Taliban groups committed a terrorist attack May 2, 2012 in the neighborhood of Kabul in an area where international organizations and representations of Western agencies are located. The suicide bombing caused the death of six persons. Hungarian nationals were not injured or killed in the blast according to the sources of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The colleagues of the Hungarian Embassy in Kabul, the military and civilian personnel of the Hungarian ISAF mission are safe and secure.
The just released report by Freedom House on media freedom concerning Hungary is “utterly groundless” and “extremely biased”, Zoltan Kovacs, the state secretary in charge of government communications, told MTI in a statement on Tuesday.
In 2012 – as decided by the government – we commemorate Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish martyr diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarians during the Holocaust.
Minister for Rural Development Sándor Fazekas and Minister for Agriculture Fahad bin Abdulrahman Balghunaim discussed the establishment of a Hungarian-Saudi holding during their meetings in Budapest on Monday. The joint venture, set up with state participation, would deal with cattle breeding, plant cultivation and poultry breeding.
Hungary and China signed seven agreements. The agreements were signed on Tuesday in the Parliament Building in the presence of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Chinese Deputy Premier Li Keqiang.
Chief master sergeant Diego Cagnazzo, senior enlisted leader of the Italian Armed Forces, has paid an official visit to the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base. He was accompanied by csm Istvan Kriston, and csm Laszlo Toth, command sergeant majors of the HDF and HDF JFC, respectively. The visitors were welcomed by lieutenant colonel Laszlo Nagy, Deputy Chief of Base Staff.
“Smart Health – Better Lives: Moving Innovation ahead in Europe” was the motto of the Informal Meeting of EU Health Ministers, hosted by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Horsens, on 23-24 April 2011. Hungary was represented at the meeting by Dr. Miklós Szócska MD, Minister of State for Health, Ministry of National Resources.
János Martonyi gave a speech at the 19th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on 27 April 2012. The Foreign Minister of Hungary outlined the directions and the results of the search for solutions to the economic and financial problems in the European Union.
Minister János Martonyi’s Lecture at the Centre for European Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand May 1, 2012.
HUNGARY believes that the real challenge of realising the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between the European Union (EU) and ASEAN lies in the latter regional bloc's diverse economies as opposed to political differences involving Myanmar in recent years, its foreign affairs minister said here yesterday.
HUNGARY is keen on helping Brunei develop its agricultural sector by sharing its expertise and technology in water management and treatment, its Foreign Affairs Minister told The Brunei Times yesterday.
Hungary will host this year’s Day of Remembrance of the victims of totalitarian regimes to be held with the participation of EU Member States on 23 August. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Public Administration and Justice Dr Tibor Navracsics will inform the justice ministers of Member States at the Friday justice session of the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting to be held on 26-27 April.
Viktor Orbán and György Matolcsy, Minister for National Economy, Government Commissioner for Hungarian-Chinese Relations attended a round-table discussion of Chinese and Central- and Eastern-European Premiers in the Polish capital on Thursday where they also met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Ficó and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
In Q1 2012 the dynamic increase of the number of employed continued in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year – the Central Statistics Office (KSH) reported in its latest survey. The number of jobs among the population aged 15-74 years increased significantly by 59 000, more than in the previous quarter, from 3 732 thousand the year before to 3 791 thousand. Consequently, the rate of employment rose to 49.5 percent from the 2011 level. The number of employed among the population aged 15-64 increased from 3 701 thousand in the previous year to 3 756 thousand, by 55 000, and the rate employment thereby increased to 55.7 percent.
“The Hungarian Higher Education further strengthens the common European values”
János Martonyi has arrived in Brunei to participate in the EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 26-27 April 2012. The Foreign Minister had a bilateral discussion with Erlinda F. Basilio, Undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines on the first day of the meeting, mainly negotiating on issues of economy.
The Széll Kálmán Plan published in Q1 2011 can be considered a success from every aspect. In the period after publication favourable trends began on both the sovereign bond and the currency markets: the amount of government bonds owned by foreigners increased to an unprecedented level which resulted in the decline of yields, too. The implementation of the Széll Kálmán Plan was also carried out optimally, as 458bn HUF of fiscal adjustments have materialized as a consequence of the measures proposed for 2012 and that corresponds to the 83.3 percent of anticipated savings.
The second formal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council under the Danish Presidency is being held on 26-27 April 2012 in Luxembourg. On the first day of the Council meeting issues of internal affairs were on the agenda. The Head of the Delegation of the Ministry of Interior was Mr Károly Kontrát Parliamentary State Secretary.
Budapest, April 25, 2012
The public reimbursement system for medicines of patients suffering from diabetes and prostate cancer has been recently amended.
Talks over the last few months have culminated in the breakthrough achieved by Viktor Orbán and José Manuel Barroso at their meeting in Brussels yesterday. This is an important milestone, which is already producing favourable results in the markets. As you know, today there was a decision by the European Commission − the College of Commissioners, to be more precise − according to which, and I quote: “The Commission has decided to start talks with Hungary on precautionary financial assistance.”
Hungary sees Indonesia as an emerging regional giant, with commendable democratic governance credentials. Hungary and Indonesia share very healthy, comlementary relations. Visiting Foreign Minister of Hungary Dr. János Martonyi talked to The Jakarta Post’s Yohanna Ririhena on bilateral relations and the future trends of ASEAN-European Union (EU) relations.
Press release
Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic awarded Mr. Péter Szaló, Deputy State Secretary to the rank of Officer in the National Order of Merit. Deputy State Secretary for Area Management and Construction received the award from Ambassador Roland Galharague during a ceremony at the French Residence in Buda on 25th of April.
"Only technical comments arrived from the European Union with regard to the new Act on waste management. Replies were received from three member states: France, Austria and Germany, and our nation will incorporate the observations into the draft of the new legislation", announced the State Secretary for Environmental Affairs of the Ministry of Rural Development at the conference entitled SymbioCity. At the event, organised within the framework of the "Green Sweden" programme, Swedish and Hungarian experts presented opportunities for sustainable city development.
Hungary's talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on financial assistance are likely to last for weeks, under the current international financial climate, Tamas Fellegi, chief negotiator for talks, told a press conference on Wednesday.
On 23 April, Minister of State for Culture Géza Szőcs opened the China Centre of the University of Miskolc, which is going to offer linguistic and cultural training. The Centre has been established in cooperation with Chinese-owned chemicals group Wanhua-BorsodChem.
In particular, thinking about patriotism has a special stake nowadays, especially when working on the renewal of the Hungarian defence system, “… and when thinking about the future of Europe what is in a crisis now” – said Csaba Hende Defence Minister of Hungary at the conference “Patriotism in the European Union”, organised by the Association of the Hungarian Graduates of Germany in 21 April.
The authorities tested 146 products primarily containing rice, corn, soya and linseed, but found no foods that did not comply with GMO regulations.
Foreign Minister János Martonyi – on his official visit to Indonesia – had a meeting with his counterpart, Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta on 24 April 2012. The parties explored several new areas of cooperation during their talks.