canadian institute Fraser ranked it 30 out of 162 countries, seven places higher than last year’s position. Results are showing that the Czech Republic is improving not only relatively to other countries, but in absolute numbers as well.

    According to the Fraser institute, 1st place goes to Hong Kong and last, 162nd place, goes to Venezuela. The Czech Republic shares 30th place with Spain and Bahrain. Jiří Nohejl, Liberal institute economist, says, that “we are quite on top in categories like property rights or foreign trade. On the other hand, we ended 118th in the category of so-called size of state sector, which is crucial. A slight warning signal may be the worsening of the indicator of access to “healthy money”, especially in the situation when the changes in the composition of the National Bank Board will take place.”

    The index has been published since 1996. Data released on Tuesday is based on data from 2016. The delay is due to the need to wait for data from 162 countries around the world. The index consists of five indicators that relate to the size of the state sector, the rule of law, international trade, or overall regulation. Another factor is the country’s monetary environment and the inflationary environment.

  • The EU is at the end of its tether

    Macron talked about the ‘leprosy of nationalism’, Orbán replied with a distinction between the pro- and anti-immigration camp. However, the question of national identity resonates across Europe. The binary division as presented by Macron and Orbán servers one purpose – to provoke the European population to finally make the European elections important.

    A ‘progressivists entourage’ is already lined up behind Macron and Orbán has his entourage of ‘populist snipers’. There is an asymmetry between them – progressivists are usually in power, while snipers are just asserting themselves, and more often they are also in power like in Poland, Italy and Austria. Both sides have their own supporters. Merkel supports Macron and Kurz supports Orbán. Czech PM Andrej Babiš does it his own way and supports both sides.

    The European Parliament’s resolution cannot hinder Hungary in any way. It is not possible to exclude it from the game if it does not want to exclude itself. There is no vote of consensus or number of votes in the European Council. So, Hungary and its allies can still criticize socialists and progressivists in the EU parliament and wait for the first successful EU elections.

    We should also be concerned that Macron’s line is seriously considering reducing the “hard core” of Europe from which the former Eastern Europe would be eliminated. If the French president can persuade the German Chancellor, the idea of ​​a two-speed Europe will return, as the French socialist president François Mitterrand once developed in the form of a wider European federation.

  • The EU’s most pointless feud

    Luxemburg will quite certainly hand down a decision about violating European laws. A directive will then be issued to call for the amendment of laws that have lowered the retirement age of judges, which is supposedly violating judicial independence. Poles, who take their sovereignity seriously, would find themselves in the position where they would have to renounce the principle that justice is the competence of a nation state.

    Kaczynsky will explain that Poland was punished because of its conservative ideology and the high intolerance of the Brussels elite. But the very same elite has no answer if he were to ask why Article 7 has not been invoked against Spain, where protesters were beaten on the street. The conflict will escalate, though it is completely pointless. While the PiS government may be making controversial decisions on the judicial system, it is still a democracy and it will remain a democracy despite the reforms.

    Even Slovakia has a similar measure. The recall of judges is the responsibility of the executive branch through the president. If the law specifies an age of retirement, is it bad? What kind of a system allows judges to rule and decide on which colleagues should retire and which should remain? Any national government that tinkers with the system opens itself up to possibility of being sued.

    The European Union needs nothing less than more internal, destructive conflicts. As if the topic of immigration was not enough. Irregularities are everywhere and one-sided chicanery against Slovakia’s neighbours runs counter to Slovak interests, regardless of whether democracy prevails among those neighbors.

  • Duda and Tusk friendly chat caught on camera

    The two presidents took part in yesterday’s meeting gathered for the “Action for Peacekeeping” declaration in the United Nations, led by UN General Secretary Antonio Gutters. Cameras caught Tusk and Duda chatting as each waited for their turn to speak.

    The chief of cabinet of the Polish president, Krzysztof Szczerski, when asked whether he knew what the conversation was about, confirmed that it took place and replied that it was a private conversation:

    “If I told you what it was about it would become a public conversation, and if it were public, then its course would be different as well.”

    TVP journalist Bartłomiej Graczak posted a short clip on Twitter in which one can see but not hear Duda and Tusk chatting:

    “President Andrzej Duda and President Donald Tusk having a nice chat during a General Assembly session in the UN. Is there a specialist at lip reading among us? :))”

    https://twitter.com/bgraczak/status/1044680814624206853

    Some Polish internauts are less suspicious of Duda, however. One of them notices the different speech patterns of the presidents and commends Andrzej Duda on trying to converse despite the differences between him and Tusk:

    “It’s obvious that President Duda is relaxed: he doesn’t cover his mouth with his hand and is not afraid of the contents of his talk being uncovered. Despite differences, he is trying to talk. He’s open. Meanwhile Tusk? He’s hiding his mouth behind his hand, so that what he’s saying remains unknown. He’s looking around, saying little, careful – coward.”

    https://twitter.com/aneczka64/status/1044826014608760832

  • Kozlovska is back in Brussels

    Lyudmyla Kozlovska and her husband Bartosz Kramek arrived in Brussels recently, apparently visiting on an invitation from a group of MEPs, including the Liberal leader and outspoken critic of Poland’s Law and Justice government, Guy Verhofstadt, German Green MEP Rebecca Harms.

    A photo of smiling Kozlovska and Kramek walking through the arrivals hall at a Brussels airport appeared on social media.  Kozlovska, who holds Russian and Ukrainian citizenship, had been denied entry to Belgium in August and sent back to Kiev based on an alert issued by Polish security services stating concerns about her ties to Russian interests.

    tt

    “Lyudmyla Kozlovska is installing herself with large luggage in Brussels on invitation from Guy Verhofstadt. So much for Poland’s membership in the EU,” wrote S. Balcerak on Twitter.

    The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted Kozlovska a visa at the request of the MEPs. Kozlovska will reportedly took part on Wednesday in the meetings of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe parliamentary group. 

    “It will focus on the state of the rule of law and civil society in Poland and Ukraine. I mean to touch on the topic of attacks on Polish judges who oppose pressure from PiS and attacks on civic activists in Ukraine,” said Kozlovska.

    The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) issued a note of concern in which it protests the actions of Guy Verhofstadt:

    “With great concern, Poland accepts the decision of the Belgian government to permit a visa to a person written into the Schengen Information System,” announced the official MSZ twitter account.

    tt

    Kozlovska, who is the head of the Soros-sponsored Open Dialog Foundation, had been put onto the list of people to be removed from the Schengen Area via an alert in the Schengen Information System (SIS) by Polish authorities. Kozlovska had been put on that list due to a negative opinion released by Polish special services (ABW) concerning her status as a long-term EU resident and ties to Russian interests.

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  • Trump praises Poland in his UN speech

    Donald Trump has applauded Poland for its actions concerning the diversification of energy sources and at the same time, criticized Germany for works on Nord Stream 2.

    Trump stressed that dependence on a single supplier of energy would lead to blackmail and intimidation. He also warned of Germany’s total dependence of Russia if it did not change course.

    “That is why we congratulate European states, such as Poland, for leading the construction of a Baltic pipeline so that nations are not dependent on Russia to meet their energy needs,” said the President, commending Polish energy policies and the construction of the Baltic Pipe. This pipeline is meant to connect the gas resources of Norway, through Denmark and with Poland.

    We congratulate European states, such as Poland, for leading the construction of a Baltic pipeline so that nations are not dependent on Russia to meet their energy needs

    Reiterating his statement about America “no longer being taken advantage of”, Trump spoke of the necessity of countries to be responsible for their migration and safety. Not international organizations.

    Trump mentioned different nations with different dreams, including India, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Poland in which “a great people are standing up for their independence, their security, and their sovereignty.”

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    The President also criticized the Iranian government and the abolished 2015 nuclear deal, as well as commenting on the positive progress of the process of denuclearising North Korea.

  • Aquarius case shows double standards at work

    It isn’t exactly news that the rescue ship Aquarius is unwelcome. What is, is that this was now announced not by Italian Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini, but by French finance minister Bruno Le Maire: “For now, France says no,” writes Magyar Hírlap columnist Ottó Nagy.

    It is very pertinent that since Italy denied docking of the rescue ship, France has also done so, saying that according to EU rules the ship should dock at the “nearest safe harbor”. This is all very good: according to both European regulations and the Hungarian position refugees should be processed and registered in the nearest safe country. The only problem, or rather double standard is that while Hungary is being chastised for this in the European Parliament, nobody blames Macron for doing the same. At least we haven’t heard any breaking news that Judith Sargentini would be rushing to France in order to ascertain the inhumane and anti-democratic treatment of refugees.

    But the question remains whether an overzealous public prosecutor will sue Bruno Le Maire – as did the public prosecutor of the Italian city of Agrigento with Matteo Salvini, after the latter refused docking to the refugee ship Diciotti. In the meantime, Panamanian authorities withdrew the registration of the ship, meaning that at the next docking it will have to lower the Panamanian flag and cannot leave until it is registered by another nation.

    Salvini has already made it clear that Aquarius may hoist as many flags as it wishes and will still not be allowed to dock in Italian ports. Until such time those defending migrants under the pretense of democracy figure the situation out, we would advise them to perhaps ressurect Gaddafi. Should they succeed, that would rid us of a sea of trouble and every single rescue ship.

  • Church turned into a mosque in Germany

    The Kapernaum-Kirche in Hamburg had been built to accommodate the needs of Christians in the developing Horn district in 1961. By 2002, due to a lack of followers and funds, the evangelicals had to sell the building.

    In 2012, the church had been bought by the Muslim Al-Nour community, which has been gaining increasing influence in Germany. Nikolaus Schneider, the president of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, called the selling of the building to the Muslims a “tragedy”.

    Although the reconstruction is mostly financed from donations, Kuwait had paid the brunt of the reconstructions by donating a EUR 1 million.

    A photo on twitter which shows the cross of Kapernaum replaced by the word “Allah” on its steeple has been circulated on Polish twitter sphere for weeks.

    “Merkel’s Germany – Instead of a cross, the word “Allah” now stands on top of the church’s steeple. A church in Hamburg has been turned into a mosque. Probably as part of “European values”.

    https://twitter.com/sbalcerac/status/1024979794654638080

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    The interior of the former church turned into a mosque in Hamburg, photo: Uwe Rohwedder

    Part of the Christian priests and believers, however, claim that this purchase will “help bond” with Al-Nour. Even one of Kapernaum’s former pastors said that he welcomes Al-Nour to the church with open arms.

    “Deutsche Welle” reports that Kapernaum is the first Church in Germany to be transformed into a mosque.

    Hamburg’s senator of internal affairs Andy Grote, the ambassador of Kuwait Nadzib Al-Bader and the chairman of the central council of Muslims in Germany Aiman Mazyek will take part in the mosque’s opening.

  • Macron’s many faces

    Macron probably first showed his true face at a World War II commemoration where a teenager addressed him by his nickname “Manu” (short for Emmanuel), Magyar Idők columnist Zoltán Kottász writes.

