Hungary

UN Pact for the Future Requires Global Solidarity and Localized Solutions

By Naureen Hossain
More than one year since its adoption, the UN Pact for the Future is held up as a critical framework for countries to address today’s issues through global cooperation. Its agenda for global governance and sustainable development is ambitious, and it is for this reason the Pact poses implementation challenges when it comes to the direct impact on local communities. It will require the joint efforts of governments, civil society and international organizations to achieve the goals laid out in the Pact.

Hungary’s LGBTQI Amendment an Affront to Human Rights, Say Activists

By Ed Holt
A controversial amendment to Hungary’s constitution has left the country’s LGBTQI community both defiant and fearful, rights groups have said.

Rising Opposition Movement Looks to Political Renewal, Stemming Erosion of Democracy in Hungary

By Catherine Wilson
The Central European nation of Hungary is officially a democracy. But civil society, the media and democratic norms have increasingly come under threat as the Fidesz-KDNP coalition government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has entrenched autocratic rule over the past 14 years. Now a new wave of energy and popularity is driving the younger opposition movement into the spotlight ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.

The Lesson from Davos: No Connection to Reality

By Roberto Savio
The rich and the powerful, who meet every year at the World Economic Forum (WEF), were in a gloomy mood this time. Not only because the day they met close to eight trillion dollars has been wiped off global equity markets by a "correction". But because no leader could be in a buoyant mood.

Opinion: Greece – A Sad Story of the European Establishment

By Roberto Savio
Only 50 years of Cold War (and the fact that German Chancellor Angela Merkel grew up in East Germany) can possibly explain the strange political power of the United States over Europe.

Europe’s Unregulated Lobbying Opens Door to Corruption, Says Rights Group

By Sean Buchanan
Lobbying is an integral part of democracy, but multiple scandals throughout Europe demonstrate that a select number of voices with more money and insider contacts can come to dominate political decision-making – usually for their own benefit.

Mixed Prospects for LGBT Rights in Central and Eastern Europe

By Pavol Stracansky
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups in Central and Eastern Europe, which still faced mixed prospects as they fight for rights and acceptance, are now taking some heart from the “failure” of a referendum in Slovakia, a member of the European Union.

War Knocks on Door of Youth Centre in Zwara

By Karlos Zurutuza
It could be a squat house anywhere: music is playing non-stop and there is also a radio station and an art exhibition. However, weapons are also on display among the instruments, and most here wear camouflage uniform.

Surprisingly Equal, Surprisingly Unequal

By Judith Niehues
Thomas Piketty, a French economist who works on wealth and income inequality, has triggered a debate on the distribution of income and wealth in many countries. This is no small issue because views on income inequality and concomitant redistributive preferences are crucial to the design of tax and transfer systems.

EUROPE: Floods Are Here to Stay

By Zoltán Dujisin
Record floods in Central and Eastern Europe have highlighted some of the challenges of climate change for the continent, as well as the floods' potential to spur populist politics.

Hungary Losing Its Best and Brightest

By Zoltán Dujisin
As the European Union accuses Hungary of shifting towards authoritarianism, a spike in emigration from the country has led many to speak of a politically motivated exodus. Others suggest that economic conditions play a role in the westward flow of brainpower that is leaving Hungary's future uncertain.

A Political Island Defies Europe

By Zoltán Dujisin
"Give gas" was the original name for the Goj motorbikers parade intended for Apr. 21, a day when Hungary’s large Jewish community commemorates the Holocaust in the Peace March.
*#*