Latest news with #LeventeMagyar
Budapest Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Hungary urges EC to reach agreement to end tariff war
State Secretary Levente Magyar said the European Union's executive needed to take steps to reach an agreement with the United States to resolve a tariff war ahead of a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Thursday. 'We would like to again encourage and call upon the Commission to do everything in its power to come to some sort of arrangement with the States,' said Magyar, a state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He called out the European Commission for its 'belated response' to the reciprocal tariffs and said it 'should have done a better job'. Magyar said Hungary's export-oriented economy was especially vulnerable to the trade war, adding that the new tariffs would cost the country the equivalent of about 1.5pc of its exports. He said any agreement that would stabilise global trade was a step in the right direction. He also warned against retaliation by the EU that could lead to escalation. 'We should sit down, address the American concerns…and then come to some kind of common understanding,' he added. Touching on Hungary's economic relations with China, Magyar said the government would not sever those ties and called initiatives advocating decoupling 'a red line'. He added that around 45pc of China's recent investments in Europe were in Hungary. 'Hungary is benefiting from these very intensive Chinese economic and trade relations. We're not willing to give those up,' he added.
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Beijing is a ‘red line': Hungary vows it won't decouple from China if pushed by Trump
Decoupling from China is a 'red line' in Hungary's relations with the United States, a deputy minister has said, in rare remarks clarifying Budapest's thinking on its close ties with both superpowers. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has spent years cementing his position as Europe's most pro-Trump and pro-China leader. With the US government now suggesting that its allies must choose between the two, many speculate that Budapest could find itself in an awkward position. 'Definitely not. That's a red line for us, we're having excellent trade relations with China, and China has become one of the biggest investors in Hungary,' said Levente Magyar, a deputy minister for foreign affairs and trade, when asked in Brussels on Thursday if Hungary was willing to decouple from China, 'if that's what Trump wants'. 03:51 China and Hungary hail 'all-weather' partnership as Xi Jinping gets red carpet treatment in Budapest China and Hungary hail 'all-weather' partnership as Xi Jinping gets red carpet treatment in Budapest The official pointed to a swathe of Chinese investment in Hungary , with research showing that 44 per cent of capital pumped into Europe in 2023 went into the country, allowing it to overtake Germany, France and Britain as the most popular destination for Chinese funds. 'We are highly over-represented, considering our population and the size of our economy. So Hungary is benefiting from these very intensive Chinese economic and trade relations. We're not willing to give that up,' Magyar said. EU officials have long wondered how Orban would thread the needle as superpower hostilities escalated. Several of Trump's aides have said they want to cut Beijing out of global supply chains, and will lean on American allies to do so. 'Eventually, [Orban] will have to make a choice,' a senior EU official told the South China Morning Post after last year's US election. 'It's Trump or China. We don't know which one he would choose.' Big Chinese companies such as CATL, the global leader in batteries, and BYD, the world's biggest EV maker, have invested heavily in the central European country. CATL's €7.3 billion (US$7.8 billion) plant in the eastern city of Debrecen is expected to start production this year. BYD's Hungarian facility is also set to start producing EVs this year.
Russia Today
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Spy row causes diplomatic rift between Hungary and Ukraine
An escalating spy row between Hungary and Ukraine has derailed a planned intergovernmental meeting to discuss strained bilateral relations. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed on Friday that it uncovered a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in the border Transcarpathia region – home to a significant Hungarian minority. Two Ukrainian nationals accused of spying on behalf of Budapest have been detained. On Sunday, Levente Magyar, the Hungarian parliamentary state secretary for foreign affairs, announced the cancelation of a scheduled meeting which he and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishina agreed to last month. He explained that 'good-faith constructive negotiations' have become impossible following Kiev's public allegations. Stefanishina urged continued dialogue despite the fallout. The talks were due to take place in Uzhgorod, a Ukrainian city near the Hungarian border, and were set to focus on the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in the country. In response to the espionage claims, Budapest has deported an alleged former Ukrainian spy who government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs described as 'a serious threat to Hungary's sovereignty.' He posted a video showing the arrest of the person, mirroring the SBU's reporting of its crackdown. ‼️Yesterday evening, Hungarian counterterrorism forces (TEK) detained a Ukrainian national in downtown Budapest. The man was subject to an entry and residence ban by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing due to middle-aged individual had previously… Each side has also expelled two diplomats accused of being intelligence operatives. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that Kiev initiated the scandal for propaganda purposes. Hungary, a NATO and EU member, has often been at odds with Kiev and its Western backers regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Budapest has refused to supply weapons to Kiev and has instead called for a ceasefire with Moscow, which has frustrated Ukrainian officials. Budapest also opposes Ukraine's bids to join the EU and NATO. Among other things, it has cited Kiev's treatment of ethnic minorities, including laws that restrict education and cultural rights in minority languages.