    “You’re here, at an official ceremony and you should behave,” he told the boy. “You can play the fool but today it’s the Marseillaise (the national anthem), the Chant des Partisans (French Resistance song), so you call me ‘Mister President’ or ‘Sir.’ Ok? There you go.”

    His reaction sooner resembled a conservative and traditionalist politician than the anointed leader of liberalism. But that is what his believers want to see in him: the last hope of liberals who, together with Angela Merkel, will defeat the “populists”.

    But the French politician who previously served as minister in the government of Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls is neither a socialist, nor liberal, nor centrist but a conservative to the core. As Daily Telegraph wrote recently: “There’s already a Macron-style centrist party in Britain. It’s called the Conservatives.”

    But what are the main conservative traits in Europe? Tight fiscal policy, neo-liberal economic policy, compulsory military or civil service, staunch defense of national interests, anti-terrorist measures and last, but not least, protection of borders.

    Macron has done all of the above since he became president, which is fine. He is entitled to take measures he deems in his country’s best interest. What is not right is the fact that he is not what he seems to be. He portrays himself as the saviour and reformer of Europe. He threatens to withdraw EU funding from those who do not show solidarity, while he has also denied entry to the refugee ship Aquarius demonstrating that is also reluctant to welcome illegal migrants.

    And then he goes on to propose a solution to halt illegal immigration – refugee centres in Africa – which Viktor Orbán, branded by him as populist, suggested long ago. There is a marked difference between Macron’s rhetoric and actions. He seemingly distances himself from the nationalists but then goes on to terminate a refugee camp in Paris. If Hungary were to do such a thing, the press would be all over us.

    He has a more assertive foreign policy than his predecessor, Hollande, negotiating in the interest of French companies with Iran, Russia and China. But when Hungary does the same, it is of course dealing with dictatorships.

    Last August the French press reported that in a few short months the new president had spent 26 thousand euros on makeup. Perhaps to hide his true face.

  • The Hungarian who painted America’s cabs yellow

    Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Sklabinya, Austro-Hungary (currently Sklabiňa, Slovakia) in 1879, his family emigrated to the United States when he was five. In America he added a T to his family name for easier pronunciation and changed his first name to John. He was an amateur boxer, paperboy, journalist and later car salesman.

    John Hertz

    John D. Hertz in 1899

    His car business had many trade-in vehicles, with which he started a budget cab company running affordable and reliable cars. He founded the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago in 1915, painting his cars bright yellow at a time when almost all cars were black. The distinctive yellow cabs became popular in his home city and were quickly franchised throughout the United States.

    In order to ensure a smoother traffic flow for his cabs he proposed the introduction of traffic lights in Chicago and installed them at his own expense. He began a small car rental business in 1918 with a couple of Ford T models. Hertz Corp. now has 37,000 employees worldwide and last year posted a net income of US$327 million.

    He died in 1961, at the age of 82.

     

  • Orbán welcomes third grandchild

    Anna Adél was born on September 17th as the second daughter of Orbán’s oldest daughter, Ráhel. Beyond reinforcing Orbán’s image as a family man, such images also convey a deeper meaning, reminding of his government’s commitment to stop and possibly reverse Hungary’s population loss.

    Since the fall of communism in 1990, Hungary’s population fell by 604,000 to 9.77 million, below the psychological 10 million threshold, while the ratio of under-15s is the lowest since the first Hungarian census in 1870.

    After winning a third consecutive term with a two-thirds majority in April, Orbán has pledged to make demography one of his government’s top priorities. He has five children and three grandchildren.

  • Aquarius 2 has registration revoked

    Doctors without borders and SOS Méditerranée use the ship and have said Panama has withdrawn its registration under the “unconcealed economic and political pressure of the Italian government“.

    Operators of the ship appealed to European governments to “allow Aquarius to continue the mission“. They are to confirm to the Panamanian authorities that the objections of the Italian Government are unfounded, and immediately allot a new flag to the ship under which it could sail again.

    Panama justified the withdrawal of registration by the fact that the ship “fails to respect international legal procedures“ concerning the rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

    “While Panama removed a flag from the non-governmental ship Aquarius 2, which is, thus, becoming ´a ghost ship´ again, the Libyan Coast Guard rescued and returned to Libya more than two hundred migrants,“ Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini wrote on Facebook.

    On Sunday, Salvini also denied that the Italians put Panama under pressure. He wrote on social networks that he did not even know what the Panama phone code was.

    Aquarius has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea since February 2016. After the new Italian government closed the ports for non-profit organizations´ ships, Aquarius was found at the center of diplomatic discussions about where to disembark the migrants. Firstly, the ship sailed under the flag of Gibraltar that took this opportunity away from Aquarius in August. Under the Panamanian flag, the ship changed its name to Aquarius 2.

  • Bannon meets Zeman

    It was only an introductory meeting but a successful one, he said. We talked about international affairs, relations between the US and China, relations with Russia and two points of utmost importance to the president – the threat of Islamization and Islamist terrorism in Europe, and the state of the EU and institutional crisis.

    According to Bystroň, Zeman thinks that Europe needs strong charismatic leaders if it wants to play a part among the US, China and Russia. Their meeting initiated by Bannon himself took over an hour, longer than expected. The former advisor to the US president met with former president Klaus and now wants to focus on active politicians and party leaders. Bannon should meet with Babiš, Klaus Jr. and Petr Fiala – men with power who are looking for new solutions, added Bystroň.

    Bystroň’s anti-immigration AfD would end up second, maybe even win the elections in eastern Germany, according to the latest polls. They have many potential partners in the Czech Republic, according to Bystroň. AfD promotes an agenda similar to that of the Civic Democrats (ODS), and there are some points of intersection with Babiš’s ANO and Okamura’s SPD.

  • Jourová: Babiš and Orbán in the same boat doesn’t surprise me

    When two ‘alphas’ meet and don’t kill each other, they make an alliance. By supporting Orbán, Babiš made headlines in Brussels, and no one is talking about the Stork’s nest anymore. For the public in the Czech Republic and in Hungary, it is crucial that someone is saying ‘we need to be strong in a strong Europe’. The EP vote wasn’t about migration and Orbán must’ve known that. However, he had to sell it that way to Hungarian citizens.

    The good thing is that we have always been able to sit down with Hungary, they already pulled back with judiciary reform for example. There is a dialogue alongside all the procedures against Hungary. That’s why I see better ways on how to invite Hungary back among the democratic countries rather than triggering Article 7, which is like a carpet bombing. We’ve started procedures in the CEU case, another one following the anti-NGO laws. Now we need to forward it to the European Court of Justice, to interpret some terms like ‘civil society’ or ‘rule of law’. We won’t move forward by triggering Article 7.

    Orbán can back himself by the great electoral results, he is provoking the EU because Hungary is prospering and because he is building ‘stop Brussels’ billboards using European money. As far as I’m concerned, Babiš never stood for that, never went that far regarding the media, NGOs and justice. I’m sure if he did the same in the Czech Republic, there would be thousands of people in the streets.

    In the interview, she also talked about the quality of goods and the new internet regulation.

  • Zeman: Member states should decide where to put subsidies

    It’d be better for states to decide where to put the money, ultimately it would increase subsidies’ effectivity. We have to keep in mind that every country has different priorities and conditions, the amount of money for agricultural purposes or a science shouldn’t be decided centrally, added Zeman.

    He mentioned that the European budget will be missing 15 percent of its income once the UK leave, because they have been a significant net payer. Therefore, Zeman believes it is really important to convince the Commission to let the states allocate European funds themselves. If not the Commission will continue with its much less efficient prescriptions.

  • Poles are super-optimistic about their future

    After the economic crisis of 2008, Western economies collapsed, and populist parties rose in power. Moods of consumers’ have been on the rise lately and Poles are brimming with optimism like never before.

    69 percent of Poles positively evaluate the condition of Poland’s economy. This includes both supporters of the government and the opposition. Among Law and Justice supporters, 81 percent believe that the economy has improved. Among opposition voters, 66 percent believe so.

    Only three countries are ahead of Poland when it comes to economy optimism: Germany (78 pc), Sweden (81 pc) and the Netherlands (85 pc). Yet Poland exceeds even those countries when it comes to positive predictions of the future. 6 out of 10 Poles (59 pc) believe, that their children’s situation will be better than theirs. Second are Russians with 51 percent.

    Poland is also ahead of economic power-houses such as the United States (65 pc) and the United Kingdom (46 pc). Among European countries, the lowest satisfaction is amidst Italians (15 pc) and the Greeks are the kings of disapproval with 4 percent.

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    The Pew Research Centre draws attention to the fact, that since 1990 the earning of the average Pole has increased by 165 percent. In Russia, on the other hand, the increase has been 20 percent. Yet among developed economies, only Poland and Russia are rays of optimism. Japan, France, Greece and the UK are the least optimistic.

  • Hungary stuck between Christianity and Turanism

    Hungary’s geopolitical and historical position allows for a unique combination of Western and Eastern cultures. This is also very comfortable because it allows the country to be flexible by claiming that at one time, the West doesn’t understand Hungary and at another, that the East also does not.

    In 2013 Hungary’s foreign policies adapted the doctrine of “Opening up to the East”. This allows Hungary to search for new strategic partners in the Eastern region. Yet it is not only economic reasons that bring Hungary closer with the East – it is also culture and origin.

    Hungarians search for their roots in the far countries of Asia. This movement, Turanism, is in the simplest way possible, an anthropological element meant to improve relations with Turkey. “Turanian peoples” are the Huns, Mongolians and Turks.

    Geopolitical and historical position allows the country to be flexible by claiming that at one time, the West doesn’t understand Hungary and at another, that the East also does not

    Another country which Hungary has found cultural ties with is Russia. By establishing a multilateral culture program between 2018-2020 with Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban further pushes the idea of Hungary being a bridge between the European Union and Russia.

    Since 2013, as part of the “Opening up the East”, Viktor Orban has been developing cooperation with countries such as Kazakhstan, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Hungarian Eximbank has even opened a US$1.5 million credit for companies wanting to extend their cooperation with “Turanian countries.”

    The biggest issue with Turanism is how it fits in with Hungary’s position as the defender of Christian values in Europe. Given that the predominant religion in the majority of Turanian nations is Islam, it is questionable as to how Orban is able to consolidate this with his anti-Islam immigration policies since 2015.

    Hungary warrants its belonging to this “cultural crucible” by referring to Hungary’s origins from the Huns who settled in Europe and changed religion to Christianity, while maintaining their Asian roots.

  • Rebuilding diplomacy after the devastating “Sikorski algorithm”

    The 2013 “Sikorski algorithm” called for the closing of Polish embassies whose upkeep cost more than 1% of the trade revenue with the embassy’s host country. This led to the closure of embassies in Mongolia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet embassies are not only about trade. Before Sikorski’s policy, the only Middle Eastern countries that did not have a Polish embassy were Bahrain and Oman. Afterwards, only five out of 11 countries possessed one.

    In comparison, the Czech Republic has maintained eight embassies in the Middle-East. It was also the Czechs who profited the most from the Polish absence in Mongolia. This is because at the time Mongolia was going through an economic boom and a significant number of Mongolians studied in Poland and were able to speak Polish. But why should anyone use such an advantage, really?

