A new red-tape mission is about to worsen the lives of Eastern European consumers, producers, and suppliers. Under the influence of the Green Deal, the European Union’s Chemical Agency (ECHA) will transition to a hazard-based approach premised on preventing any potential threat.
In late March, the Hungarian parliament ratified Finland’s NATO membership, which led to joining it as a member a week later. At the time, some Hungarian officials “spent months telling counterparts that they had no objections, and their parliament was simply busy with other business,” as reported by Politico. “Budapest changed its narrative… with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán… arguing the point that some of his legislators had qualms regarding criticism of the state of Hungarian democracy.” While taking longer than perhaps hoped, the Hungarian parliament ultimately voted to ratify it by a margin of 182 to 6 on March 27.
On the same day as the Hungarian prime minister’s State of the Nation address, important international speeches were delivered as well. There is a stark contrast between Obán’s words, and the communication of other European leaders.
CEA Talks host Zoltán Kész interviews the ambassador of the Netherlands to Hungary, Désirée Bonis. The topics include the two countries’ business, cultural and historical connections, and some politics. Ms Bonis talks about the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland and how she imagines the war ending. From the EU point of view, corruption is a big problem in Hungary, and populism is threatening democracy worldwide. But after all, the EU is still a unique society of liberty and freedom, which we should all be proud of.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly talks in the Central European Affairs Talk podcast about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Georgia as a prelude to the current crisis, what Vladimir Putin could count on with economic pain kicking in across the globe and whether the Russian President can be defeated in the chess game with […]
Ukraine’s civil society remains of paramount importance in winning the hearts and minds of its citizens as well as establishing a sound rule of law system. These aspects will empower the Eastern European country to gain international credibility in its hopes to join the EU. Central European Affairs Magazine spoke to Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the […]
French MEP Bernard Guetta (Renew Europe) talks about the European Union entering the phase of political unity and future fights between its member states. He also shares his views on Viktor Orbán’s EP reform proposal, the joint declaration of far-right EU forces and what he thinks is at stake for the European Union at next […]
Gábor Bojár, founder of Graphisoft, reveals how startup firms can keep young talents, why governments can never be a good customer and how it was to establish a firm in the Eastern Block during the 1980s. The entrepreneur also talks about “good products”, public procurement and crony capitalism in Hungary, him being a liberal, and […]
Former US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried explains how Belarusian “air piracy” means more than a simple hijacking and why democracies should believe in their values. He also talks about sanctions “not working until they do”, the long arm of authoritarian leaders reaching beyond their own borders, and why […]
OSF Berlin office chief Goran Buldioski talks about the EU Commission’s proposal to exclude North Macedonia from accession talks, Viktor Orbán’s growing influence in the Balkans and why the independence of the media will be of utmost importance for the upcoming years in Europe. Host: Zoltán Kész The news came as a shock. EU Neighbourhood […]
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