Category: VOLUME II, No. 1

ONCE UPON A TIME…

Once upon a time, not so many months ago, there was something frighteningly boring about Hungary. She smiled at the right moments, imposed fierce austerity measures when she was supposed to, year after year, no matter how much her long-suffering people suffered under their weight, longed to be loved in

THE YEAR OF EUROPEAN RENEWAL

The Prime Minister’s Thoughts on the Hungarian EU Presidency We have run out of Well-Worn Paths From a broader perspective it is readily apparent that Europe now stands at a fateful juncture. For over twenty years I have been taking part in various European counsels and conferences, and at these

THE REVIVAL OF CENTRAL EUROPE

NT: Hungary’s worthiness to lead the European Union has been questioned by the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, the Czech Foreign Minister has also sharply criticised Hungary, as have a host of international organisations and international media. That’s not a pleasant start to the Hungarian presidency, is it? JM: All those who

THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY IN TURBULENT TIMES

The balance of the EU presidency for small nations Six months of the presidency of the European Union is obviously too short a term for any government to solve complex problems. Smaller member states do better not to entertain ambitions for striking deals or setting directions; country size matters. But

THE EUROPEAN UNION, CITIZENS, AND CORRUPTION

As head of the rotating presidency of the EU, Hungary will have an opportunity to become an effective champion of good governance and integrity across Europe. The upcoming months of the Hungarian presidency will be critical for advancing the anti-corruption agenda at the level of the Union. This is not

(MIS)UNDERSTANDING CENTRAL EUROPE

Occasionally small states can play a role out of all proportion to their size. If you want a non-Hungarian illustration, look at what Latvia has been doing. They’ve pulled themselves out of a far worse economic mess than what we have had in Hungary – a 17% deficit – a

M. S. GORBACHEV: THE LAST PLOY? – OR WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON

Hungary and I go back quite a long way, in fact some fifty years, and I have learned a vast amount from the country. I first came here in 1961, to attend a Hungarian language course in Debrecen. Back then I was taken up with the Habsburg Monarchy and the

THE HUNGARIAN PATIENT

István Mikola, is chairman of the Health Committee of the Hungarian Parliament, and was Minister of Health in the first Fidesz government from 2000 to 2002. This conversation took place during a break in a conference entitled “The rebirth of birth”, organized by the Semmelweis Movement at the Hungarian Academy

KAFKA IN THE CIRCUS DISTRICT

“In today’s world it can happen to anyone,” the Hungarian Penal Justice Authority proclaims helpfully on the opening page of its website, “that they end up in prison as a result of a bad decision or a momentary mistake…” That would certainly be bad enough. But what if that bad

THE BÉRES LIFE PROGRAMME

The Béres Story began in the early 1970’s, when Dr. József Béres Sr., a biologist in Northeast Hungary who studied the diseases of agricultural plants, developed a medicine based on trace elements, that helped strengthen the human immune system. The “Béres drops”, probably the first such medicine ever, was banned