    When it comes to Africa, hundreds of missionaries operate on the continent and Poland takes part in humanitarian aid in several African countries. But again, what point is there in supporting such diplomatic actions when we can just accept selected migrants thrown at us by former colonial powers? Who cares that we could accept people from Africa into our universities and then send them back to be part of their country’s elite as “our people”?

    An example of Polish success in Africa is the Ursus company, an absolute hit in Senegal following the reopening of the embassy there in 2016. If there’s a need, there’s a way.

    The effect of the Sikorski algorithm on Poland’s relations with the Arab countries markes probably the greatest absurdity in the whole process. When Sikorski cancelled the operations of the Polish embassy in Iraq, the government of Iraq took that as an affront. Poland has great renown in countries such as Libya and Iraq, mainly due to investments during the communist era. Reopening embassies led to a dramatic increase in students from Middle Eastern countries. These aren’t people who come to live on social benefits but who pay huge sums to study in Poland.

    Iraq is soon to be the second largest exporter of oil in the world. Poland helped build infrastructure in Iraq and many people remember this and are grateful. They want Poles to return and want Polish businesses to find interest in Iraq once again.

  • Desperate move by European Commission over Polish judiciary reforms

    Brussels has demanded an expedited procedure and wants the laws forcing Polish Supreme Court (SN) judges into early retirement to be abolished. The European Commission has also requested that Poland’s judiciary system be returned to the one before Law and Justice’s (PiS) recent reforms.

    PiS EMP Tomasz Poręba criticized on twitter the works of the European Commission as solely supporting the Polish opposition:

    “The European Commision has finally confirmed that the main objective of its actions in Poland is giving life support to the opposition. Contrary to the regulations of treaties, sovereign nations right to decide about their judiciary and common sense. Zero illusions.”

    https://twitter.com/TomaszPoreba/status/1044198916349210624

    The European Commision has finally confirmed that the main objective of its actions in Poland is giving life support to the opposition

    Journalist Wojciech Biedroń calls the actions of the EC frustrated and helpless:

    “By referring Poland to the ECJ The European Commission, has lost its struggle with the Polish government. This is an act of incredibly frustration and helplessness. This is also an act of capitulation. Nothing depends on them anymore and no one cares about them. The EC elites have squandered their trust and position in three years.”

    https://twitter.com/WBiedron/status/1044182534156955648

    Some internauts have decided to mock the Polish opposition by posting photoshopped pictures of the infamous “KONSTYTUCJA” (Constitution) t-shirts with “Decommunization” written on them:

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    Of course, opposition politicians have a different opinion. Rafał Trzaskowski, the Civic Platform’s candidate for Mayor of Warsaw calls out his PiS opponent to retreat from his party’s judiciary reforms:

    “The European Commission has lost its patience for PM Morawiecki’s dodging. I call the PiS candidate and deputy minister of justice to withdraw from these judiciary changes, which are against the Constitution. NO reaction will truly mean they want to remove Poland from the EU. How much will Warsaw lose because of this?”

    https://twitter.com/trzaskowski_/status/1044183396384210944

  • German ruling parties suffer loss in popularity

    One year after the last German elections, Angela Merkel’s coalition has seen a drop in popularity following the sacking of BfV head Hans-Georg Maassen (pictured above), said Századvég political analyst István Pócza on national television channel M1.

    He said the BfV is considered an iconic part of the German institutional system and has an unquestionable role in safeguarding the country’s security.

    Germany is strongly institution-centered and people now see that these institutions are crumbling and this has led to a popularity loss of the coalition parties

    Maassen – who has been at the helm of the BfV since 2012 – has been sacked by Minister of Interior Horst Seehofer at the insistence of Chancellor Angela Merkel after Maassen’s controversial remarks regarding television coverage of the Chemnitz protests.

    Among Germany’s three coalition parties the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) were the ones who insisted on firing Maassen, while Seehofer, head of the other coalition partner Christian Social Union (CSU) defended him as a competent leader.

    A compromise was finally reached where Maassen has been given a position created for him as “special representative for security”.

    An Emnid poll for the newspaper Bild am Sonntag showed that 67 percent of those asked no longer believed the three party chiefs still had a common basis of trust, although a narrow majority also rejected the option of new elections.

  • Drunken Ukrainian diplomat rams bus in Budapest

    According to police reports, the man was driving a Toyota RAV 4 SUV with diplomatic license plates and when police arrived at the scene, he refused to submit to an alcohol test and did not want to provide his diplomatic status. Police said the man was “behaving erratically” and was taken to a nearby hospital. Police subsequently found that the man is posted to the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest as the trade attaché.

    The incident comes fresh on the heels of a diplomatic row between Hungary and Ukraine.

    Recently, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform released a hidden camera recording showing ethnic Hungarians from Ukraine taking their Hungarian citizenship oath at the Hungarian consulate in Beregszász (Beregovo, Ukraine). While Hungary grants easy access to citizenship for all ethnic Hungarians living abroad, Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship. Ukraine is host to some 140,000 ethnic Hungarians.

    Klimkin said in an interview recently that he “does not exclude” the possibility that Ukraine will expel the Hungarian consul in Beregovo, adding in a later interview that Ukraine might do so if Hungary does not recall him.

    Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szíjjártó said that should Ukraine expel a Hungarian consul, Hungary “will respond proportionately”.

  • Macron uses EU financing to blackmail Hungary

    If we look up the reasons why the European Union has established its subsidy system, we can easly find out that the goal was to reduce economic and social disparity and help disadvantaged regions catch up, Magyar Idők columnist Gergely Kiss writes.

    None of the EU’s documents mention anything about using this system to blackmail individual member states. Nor is it written anywhere that if the French President doesn’t like the policies of Poland and Hungary he can close the tap.

    The rules do, however, say that funding from the cohesion funds can be suspended in case a country has an excessive budget deficit and doesn’t implement measures to reduce it. The French are exactly in this position: for years, they have been unable to push the budget deficit below the required three percent of GDP limit.

    The EU had to extend the deadline for France three times and finally, after ten years they managed to stay below three percent in 2017. Whether they can repeat this in the current year is anybody’s guess.

    Hungary – three years after the election of the Orbán-government has pushed its deficit below the limit and kept it there ever since. The country has also opened its markets to multinational retailers at the detriment of smaller local firms.

    Now Macron is threatening us with the withdrawal of EU subsidies just because he doesn’t like Hungarian policies. But who is going to decide how short have we fallen and what penalty to impose on the country? Perhaps the likes of Sargentini, those linked to Soros, or the liberal media? This is a nightmare!

    So we should ask ourselves: who has deviated from the Union’s fundamental values? Hungary, because it abides its rules by defending its borders, leading a sustainable fiscal policy and providing its citizens with better living conditions?

    Or perhaps those, who are willing to sacrifice every European value on the altar of liberalism?

  • Remix editor on V4 and the Polish-Hungarian friendship

    We are an English-language news aggregator portal for all those who wish to have first-hand information about the region’s domestic and international policies, Remix’s contributing editor in Warsaw told Pesti Srácok in an interview.

    Adamczyk said the editorial team consists of seasoned, multi-lingual journalists from the Central European region with up-to-date and in depth knowledge about the region and with a focus on the Visegrád Group of countries. The portal promotes the idea of a strong Europe built on a foundation of strong nation-states. The voices of this region have something serious to say about today’s Europe and its future, he said. It’s an alternative narrative, different than the one we hear from Brussels, Berlin and Paris. This narrative, this Europe is shaped and led by the heirs to 1989. The roblem is that these voices are never heard in mainstream, English-language media. The Remix mission is to change that.

    The Visegrád Four is a strong regional grouping that can form the nucleus of wider regional cooperation such as the 12-country Three Seas Initiative. The economic cooperation between the region’s countries also opens up possibilitiies for major infrastructure development.

    Adamczyk also believes that following next year’s EU elections and the Brexit negotiations, the member states of the European Union should start a negotiating process to form a new European Union based on new principles reflecting the needs of the people and respecting their rights, a European Union as a Europe of nations. 

  • Saková: Vietnamese kidnapping not a German-Slovak problem

    The two politicians discussed the case of Trinh Xuan Thanh, who was kidnapped from Berlin and transported home through Bratislava, and the issues connected to immigration and a potential police cooperation as well. “The case is a German-Vietnamese and a Slovak-Vietnamese issue, it is not a German-Slovak problem,” said Saková after the meeting.

    During the meeting, Seehofer asked for details about the ongoing Slovak investigation. Saková believes that more than half of the 44 police officers indirectly involved in the case were already examined by the local authorities. Saková also believes that the Slovak police reacted to all three German requests and the German police is directly involved in the examination process.

  • Germany’s second warning

    According to the poll made for ZDF television, CDU and the SPD is losing supporters, while AfD is in second place again. If it was not enough a new leftist movement is on the rise says Aufstehen, which could weaken social democrats similarly to AfD. Its leader, Sahra Wagenknecht is notorious for defending Stalin is trying to address voters with leftist populism and xenophobia. 

    At first sight there is no sense in the political shifts – the German economy is growing, unemployement is at historically low numbers. Why are the extremists gaining supporters? The reason is simple: Merkel shifted the Christian Democrats to the left, which created a political void on the right. Similarly, social democrats under Gerhard Schröder moved to the right.

    While in the past big coalitions were rather uncommon, they became a rule. The common coalition of two parties created opportunities for real alternatives and the German party system is changing after decades of stability. The political center is weaking while the extremists are on the rise. The traditional parties would be able to govern due to the rising preferences of the Greens. The issue is, when comes the breaking point? CDU or the SPD could be forced to govern with the right or left populists. The next test will come after the Bavarian elections.

  • Orbán has every right to govern

    Koudelka believes that if a migrant wave flooded Hungary, its next stop would be Germany via Slovakia and the Czech Republic. People see masses of migrants in the neighboring countries and they rightfully fear that they may be relocated elsewhere, including our country, because of a Brussels resolution. 

    Regarding the European Parliament’s resolution on Hungary, he questioned it saying that a strong politician, who is repeatedly winning votes of Hungarians, has a legitimate right to govern. It’s just an act of arrogant superiority against common people when someone is saying that Hungarians cannot decide on their own who should represent them, he added.

    Hungary is a functional democratic state with one of the best laws for national minority protection, that includes the Slovaks and Serbian. The Hungarian minority self-government approach is truly unique. There are no political prisoners, unlike in Spain and they obeyed European regulation on its external borders, unlike Germany. Yet the European Parliament openly criticized only Hungarians.

    Many laws and regulations for which Hungary is blamed by the EU are the same or even worse in other member states.

  • Bannon presents his plan for Europe to President Zeman

    Bannon is touring Europe these days to unite nationalist and conservative parties to work together for the upcoming European elections. Bannon wants to share his experience and an American campaign know-how to help them to succeed and gain MEP seats in 2019. Zeman received Bannon who was accompanied by Petr Bystoň, a Czech-born AfD member of the German parliament.