Straits Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Hungary cancels talks with Ukraine on minority rights amid espionage row
BUDAPEST - Hungary has cancelled a meeting with Ukraine of experts on minority rights that had been due to take place on Monday, citing a row in which the two neighbours expelled diplomats and accused each other of engaging in espionage. In a statement late on Sunday, Hungarian foreign ministry state secretary Levente Magyar said Hungary had called off the planned meeting in Ukraine because recent developments in bilateral relations do not allow for "constructive talks in such an important and sensitive matter as minority rights". Magyar added that Hungary remained open to dialogue. On Friday Ukraine's SBU said it had detained two suspected agents who, it said, were being run by Hungarian military intelligence. It was the first time in Ukraine's history that a Hungarian spy network had been found to be working against Kyiv's interests, it said. Hungary is a member of the European Union and NATO, which strongly back Ukraine in its war with invading Russian forces, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban is sceptical about Western military aid to Kyiv and retains cordial relations with Russia. Orban's right-wing government has long accused Kyiv of violating the language rights of some 150,000 ethnic Hungarians who live mostly in western Ukraine's Transcarpathia region but the espionage row marks a new low in bilateral relations. Ukraine's SBU security agency said the two suspected agents were former members of its military and had been detained on suspicion of committing state treason. It said they were recruited by a handler in Hungarian military intelligence. In retaliation, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday Hungary had expelled two people he said were working as spies at Ukraine's embassy in Budapest. He said Kyiv's move had been driven by Hungary's opposition to providing military aid to Ukraine. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hungary cancels meeting on national minorities with Ukraine over spying scandal
Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries. "I cancelled tomorrow's meeting because I believe that the recent developments in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations do not allow for an honest and constructive discussion on such an important and sensitive issue as the rights of national minorities," Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Levente Magyar wrote. On May 9, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast, detaining two agents accused of espionage against the Ukrainian state. Soon after on May 9, Hungary allegedly expelled two "spies" working under diplomatic cover at Ukraine's embassy in Budapest, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. In response to Szijjarto's statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine is expelling two Hungarian diplomats from Kyiv. The Kyiv Independent cannot independently verify accusations of spying. Zakarpattia Oblast is a region with a sizable ethnic Hungarian minority and a sensitive location along NATO's eastern frontier. Kyiv has long accused Budapest of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty through political interference and dual citizenship schemes. Budapest has repeatedly accused Kyiv of discriminating against the Hungarian ethnic minority concentrated in southwestern Ukraine, an accusation that the Ukrainian leadership denies. Much of these disputes center around Ukraine's language laws that require at least 70% of education above fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian. While Budapest has called this measure discriminatory toward the Hungarian minority, Kyiv retorted that it only aims to ensure that every Ukrainian citizen has sufficient knowledge of the official language. Hungary has formulated an 11-point request to Ukraine regarding the rights of national minorities, which included the restoration of the status of a national school, the ability to take a high school diploma in Hungarian, and the ability to use Hungarian in public life. Ahead of exacerbated tensions caused by the scandal, the two countries have in recent months sought to mend relations on the issue. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in October 2024 that Kyiv was preparing a bilateral cooperation document with Budapest "to clear up misunderstandings" between the two countries. While Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sept. 30 after talks with Szijjarto that both sides see "positive dynamics" in resolving issues related to national minorities. In September 2023, the Ukrainian parliament approved changes to national minorities law, which was one of seven steps recommended by the European Commission in June 2022 for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. The changes were signed into law by Zelensky in November. Hungary continues to maintain positive relations with Russia in contrast with other EU members. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been broadly seen as the most Moscow-friendly leader in the EU during Russia's all-out war against Ukraine. He has repeatedly opposed military aid for Ukraine, arguing that Western support prolongs the war. On March 26, Szijjarto visited Moscow to discuss continued economic cooperation between the two countries. Read also: Ukraine detains Hungarian spy network in westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast, SBU reports We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