    According to Bystroň, Zeman and Bannon agreed that the EU as we know it cannot survive and its reforms are a must. Even though Bannon’s plan is intended for party leaders, it won’t be possible for Zeman to get directly involved, but the Czech President showed some interest in it.

    Zeman and Bannon agreed that the EU as we know it cannot survive and its reform is inevitable, claimed Bystroň. He remains hopeful that Bannon will return to the Czech Republic soon and will be able to sit down with leaders of conservative parties, not mentioning any specifics.

    Bannon has already visited Italian Minister Matteo Salvini and now he is going to meet Viktor Orbán.

  • Zeman to attend V4 presidents’ summit in Slovakia

    The main topics for the next annual presidential meeting in Tatras are security and migration, the future of the EU, the European draft budget and further enlargement of the EU. V4 Presidents are also expected to discuss social policies for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of citizens and a so-called technological unemployment.

    The Visegrad group was founded back in 1991. Originally the Four tried to dissolve Comecon (RVHP) and coordinate a path to the European Union accession. Currently the V4 countries are principally united by migration – by a refusal to accept immigrants and their relocation among member states.

  • Babiš: If you come here illegally, you are an illegal immigrant, period

    “You may ask why do I travel to Italy, Germany or Hungary and explain my European solution for tackling immigration and why am I going to Morocco and Algiers. Well, I’m trying to confront my views with reality and remind our European partners that we (as the Czech Republic) are constantly showing solidarity with others, that we help abroad extensively,” the prime minister wrote on his Facebook page.

    “We may not have a sea, but as a goal-oriented businessman I cannot stand aside,” he continued. “I deeply care for our continent as a European. Therefore, I was very disappointed by the words of PMs from southern states who brought up migrant redistribution again. I demanded that the only acceptable solution is to put an end to illegal migration, systematically and in cooperation with the countries of North Africa. For me, if someone came here illegally, he or she is an illegal migrant, period.

    “In Salzburg I reminded them, if someone is not abiding by the law, then detention is the only choice. It’s not a time for a relocations debate, if this system isn’t working. Instead of tackling illegal migration, it seems like they’re saying ‘get over it, accept migration as a fact, more people will come’. For me it’s an invitation for migrants and human traffickers. We must tackle migration comprehensively.

    “We as the V4 represent 56 million people. It is a voice to be heard! We have to act together, not only regarding migration, but also the European draft budget. Have you seen those numbers? For example, why should we spend 25 billion euros more on security and defense, if we are a part of NATO?

    “I’d prefer Frontex to be operational behind European lines. We should financially support governments of southern Europe rather than boosting the agency and proceed with the migrants’ return to the country of origin. If we play it smart, there will be enough funds to solve migration once and for all by making a deal with North African countries. Not only to compensate them for stopping migration on their southern borders, but also to operate in their waters. We need to have funds for a modern day Marshall plan for Africa.”

    In his post, Babiš also commented on the ‘50 orphans issue’, Brexit and an extraordinary relationship with Slovakia.

  • Kaczyński and Morawiecki lead PiS’s campaign

    Jarosław Kaczyński focused his campaign speeches on common values shared by Poles and emphasized the need to rebuild “Polishness”, patriotism on a local level, tradition and solidarity. He underlined that all of those values have great importance when it comes to fulfilling one’s duties to one’s community as it’s representative in self-governments.

    Morawiecki’s Five

    PM Mateusz Morawiecki summarized the three years of PiS governing and put forward his newest plan for the country called “Morawiecki’s Five”. This plan includes: developing heating systems in houses, developing houses for the elderly and outdoor fitness centers, government financing for local infrastructure, high-speed internet for schools and the introduction of participatory budgeting.

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    Morawiecki also emphasized Poland’s economic growth and low unemployment rates, which put Poland at the top of EU countries. He also drew attention to the improvement of public finances and the lowering of budget deficits, despite large government spending on social plans which has amounted to at least 2 percent of GDP.

    The first round of local elections in Poland will take place on October 21st.

  • Anti-clerical “Kler” sparks cultural clash in Poland

    “Kler” by Wojciech Smarzowski is controversial because it shows the Catholic Church in a negative light as a mafia-like institution. Although the movie received the Gdynia Film Festival audience’s distinction, it was not awarded anything by the jury. Krystyna Pawłowicz, a Law and Justice (PiS) MP criticized the Festival’s audience on Twitter:

    “The distinction of “Kler” by the audience in Gdynia shows, that the actor-film public also suffers from the disease of hating their homeland. The Gdynia Film Festival is a place for showing disdain and hatred for Polish identity, Poland and Poles.”

    https://twitter.com/KrystPawlowicz/status/1043633870619459587

    Internauts immediately went to work creating memes in the form of movie posters, where Polish priest-celebrities favoring liberals were photoshopped in place of the actors of “Kler”.

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    Other critics, such as publicist Piotr Semka, have argued that although the film possesses technical merit, it is unrealistic due to how it represents the Church:

    “I went to see “Kler”. It’s a well-crafted film but to paint the Church as a mafia-criminal institution breaks boundaries of credibility. It’s littered with cheesy “backyard anti-clericalism” tropes. It’s encouraging that the jury took that into account.”

    https://twitter.com/PiotrSemka/status/1043788548871266304

    “Cold War” (“Zimna Wojna”) by Paweł Pawlikowski, a film about love during the Polish communist era, has won the Golden Lions, the Silver Lions went to Filip Bajon’s “Kamerdyner” (The Butler) and the Platinum Lions, for his lifetime achievements, went to Jerzy Skolimowski.

     

     

  • British tabloid showcases the true face of European leaders

    There is a picture on The Sun’s front page of the President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of France Emmanuel Macron dressed up like gangsters in the style of Al Capone. “They behaved more like gangsters than politicians,” the newspaper writes. The rest of the article is littered with phrases such as “dirty European rats” and “two-bit mobsters”.

    During Brexit negotiations, Brussels showed us multiple times why 17 million voted for Britain’s exit, writes The Sun adding that “The European Union is not a grand project meant to unite the nations of Europe, but a method to force ransom.”

    This is a reaction to the failed British-EU negotiations during which Donald Tusk rejected the Chequers proposal, which outlined the relationship between London and the EU after Brexit, introduced by Theresa May.

    European Union is not a grand project meant to unite the nations of Europe, but a method to force ransom

    According to British media, and not just “The Sun”, Her Majesty’s Prime Minister was humiliated in Salzburg by EU leaders. Donald Tusk had stated that the propositions of Chequers “will not work” and had ordered them to be “reworked”.

    The President of France, Emmanuel Macron also said that the British proposal is unacceptable and called Brexit advocates “liars” (because they supposedly had said that leaving the EU was easy.)

    The British tabloid goes further: “leaders of the undemocratic European Union have shown their true face”. The rejection of the Chequers propositions, may lead to a “hard Brexit” which would entail an immediate end of EU contributions and free flow of goods and products.

  • The Pope in the Baltics

    The Pope preached that in every Christian life, we have moments of the Cross, which can seem to last forever. “The previous generations had to suffer occupation, deportation, the fear of the unknown for those who never returned as well as the shame of informing and betrayal.”

    The gathered were also asked “how many of you lost faith because God did not appear to protect you; because the fact that you remained faithful was not enough for him to take part in your story?” The Pope underlined that Kaunas, as well as all of Lithuania knew very well of suffering, especially when it came to Siberia and the Vilnius ghetto.

    How many times has it happened that some nation deemed itself to be better, to possess more rights, more privileges, which are meant to be protected or achieved?

    Pope Francis also warned of the deadly sin of pride and how it may poison anyone’s heart. 

    “How many times has it happened that some nation deemed itself to be better, to possess more rights, more privileges, which are meant to be protected or achieved?”

    He also reminded us that the “lust for power and fame is the most common behavior of those who are unable to heal the memory of their past.”

    The Pope also reflected on the 75th anniversary of abolishing the Vilnius ghetto as well as Lithuania’s 100 year independence anniversary. After Lithuania, the Pope will visit Latvia and Estonia.

  • Hungary will “respond proportionately” to Ukraine

    Minister Szíjjártó was speaking to journalists before his departure to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where – among others – he will have a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.

    He said the meeting was needed because anti-Hungarian sentiment was on the rise again in Ukraine.

    Ukrainians are gearing up for presidential and parliamentary elections and because popular support for the current president is ‘quite modest’ they are attempting to improve their chances by playing the ‘Hungarian card’

    Recently, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform released a hidden camera recording showing ethnic Hungarians from Ukraine taking their Hungarian citizenship oath at the Hungarian consulate in Beregszász (Beregovo, Ukraine). While Hungary grants easy access to citizenship for all ethnic Hungarians living abroad, Ukraine does not recognize dual citizenship. Ukraine is host to some 140,000 ethnic Hungarians.

    Klimkin said in an interview recently that he “does not exclude” that Ukraine will expel the Hungarian consul in Beregovo, adding in a later interview that Ukraine might do so if Hungary does not recall him.

  • Estonian government follows Orbán’s lead

    Anvelt said in a television interview that those who do not have the right to international protection should be kept outside the EU and Estonia, news portal ERR.ee reports.

    He said Europe’s biggest mistake during and after the 2015 migration crisis was that it failed to take the necessary steps and is only now attempting to correct that mistake retroactively. He said the EU must defend its outer borders and establish refugee camps, addressing the problem outside the EU.

    Answering a question, Anvelt said Hungary was right to build a fence along its border with Serbia.

    I believe that if he did so with the external border, then he was definitely defending (Europe), yes,” said the minister. “We are doing the exact same thing” 

    And to another question he replied that Estonian migration policy was similar to the Hungarian model and should the need arise, Estonia would also consider building fences. “To defend our country, certainly.”

    He said the common Schengen area was the foundation of the EU:

    If Schengen goes, the average person will no longer understand what the EU is needed for, if there is no freedom of movement. We need solidarity for the Schengen Area to endure

    Anvelt added that per capita, Estonia is one of the biggest contributors to the European Border and the Coast Guard Agency, or Frontex.

  • Europe’s grave-diggers

    After the attack on Hungary by Brussels bureaucrats parading as clowns and old hippies, European leaders are now threatening the entire continent with their plans to grant additional jurisdiction to Frontex, security policy analyst Georg Spöttle writes in Magyar Idők.

    Only recently Angela Merkel – like a modern-day Caligula – turned her thumb down and sacked Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany’s domestic security agency DfV for six years. His sin was that he dared oppose the Madam Chancellor. He outright refused to vehiculate the lies that following the knifing of three locals, hundreds of ultra-right-wing protestors conducted a manhunt on the streets of Chemnitz. Maassen was quite measured and warned that the situation should not be gauged solely based on the tweets and Facebook entries of Antifa supporters.

    Merkel refused to acknowledge the facts. She was content with getting her information from the leftist press which painted Chemnitz as a Nazi’s nest. The facts and actual investigation reports meant nothing. Maassen has, in fact, long been on Merkel’s blacklist, having repeatedly warned Berlin bureaucrats about the dangers of immigration such as spiking terrorism and criminality. (Minister of Interior Horst) Seehofer for a time attempted to defend the head of the secret service, but ultimately had to give in to Merkel.

    Now Brussels wants to boost Frontex’s ranks to 10,000 and take away border protection from the nation states. The plan is for Frontex to decide who can enter Hungary. Hundreds of thousands of migrants will again flock to the Serbian-Hungarian border. And should (Austrian Chancellor Sebastian) Kurz decide to close his country’s borders, these people would again be stuck in Hungary.

    Neither Brussels, Merkel or Macron mention the closing of Europe’s borders, speaking instead of creating channels for legal migration. Luckily for us, Orbán has made it clear that we will not be part of any such channel. Our borders will continue to be defended by soldiers and police sworn to the Hungarian flag and constitution.

  • Hungary may buy ATP tour rights

    Former Romanian tennis player turned businessman Ion Țiriac has offered Hungary the rights to the Geneva Open ATP tour for EUR 6 million, Romanian news portal foter.ro reports.

    Several sports news outlets reported Țiriac as saying that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán seemed inclined to accept the offer.

    Țiriac and former German tennis player Rainer Schüttler hold the franchise rights to the Geneva Open.

    Two years ago, while president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR) Țiriac praised Viktor Orbán for his commitment to sports state sponsorship and said Romanian authorities should follow his lead.

    Țiriac, a former top 10 tennis player won one Grand Slam title, the men’s doubles at the 1970 French Open with Ilie Năstase but rose to fame later as the manager of several tennis players such as Henri Leconte, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanišević. He was also a member of the Romanian ice hockey team at the 1964 Winter Olympics.

    Born in Transylvania, he was a businessman in Germany and returned to his native Romania in 1990 to establish a bank and several other businesses. Forbes ranks him as the wealthiest Romanian with a net worth of US$1.2 billion as of 2018.

  • Nord Stream 2 could be blocked despite German and Austrian support

    The Slovak politician pointed out that the body can accept a resolution blocking the investment with a qualified majority. Gas transport through Ukraine and alternative solutions after 2019 will probably be discussed at the end of October, when the contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz expires.

    The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is being built with the participation of five European companies, connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea. Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria are actively participating in co-financing the project. The pipeline could potentially divert a significant part of the Russian gas to Western Europe, previously flowing through Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland. According to the European Commission the plan contradicts the energy conception of the EU and a new directive should be discussed regarding the gas lines coming from third party countries. If the resolution is approved by the European Parliament and the Council, the latter with a qualified majority, the restriction could seriously affect the investment.

    According to Šefčovič the issue is gaining support among member states, however the process could be slowed down by the Austrian presidency, which doesn’t consider the issue a priority.

  • Slovak Islamist prepared an attack, according to Czech police

    The information was confirmed by Tomáš Tuhý, President of the Police on Czech Television. Tuhý also confirmed that the Slovak citizen, who frequently visited local mosques is probably not a member of a terrorist organization but rather an individual, who works alone. “This person was preparing a terrorist attack, which was prevented due to the fine cooperation of the secret services and the police,” the president said.

    The case of the Slovak Islamist was going public after a report by the dailly Mladá fronta DNES. Dominik considered his role model the imam of Prague, who is currently on the run and also accused with terrorism due to helping his relatives who were supporting Al Qaeda in the Syrian civil war.

    According to the police Dominik converted to Islam three years ago, frequently wore army uniforms and used the greeting of the warriors of the IS. In his apartment the police found chemical ingredients and manuals for bomb-making. The youngster claimed he was planning and making special fireworks for New Year’s eve.

  • Why we should envy Hungarians for having Orbán

    Just listen to Orbán’s speech delivered in front of the European Parliament. He reminded all the MEPs the important role of Hungary in modern European history. And most importantly, he taught them a lesson. If European unity is in diversity as their motto goes, how dare they use the diversity of one country to expel it from a decision-making process.

    Orbán defended his country and its people. Can you imagine Babiš saying something similar? Can you imagine that he would believe his own words and we would believe him?

    To put it simply, absurd European subsidies are oxidizing Babiš’s Czech business and he needs them for as long as possible. That’s why his MEPs voted in favor of sanctions against Hungary. It wasn’t about human rights or threats to democracy, it never was for ANO.

    That’s why we should envy Hungarians for having Orbán.

  • “We stand with Orbán” in Prague

    It’s absurd to punish a legitimately elected government for fulfilling its promises given to its voters, said Tomio Okamura and agreed with Václav Klaus Jr. that it reminds them of the year 1968 in Czechoslovakia. Communist MEP Jaromír Kohlíček believes it resembles 1938 and the Munich agreement.

    Klaus Jr. stated that Hungarians have every right to govern their own country as they please.

    Okamura didn’t forget to mention that Orbán’s government has one of the strongest mandates in the EU.

    And Social Democratic deputy chairman Jaroslav Foldyna stressed the importance of mutual support among the Visegrad countries because of their historical and cultural bonds.

    The demonstration called “Orbán for us, we for Orbán” was organized by the pro-Russian group “Hey citizens!” and its leader Žarko Jovanovič, an activist currently running for Prague’s office as a candidate of the SPO and National Socialists.

  • Zeman does not consider Merkel a friend

    Zeman is going to meet Merkel on Friday after a meeting with his counterpart Steinmeier, with whom he will mainly discuss economic relations. However, Zeman would also have a chance to practice himself in tougher topics like migration and a reform of the EU, to be ready for his later meeting with the Chancellor.

    Zeman has been very critical towards Merkel lately for her approach to illegal migration. On the other hand, both Zeman and Schröder have been criticized for having an extraordinary relationship with Russian President Putin. They also share their views on sanctions against Russia, however only Schröder who serves as the supervisory board president of the Russian petroleum company Rosneft openly regards Putin as a friend.

    The President’s office officials said that speculations about tensions between Zeman and Merkel are baseless. Merkel acknowledges successful politicians, that is why she respects Orbán as well, and Zeman has always been successful as a politician, said department chief Jindrák.

  • Zeman: I stand in solidarity with Hungary

    Zeman stands in solidarity with Hungary, because it is defending itself from being politically streamlined and regulated by the EU. It is only a matter of time when such attempts will involve Poland or Slovakia. Thus, it is in the Czech Republic’s best interest to stand up against it now, not to end up in the same situation, Zeman said.

    Earlier this week, the president criticized the European Parliament for its resolution on Hungary and also the Czech MEPs who voted for triggering Article 7 against Hungary, saying they have a lack of solidarity for the Visegrad group.

  • Poland advances to Developed Markets

    Poland has been upgraded from Emerging Markets (developing markets) to Developed Markets.

    The FTSE Russel global agency index made the decision a year ago but the update will finally come into effect on September 21st. Although FTSE Russel is the first agency to acknowledge Poland’s advancement as a developed market, this update will have real consequences for the Polish capital market.

    The presence of Polish companies could generate a significant amount of foreign capital, which could increase the demand for shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW). Companies listed on the GPW will now find themselves among foreign companies such as Apple, Amazon, JP Morgan or Exxon.

    Although the update is mostly favorable for Poland, Polish companies will find themselves facing much stronger competition (…) Apple itself has 15 times more influence over the index than Poland

    Although the update is mostly favorable for Poland, Polish companies will find themselves facing much stronger competition. The FTSE Developed Market index is dominated by American companies, which possess more than 60 percent of the weighted allotment.

    Apple itself has 15 times more influence over the index than Poland. Poland will have 0.154 percent compared to its 1.37 percent among Developing Markets. A country such as Germany holds 3.03 percent of allotment. “Poland will be a Lilliputian among giants,” writes bankier.pl.

    Eight Polish companies: PKO BP, Orlen, PZU, Santander Bank Polska, Pekao, KGHM, LPP and CD Projekt have also advanced to Stoxx Europe 600 index.

  • Polish FM: first decisions on US base next Spring

    “There are 3,000 US troops stationed in Poland today. The best solution would be a permanent unit stationed here with fully developed infrastructure,” said Czaputowicz. “Everything depends on further talks among military and political experts.”

    The minister explained that prior to the 2014 events in Ukraine, “no one in the Euro-Atlantic community would consider moving NATO forces further East.” In light of those events, it would be good for the US army to be stationed in Central Europe.

    Although the decision-making process in the US is multi-layered, Czaputowicz claimed that the first decisions should be declared “during spring of next year.”

    A permanent American presence in this part of Europe would limit Moscow’s revisionist politics

    Both the White House and the Department of State consider the project to be warranted and favorable to American interests. The most important issue remaining, however, is the position of the US Congress: “Both Democrats and Republicans see Russia as a threat, therefore both groups are favorable to our postulates. This process is ongoing,” said Czaputowicz.

    As for Donald Trump’s position on the matter, the foreign minister said that Trump was less ambiguous during his private meeting with President Duda on the matter than during the press conference. “The president was interested in our claim that although PLN 2 billion is not that much from the Pentagon’s point of view, you can build more infrastructure in Polish conditions than in the US or western Europe.”

    Czaputowicz also spoke about Poland’s relations with Russia. “Russia deems our policies contrary to her interests. A permanent American presence in this part of Europe would limit Moscow’s revisionist politics.” He evaluated that if Poland were to abandon our current foreign policy focused on increasing our security, then “our relations with Russia would improve.”

  • Duda tweets about the “mockery and assaults of leftist media”

    The President referred to the criticisms on his official twitter account and posted a photo of him and Donald Trump holding the declaration together and smiling:

    tt

    “Mockery and assaults of leftist media and certain politicians and commentators is proof enough of the success of the visit in Washington. If it wasn’t, then they would’ve remained silent and deemed the visit unimportant. Thank you for these compliments! ;)”

    https://twitter.com/AndrzejDuda/status/1042796922791243776

    Political scientist Marcin Palade evaluated the visit: “This is the moment of signing that important declaration between the US and Poland? This is rising from our knees? For not making sure Andrzej Duda had a seat and allowing for this photo to be taken there should be mass dismissals in the president’s closest environment!”

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    Krzysztof Szczerski, the Chief of the Cabinet of the President, responded that “nothing bad enough happened to warrant dismissals.” The president’s minister also joked that “President Duda has been hearing that he’ll be sitting [in jail] so much, that this time, he decided to stand!”

  • Pentagon: Poland is not yet ready for a “Fort Trump”

    Esper, US Secretary of the Army quoted by AFP, explained that “the terrains which the Polish government wants to allocate for the military base are too small if you take into account the necessary artillery exercises and functioning of training grounds.” The so called “Fort Trump” was meant to be located near Toruń or Bydgoszcz, North-West of Warsaw.

    Esper underlined that the biggest issue would be transportation. The American military must have full freedom in moving around Europe. “Any administrative or infrastructure impediments would delay operations in case of conflict”. 

    The US army already has issues with transporting heavy weaponry in Poland, as well as in other countries in the region in which outdated infrastructure can still be met

    The US army already has issues with transporting heavy weaponry in Poland, as well as in other countries in the region in which outdated infrastructure can still be met.

    The subject of establishing a permanent US military base in Poland was one of the most important issues discussed during Andrzej Duda’s visit to the White House.

    “The presence of the United States in Central Europe is a guarantee of security and gives more defense options,” said the Polish president.

  • Tőkés: I will not run for MEP next year

    Tőkés announced this in an exclusive interview with conservative news portal Origo, saying his only reason for not leaving the European People’s Party (EPP) was his solidarity with Viktor Orbán.

    I did not leave the European People’s Party only out of loyalty to our national strategy allies and my friend Viktor Orbán

    Tőkés – a Calvinist pastor – is arguably the most iconic ethnic Hungarian from Romania, whose house arrest by Romania’s communist secret service, the Securitate, sparked the 1989 protest in the western Romanian city of Timisoara (Temesvár) that in turn set in motion the Romanian anti-communist revolution overturning the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu. 

    Tőkés said in the interview that his peers in the EPP have “abandoned us (Hungarians) and have given up Christian Europe. This is certifiable schizophrenia. It is the breakup of Christian Europe. That is what we must face.”

    Tőkés has been serving as MEP for Hungary since 2009 and was also Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2010 to 2012.

     

  • Slovakia prepares for hard Brexit

    According to Igor Skoček, the spokesperson of the ministry, the body is solving the issue at the level of state secretaries. He believes Brexit mostly affects travel, the unfinished customs-related operations and the free movement of capital and workers.

    In the case of Slovakia the effect of Brexit could cause a loss in the level of 0.4 percent of the country’s GDP, which is better than the union average of 1.5 percent. Katarína Muchová, an analyst of Slovenska sporitelna described the outcome as “not drastic nor negligible.” Muchová pointed out that in 2017 Great Britain absorbed 6 percent of the total Slovak export and contributed 2.5 percent to imported goods. That makes the country the sixth biggest market Slovakia is exporting to. The changes affect the automobile and electronics industry, where every seventh car made in Slovakia is for the purposes of the British market, mostly produced by Kia Motors Slovakia in Žilina. The agriculture industry will not be affected by the changes. According to the predictions the prices of airline tickets should rise, logistics and transport will be significantly more complicated.

  • Swiss daily writes of “Orbán’s sacrilege”

    “It is an epic cultural battle.” On the one side we have those among the globalist elites who regard the nation-states as relics of a warring past, who dream of a European super-state, and who regard mass migration as the proven antidote to traditional boredom, Basler Zeitung columnist Eugen Sorg writes.

    No other politician is as beloved in his own country as Orbán

    This spring, Hungarians rewarded his firm stance with a third, consecutive two-thirds electoral victory. The Hungarian economy is booming, the workforce is in demand. And a small, but poignant detail: “Jews can walk the streets of Budapest wearing kippahs and kaftans without the fear of being spat on or hit.” Unlike in Paris, Brussels or Berlin, not a single attack against Jews has been reported in the past few years in Hungary.

    In stark contrast to Orbán’s legitimacy and popularity stands the European Commission, consisting of 27 commissioners not elected by anybody, but delegated by the governments of the member states, which, often and increasingly represent only a minority in the electorate of their home country. Instead of insisting on their crusade against populism, the EU’s oligarchs should for once leave their Brussels glass palaces and take a trip across Europe. They could then see with their own eyes how well the utopian policy of open borders is serving the Old Continent’s traditional security and social peace.

  • EPP President: Fidesz will remain in the group

    At the Salzburg meeting of the European People’s Party on the fringes of the EU summit, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission waited until Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had to leave for another, pre-scheduled meeting before proposing the exclusion of Fidesz from the group?, Magyar Idők reports.

    But French politician Joseph Daul, who has been the EPP’s president since 2013 said after the meeting that the EPP decided not to exclude Fidesz before the completion of the legal process stemming from last week’s vote in the European Parliament to invoke the EU charter’s Article 7 against Hungary.

    The press can’t force me to throw out Viktor Orbán,” Daul said at a joint news conference with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. “We have democracy in our party, rule of law, we have our freedom and we have rules.”

    Wednesday’s EPP meeting was attended by all three presidents of the main EU political institutions as well as several heads of government, including Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, did not attend the meeting.

    “We are the EPP’s most successful party,” Orbán told reporters at the summit

  • Pellegrini: Salzburg negotiations were productive

    The Slovak Prime Minister believes the atmosphere in the Austrian city was much better and calmer regarding the issue of immigration than in previous dealings. The politician emphasized to the media that the leaders were able to find a common ground on this topic as well as on other issues.

    “Many European leaders are visiting Africa and a few countries are confused about competences and who they need to negotiate with. It’ll cost us, but we need to improve the life of locals to prevent them leaving Africa, ” claims Pellegrini. The Slovak Prime Minister also talked about Frontex, according to him the conflinct between member states is not about financing and enhancing the organization but rather about its competences and potential conflicts with state sovereignty. Pellegrini also mentioned that the Visegrad Four already collected 38 million Euros for the African funds which is sufficient to buy and operate four patrol boats.

    According to the Slovak politician he warned about the shortening time of Brexit. The European Union is preparing to protect the four freedoms and it is possible that Great Britain will leave the institution in March 2019 without an agreement.

  • The Berlin-Vienna axis

    Due to the 50 million casualties of World War II it is perhaps understandable that from a historical perspective the cooperation of the German Empire and Austria isn’t really good news for the rest of the European countries, Zoltán Lomnici Jr. writes in a Magyar Idők column.

    To spell it out in a way that our liberal friends can also understand: given the historical precedent, all suspicions and precautions are justified upon seeing a “Germanic coming together”. Even looking back at the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938 (the so-called “Anschluss”) was only opposed at a referendum by 0.27 percent of Austrians.

    In light of such precedents it is little wonder that there is widespread political sensitivity in Europe upon perceiving any kind of cooperation attempts along the Berlin-Vienna axis. This cooperation along well-defined projects has so far been absent. During the leadership of (former Austrian Chancellors) Werner Faymann and Christian Kern Austria kept its distance from Germany.

    The fact that just before the Salzburg informal EU summit Merkel and Kurz joined forces came as a huge surprise, particularly because the Austrian Chancellor has so far been supportive of the Visegrád Group and Hungary’s position (mainly) on migration.

    Even as recently as June, Kurz, at a joint press conference with Merkel’s main challenger, Horst Seehofer supported Italian minister of interior Matteo Salvini’s plan for joint Austrian-German-Italian action against terrorism and illegal immigration.

    Several explanations have been suggested for Kurz’s change of heart, but the most likely scenario is that he received word from Berlin and as the obedient younger sibling felt obliged to comply. As the Hungarian Prime Minister said recently: the likeable young Austrian suddenly became a turncoat.

    Let us, however, be optimistic and look at this as a prelude to the EU election campaign in support of Manfred Weber and of Angela Merkel, who has barely recovered from her domestic political troubles. This may explain Kurz’s lack of political character, but we all know that voters usually sanction such behavior. 

  • No ovations for new Foreign Minister nominee

    Former Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg wrote that he “already noted how the PM took over our foreign policy agenda. He is enjoying it and with a rejected candidate Poche, Social Democrats ended up having a meaningless position without an actual impact on foreign policy. It is evident that Hamáček already conceded defeat, left the agenda to the PM and accepted that the Foreign Minister won’t be Poche but his assistant. So, we will have a Minister who doesn’t have a say in his own party, let alone in the government. Petříček might be a praiseworthy official, but hardly someone asserting a confident foreign policy.”

    His party colleague Markéta Pekarová Adamová added that “the Social Democrats insisted on Poche’s nomination for so long and so staunchly that they gave the position to someone who is only known for not being disliked. We need a full-time Foreign Minister, but with clear opinions and visions.”

    Opposition leader Petr Fiala welcomed that there is finally a nomination that both Babiš and Hamáček can agree on. On the other hand, he is rather worried that such a position is going to be occupied by someone with very limited political experience, whose views are not publicly known.

    Rumor has it, however, that the Petříček nomination wasn´t a big surprise. According to a journalist Filip Nachtmann, this castling has already been pre-approved by President Zeman and PM Babiš and there’s no need to wait for their sanctification.

  • Czech Ministers: Let’s take care of our children first

    Ministers from Andrej Babiš’s ANO are in complete unison with their leader’s position. Minister of Regional Development Klára Dostálová supported him saying that there are many abandoned children in the Czech Republic and as well as in the EU, so why not take care of them first. There has to be a broader debate, the media are just trying to make us look heartless, added Dostálová.

    Finance Minister Schillerová said we don’t have all the information about those 50 orphans and it would be extremely challenging to adopt them out to so culturally different Czech families. It’s suspicious that now it is the first time MEP Šojdrová is proposing this, suspiciously soon before the European elections, she added. Babiš already claimed it is just a part of Šojdrová’s campaign.

    Daniel Ťok (Minister of Transportation) and Robert Plaga (Education) were more conciliatory in their responses. They won’t be against, however it would have to be proven first that they are really “small children” and “orphans”. While Marta Nováková (Industry and Trade) and Miroslav Toman (Agriculture) doesn’t have a (strong) opinion on this matter. 

  • New compulsory integration course for immigrants

    Additionally, the amendment should allow quotas on economic migrants. Interior Minister Jan Hamáček said it would make the transfer process of convicted foreigners faster. Now it takes more than two years and there have usually been around 400 criminal proceedings in the past two years.

    The proposed integration courses are supposed to help foreigners to better orientate in the new environment, introduce them to their rights and duties and local customs together with fundamental values of the Czech Republic and the EU. Courses should take place in the Centers for the Support of the Integration of Foreigners which has an office in every region except Central Bohemia.

    Every foreigner would be required to pass the test within one year from their arrival into the country. It involves foreigners coming to the Czech Republic for work or studies. Opposition MP Marek Benda criticized the proposal as he doesn’t see a reason why there is a test for hygiene habits of someone from the same civilization.

    Quotas on economic migrants should set a maximum amount of applications for a work-related residence permit that Czech embassies may accept. The government’s reasoning for the quotas point out the currently overloaded embassies. Overall, the amount of work permit applications tripled over the past few years.

  • Hungary’s new ally

    Bulgaria will probably oppose any action that would ultimately strip Hungary of its European voting rights. The government approved deputy PM Kasimir Karakachanov proposed preparing a statement rejecting any sanctions against Hungary.

    The strongest party Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) doesn’t comment on Karakachanov’s proposal yet. But even without support of the GERB party, it would likely be adopted by Parliament.

    Many Bulgarian MPs are speaking in favor of the proposal. For example, socialist party BSP leader Korneliya Ninova said it is wrong to punish Hungary – it is just one step closer to tearing apart the EU.

    Karakachanov is a leader of the Bulgarian National Movement and also Minister of Defense.

  • Babiš and Pellegrini demand a proper discussion on Frontex

    Babiš wants to discuss the issue and contrary to his previous statements, he is not opposing the increase of manpower as such. He is demanding an answer on why we need to hire 10,000 policemen and guards, where they will go and for what reasons. Babiš believes both Italy and Malta do not need Frontex to protect their borders, the EU should rather support them directly.

    According to Peter Pellegrini none of the Visegrad countries are strictly against Frontex, but it is necessary to define its powers and authorities. He also repeated that the most pressing issue for the V4 is the protection of the EU’s external borders and voluntary migrant relocation. Slovakia is the only Visegrad country willing to accept migrants, the rest of the group currently holds “not a single migrant” policy.

    The V4 is supporting an increase in financial aid to North African countries, said Pellegrini. Babiš stressed the importance of a mutual agreement that would allow the EU to provide North African countries with the financial means to lower the number of migrants.

    Earlier this week, the Czech and Slovak PMs called Frontex useless – duplicating national border guards.

  • Who can sit in the Oval Office?

    The picture is mainly criticized by opposition sympathizers but also by some influential conservative figures. Wojciech Cejrowski, a right-wing journalist and traveler, posted the photo and compared it to that of Trump and Kim Jong-Un signing a declaration. He wrote:

    “This does not require a commentary. If someone doesn’t get why this is an issue, then they can’t be helped”:

    ttCejrowski’s tweet sparked discussion amongst twitter users. Some of them claim that only the US president is allowed to sit at the Oval Office desk and showed photos of pope John Paul II standing beside President Jimmy Carter. “Not everyone had been seated”

    tt

    Some users remind us of former President Bronisław Komorowski’s foreign trips. In Japan, Komorowski had stood on a chair designated for the speaker of the Japanese Parliament. This had been the source of thousands of memes and with criticisms concerning Duda and Trump’s photo, these have resurfaced with a new look:

    tt

    There are also those who have photoshopped Duda’s face onto Trump’s and consider the issue of the standing President solved!

    tt

     

  • A museum to be opened for the reconstructed Polish popemobile

    John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Poland was his first pilgrimage to his homeland as pope. A special car model named “JP2” had been constructed for the occasion. It was assembled in Starachowice, near Kielce. The vehicle is a slightly enhanced version of the Polish car model Star 660.

    After the pilgrimage, the communist regime ordered the vehicle to be destroyed. But Marek Adamczak, a paint shop owner, began collecting parts of the popemobile. After some five years of scavenings bits and pieces, he was able to reconstruct it with the help of friends.

    “The car was cut up into tiny pieces and demolished. I searched for authentic parts of the vehicle, built based on the Star 660 M2 model produced in Starachowice. For the needs of John Paul II, it was designed in the Automotive Industry Institute in Warsaw,” says Adamczak.

    echo dniaMarek Adamczak in his Papamobile, photo: K. Krogulec, Echo Dnia

    The newly created JP2 Papamobile Museum will open for the first time on the 21st of September. Admissions will be free for the first few months.

  • Poland’s game with the US and Germany

    One shouldn’t have expected that after the meeting of Andrzej Duda and Donald Trump there would be concrete decisions. If someone was expecting the declaration of American sanctions on Nord Stream 2 then they were in the wrong.

    It is good that the Polish president underlined the necessity of the presence of US troops in Poland. The Polish army is still too weak to be threatening to Russia. To build a force to be reckoned with would take several years. Meanwhile, Poland cannot count on the military support of other European states.

    Our safety depends on the US and our economy on Germany. This is why Poland should care about supporting the improvement of relations between the two countries

    It was also due to Trump’s presence at the previous Three Seas summit that the initiative was able to prosper. It’s not a coincidence that Jean-Claude Juncker took part in the summit, Germany asks for a permanent observer status and Duda’s visit to the White House takes place soon after it.

    It’s important to remain realistic and to remember that Poland is a less crucial ally to the US than Germany or France. Although German-American relations are tense, Poland as the leader of the Three Seas could provide strategic balance.

    Our safety depends on the US and our economy on Germany. This is why Poland should care about supporting the improvement of relations between the two countries. Friction between them is dangerous for Poland. American tariffs would have little impact on a minor exporter like Poland, but will hit our economy through the German market.

  • Duda in Washington: Words but no action

    Despite all of the commotion around his visit, Andrzej Duda returns with only words. And a bit of hope that somewhere in the distant future we might see some positive American decisions for Poland. Building your security policy based on dreams is not a good idea.

    Of course, the biggest plus of this visit is that it actually happened. The previous impasse with the United States on the highest level would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for Poland’s international image.

    It’s also hard to ignore the symbolic meaning of photos such as the one where the presidents are signing the declaration. Donald Trump is triumphantly seated in his chair whereas Duda is uncomfortably bent at the edge of the desk, an unfortunate depiction of the true nature of Polish-American relations.

    Building your security policy based on dreams is not a good idea

    Let’s look at what’s actually written in the “declaration of strategic partnership”. Diplomatic trite, joint celebrations, strengthening of bonds and taking measures to further deepen things. It should be shorter and more concrete – commitments to do this or that by a certain year.

    “Fort Trump” is another issue. It’s not good that specific information concerning Polish hopes, logistics and financing was revealed, especially since the American side didn’t declare anything apart from “looking at options”.

    Words about “Russian aggression” and Nord Stream 2 being a “danger to common security” are some consolation as well as pledges to strengthen cooperation in terms of intelligence and fighting crime.

    However, “Poland has risen from her knees, but no one gave her a chair”. This isn’t just the problem of the current or previous governments. It’s a serious issue for us all. It is time to reflect on whether a different politician, with better advisors and more dexterous and competent than Duda, would have been able to get something more out of the extremely assertive United States of today.

  • OTP Bank issues fresh hacking alert

    OTP, Hungary’s largest commercial bank whose customers are regularly targeted by hackers, has issued a fresh phishing alert. The fake e-mail written in poor Hungarian pretending to come from the bank says that in order to avoid blocking online access to their account, customers should log in and confirm their user name and password, but the provided link takes them to a hacker site. In the Hungarian message – seemingly of machine translation – the word “avoid” remains in the original English.

    OTP, with 38,000 employees in nine regional countries, last year posted a net profit of HUF 281.4 billion ($1.02 bln).

  • Orbán on FB: Hungary will not give up border controls

    I have arrived in Salzburg, Orbán said in the short video. We are holding the summit of the heads of state of the European Union in this Austrian town, where one of the most important issues will be border protection.

    I am glad that we are finally not talking about the distribution of migrants, but the protection of our borders

    I have made it clear in advance and I will be representing this at the summit as well, that Hungary will not transfer the right of border protection, this cannot be taken away from us. Hungary’s borders must be protected by Hungarians.

    We will not support any proposal to the contrary, but we will do our utmost to ensure that Hungary remains the country with the best border protection capabilities in the European Union.

    One of the hundreds of comments to Orbán’s post:

    Orbán_Salzburg_comment

  • Kurz attempts the impossible in Salzburg

    The Austrian chancellor has dialled down his previous ambitions and after a tour of Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Rome last week aims to at least achieve a consensus regarding the protection of the European Union’s external borders, Magyar Idők writes.

    This is in line with the Commission’s proposal to widen the mandate of the European Border and Coast Agency Frontex that will be outlined by EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. The commission wishes to boost the headcount of the agency and have it take over some of the member states’ competences – as proposed by Angela Merkel.

    Before the summit, Kurz gave evasive answers regarding the potential curtailing of national rights. But some member states are not only afraid to lose part of their defense competences but also the right to expel asylum-seekers. According to the European press, Italy, Greece and Spain are likely to bring up the latter issue.

    These countries are afraid that should the changes in the Frontex mandate result in an application of the Dublin rules, they may be stuck with asylum-seekers registered by European officials.

    There is even more scepticism regarding the Union’s idea of “controlled centers” for migrants (previously named hotspots). The idea was brought up in June, but no member state has come forward in support of it. And the fact that Italy has stopped refugee boats from docking means Italy was actively boycotting the idea.

    But there is some hope with regard to establishing refugee centers in other countries after a recent visit to Egypt of Kurz and European Council President Donald Tusk. They praised the Egyptian migration model (Egypt has practically seen no immigration since 2016) and Egypt also gave partial approval for refugee centers to be set up there, a plan it previously opposed on constitutional grounds.

    Brexit remains the most critical issue, and solving it may require an extraordinary summit around November time. In his letter to the participants at the Salzburg summit Tusk wrote:

    ” Let me recall that limiting the damage caused by Brexit is our shared interest. Unfortunately, a no deal scenario is still quite possible. But if we all act responsibly, we can avoid a catastrophe”

     

     

  • Hungarian rapsody and Romanian kazachok

    In his response time in the European Parliament, Viktor Orbán gave a lesson on how to turn Dutch clogs into cavalry boots or a folk band into a symphonic orchestra, given the right conductor, writes România liberă columnist Marius Ghilezan, referring to Orbán’s speech last week.

    The Hungarian leader hit back with velvet gloves at a Europe stuck in the paradigm of double standards. The poor on the one side, the rich on the other.

    Orbán did not answer accusations. He did not apologize. He attacked cavalierly. He shamed the great leaders of the continent. “This is an insult to the Hungarian people who have been defending Christianity for a thousand years.”

    What’s more, Manfred Weber, the possible future president of the European Commission (should Orbán’s game fail, notes the author) did not mention Hungary’s missteps, but rather hit back by calling attention to the protests in Bucharest and that it had escaped the attention of all those who were eagerly awaiting Hungary to be condemned in the name of article whatever, which would anyhow be ineffective, as Poland would exercise its veto.

    The ability to turn defeat into victory is a mark of a great world leader. In Strasbourg, the Christian from Budapest yet again saw the rise of his lucky star. You can only turn boróka pálinka (a local brandy made from juniper) into Chivas Regal with mastery and cunning.

    The rascal upturned the cart of the globalizers in the middle of the road. He defended his country with all the skills of a great Kapellmeister (German for conductor of a court orchestra). He beat them at home. Supported by a powerful European family, he turned a funeral into a wedding.

    That’s what happens when you have a strong leader. One whose chains are not being pulled, doesn’t face street protests, secret services and America in a joint opposition, one who is fighting so that the Rhapsody may become the funeral march of the progressivism dancing to a tune from Langley.

    It is a great battle between Christianism on the one side and neo-Marxism supported by Brussels bureaucrats on the other. Sooner than most, Orbán has learned not to throw his children to the gendarmes but have them sing from a Hungarian music score. Aren’t these just wonderful times?

  • Pellegrini: V4 thinks Frontex should act supplementary

    The politician further emphasized that accepting immigrants could be based only on the voluntary decision of every member state. The representatives of the Visegrad Four met on Wednesday, and according to Pellegrini the V4 were not saying an “absolute no” to strengthening Frontex, however they emphasized the need for clearly defined tasks and competences of the border protection units.

    Pellegrini believes the European politicians should support any solution which clearly enhances the capabilities of defending the borders. The politician pointed out that with Frontex the main problem is that it could replace the sovereignity of the local authorities. “It has to be complementary, which means supplementary,” said Pellegrini, who thinks that a good combination of Frontex and local forces could be implemented in certain countries in Northern Africa. This is an area, where the European Union should be more active besides diplomacy.

  • Anti-semitism regulated by new law in Slovakia

    The current Slovak legislative is allowing prosecution for denying the holocaust and hate speech, but in practice the majority of the cases had been taken off the table. This is the reason why the definition of anti-semitism is being specified.

    “We are living in hard times when the fundamental rights are being denied. We have people in politics who deny the holocaust. The history should teach us, it is our duty to solve the problem with the definition of the holocaust and anti-semitism,” said Andrej Danko (SNS) the Speaker of the Parliament. The politician wants to apply the changes in other areas as well including the Penal Code, which does not define the concept clearly.

    The definition suggested by Danko was worked out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on 2016. Pavol Mešťan, the director of the Museum of Jewish History in Bratislava supports the changes and emphasized the need for preparing a similar law, while other experts, like Daniela Gemerská from the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights warned about the dangers of implementing a very strict definition, which cannot be applied in every case.

  • Who is Petříček, the next Czech foreign minister?

    Everyone saw it coming. ČSSD surrendered and finally found a replacement for their number one nominee Miroslav Poche, who was rejected by President Zeman.

    Tomáš Petříček is Poche’s friend and worked as his assistant in the European Parliament. Because of that he will always be seen as Poche’s man. Poche is most likely going to stay in the Czernin palace as an advisor, and Petříček will remain loyal to him, grateful for his new position.

    Poche already praised the nomination, claiming it was Hamáček’s choice. Petříček said he wants to meet Zeman and Babiš in the coming days to hear their response to his nomination.

    What Zeman will do is unclear. It would be hard for him to refuse another candidate. On the other hand, lack of experience is something that he is always criticizing when it comes to ministerial nominations.

  • Babiš: Poche can finally return to Brussels

    PM Babiš respects his nomination. From my perspective the whole problem has been solved, MEP Poche won’t be a minister and can return to Brussels to defend Czech and Visegrad interests, Babiš said. MEP Poche is now working at the ministry as a political secretary.

    Petříček currently holds a deputy position at the ministry, but just a few months ago, he served as Poche’s assistant. However, Babiš rejected speculation that he might only be a puppet minister controlled by Poche.

    Leader of the Social Democrats and an acting Foreign Minister, Hamáček announced Petříček’s nomination on Tuesday and dispelled speculation on who might be the party’s second choice.

  • The Czech Republic should back Hungary

    Over the last several weeks, Hungary has constantly been attacked by the EU. Sometimes it seems like European leaders in Brussels “know“ much more about Hungary than the Hungarian people, who vote again and again for Viktor Orbán.

    One of the biggest critics of the current situation in Hungary is Guy Verhofstad. The chairman of ALDE even said that the EU and USA should intervene because Hungary strays from so-called liberal and European values. Pointing to the current fights between Orbán and Soros, Verhofstadt described Viktor Orban and his government as anti-Semitic. No mention of the fact that Israel remains a staunch supporter of Hungary and vice versa.

    The situation resembles life in the Eastern bloc in the Brezhnev era. Moscow’s attitude to the satellite states cast a critical eye on anyone who was attempting to do something different. If a country dared to venture into some kind of democratic reform, it faced the real prospect of intervention. Moscow would always know better.

    We must stand on the Hungarian side and protect them or we will be next in line.

  • Radical Islamist wasn’t a total stranger to local Muslim community

    Back in January 2017, Dominik K alias Abdul Rahman signed up for an anti-terrorism conference organized by the Czech Muslim community. He was later refused attendance because his online profile was full of violent even life-threatening statements.

    Despite his statements and hostility, organizers didn’t alert the police. Because of his online activity, he had been identified and monitored by the Czech secret service, which refers to him as a textbook lone wolf case. The community remained silent mainly because they feared the public backlash.

    Representatives of the Czech Muslim community are denying that they were aware of his plans, even denying that they knew him. Dominik himself put a video online where he was calling fellow Muslims for a prayer – doing azán. As one former Muslim said, it would be impossible for him without being known or respected by the community.

    The first radical caught in the Czech Republic was born in a small Eastern Slovakian village, born and raised in a Christian family. Now, he is facing up to 15 years in jail.

    He converted to Islam in 2015 and it’s still unclear when he radicalized. However, the police are certain it happened in Prague, where he was regularly in several mosques and found his role-model – sheikh Shehadeh. Shehadeh himself has been prosecuted for supporting terrorism.

  • Germany wants to fully participate in the Three Seas Initiative

    Berlin “unexpectedly wants to join the initiative of the 12 Eastern European EU member states, to help stop the dissolution of Europe,” reports DPA. Heiko Maas, who was present at the Three Seas summit in Bucharest, calls this “Germany’s new Eastern policy.”

    He believes, that it would be an “important signal within the EU” that a country such as  Germany would look not only to the West but also to the East of Europe.

    Germany wants to be a bridgebuilder and moderator in the spirit of European unity

    Maas is the first representative of the German government to take part in the Three Seas Initiative summit. He was invited by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis.

    The chief of German diplomacy is asking for a permanent membership in the Three Seas for Germany – “We want to use this forum, especially in the future, to take part in the discussions led by our Easter European neighbors.”

    Morawiecki did not mention Germany

    Iohannis as well as the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker have supported Germany’s application. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki did not mention Germany in his speech. A unanimous vote from all members is needed for a country to be allowed to join the initiative.

    Maas underlined that Germany “fits into the Three Seas Initiative” not only due to geographic location, but also due to historic, political and economic factors. He drew attention to the fact that Germany is a strategic economic partner of every Three Seas member state. It would also allow Western and Southern EU members to give more attention to their Eastern partners. “Germany wants to be a bridgebuilder and moderator in the spirit of European unity,” said Maas.

  • Duda: Let’s build “Fort Trump”

    President Duda mentioned the name “Fort Trump” twice in the White House during media appearances. The reference was immediately picked up and made waves across Polish and American twitterspheres alike.

    Media specialist Eryk Mistewicz applauds Duda’s use of the term and calls it: “A story clear to everyone; in two seconds, in just a moment, what Poland and Poles want. It was impossible to explain what we wanted in a shorter and more succinct way. #FortTrump is spreading like a virus!”:

    https://twitter.com/ErykMistewicz/status/1042147731043745797

    “Trump’s reaction at “Fort Trump”? Priceless!”

    tt

    https://twitter.com/k_berenda/status/1042128971251556358 

    The senior political analysist for Fox News Pete Hegseth announced that “I can’t wait to visit Fort Trump in Poland!”

    https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/1042190394551951362

    And here are the “new maps of Europe” featuring Fort Trump in Poland:

    tt

    Jennifer Griffin, a correspondent for Fox News was one of the first to mention “Fort Trump” on Twitter. She noticed, that such a move would “likely anger Russia.”

    https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1042099674155495425

    “Fort Trump” could have far reaching effects when it comes to European defense. Journalist Michał Sznajder comments on voices showing up proposing to move US forces from Germany to Poland:

    “#FortTrump in American tweets – I’m seeing opinions that it would be worth it to move forces from Germany to Poland because Poland is a tested and true friend. Some add the financial factor – because Poland is paying what needs to be paid for its defense.”

    https://twitter.com/SznajderMichal_/status/1042135670209347584

  • Survey: PiS are six points up, PO are seven points down

    This is the best result for the ruling party (PiS) since January this year and the worst for the main opposition (PO) since November 2015.

    The survey reports that in addition to PO and PiS, two parties would hold mandates in the Polish  Sejm – Kukiz’15 and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). Both would have 6 percent of the votes. The peasant party (PSL, 4 percent), the Modern party (PO’s biggest ally, 4 percent), the Freedom party (2 percent) Together party (1 percent) are below threshold and would not hold any mandates.

    Compared with August, Kukiz’15 saw a 1 percent increase, SLD and PSL remain unchanged and the Modern, Freedom and Together parties have seen 1 percent decreases.

    This is the best result for the ruling party since January this year and the worst for the main opposition since November 2015

    14 percent of those polled who would take part in the elections declared uncertainty as over who they would vote for. This is a 3 percent increase compared to August.

    60 percent of respondents would take part in the elections. 28 percent are certain and 32 percent claimed that their participation would be probable.

    26 percent claimed that they would not vote (14 percent probably not and 12 percent definitely not) and 14 percent remained undecided.

    The survey by Kantar Public was carried out on 1,023 respondents between the 7th and 12th of September.

  • Strategic partnership between US and Poland

    Presidents Donald Trump and Andrzej Duda have signed, in Washington, a declaration of cooperation in terms of energy and security. It’s about more than just solder drills – the USA will give the Polish military advanced technologies.

    Although the term “permanent US bases in Poland” does not appear, both countries are to “consider increasing the military presence of the US.” The presidents have also pledged to increase cooperation in terms of intelligence.

    The official twitter account of President Duda’s Chancellery released a statement about the declaration:

    “I am very happy that the alliance between our countries has never been this strong” said president Donald Trump quoted by the official twitter account of President Duda’s Chancellery:

    https://twitter.com/prezydentpl/status/1042120515861798912

    tt

    Warsaw and Washington are meant to develop cooperation when it comes to energy. The focus is to give Poland diversified sources of energy. American officials convinced, that the amount of LNG sold to Poland could increase. Both countries are also meant to work against projects which “threaten our security.” Mainly, this is about Nord Stream 2.

    tt

    The Polish delegation prepares for talks with Americans in Washinton, D.C., Twitter: @prezydent.pl

    The declaration also contains a statement that the greatest threats to security are Russian aggression, terrorism, organized migrant smuggling and tensions in the Middle East.

    Both countries are also meant to support fair trade and any trade disputes are to be settled swiftly and efficiently.

  • EU did not transfer border defense contribution to Hungary

    Answering an inquiry by print and online media Magyar Idők, the Prime Minister’s Office said Hungary has yet to receive the EUR 54 million transfer the European Commission promised in August to offset part of the additional costs incurred by Hungary due to the migration crisis since 2015.

    Gergely Gulyás, minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office announced at the end of August that the European Commission – after Hungary asked for a partial reimbursement of the total EUR 324 million it spent on protecting its borders which are also the borders of the Schengen area – has agreed to contribute EUR 54 million to the costs, while it would decide later about the remaining 270 million.

    Magyar Idők reports that the money has not arrived yet. The latest official figures show that since the beginning of the migration crisis in 2015 Hungary has spent a total of HUF 373.5 billion on border defense.

    An informal meeting of the EU member states’ leaders begins today in Salzburg, Austria, with Brexit and the migration crisis at the top of the agenda.

     

  • Hungarian President misses Trimarium meeting

    Both of Hungary’s A-319 military transport planes were supposed to take off on Tuesday from the Liszt Ferenc International airport – one taking Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the other taking President Áder to a Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea Initiative meeting in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

    Orbán’s plane departed on schedule, but the cargo of a catering vehicle hit the door of Áder’s plane on the tarmac, bending it out of shape. Hungary’s ambassador to Bucharest stood in for Áder at the Bucharest meeting of the leaders of the 12 countries taking part in the initiative.

    In a separate incident, the online version of Romania’s ProTV reported that Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă also missed the arrival to the summit of the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker who was supposed to be greeted at Băneasa airport. Juncker’s plane landed before its scheduled arrival and by the time Dăncilă’s convoy got there Juncker was already on his way downtown. The two eventually met at the gala dinner hosted by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.