Diplomacy & Trade 2019 November

NOVEMBER 2019 HUF 1710

EUR 6

TROUBLED CITY DEMONSTRATIONS IN HONG KONG SHED LIGHT ON THE FALLACY OF THE ’ONE COUNTRY - TWO SYSTEMS’ PRINCIPLE. SEE ANALYSIS on page 8

Spain

country

FOCUS

Economic relations between Spain and Hungary have ample room for improvement and the participation of Spanish companies in domestic infrastructure development projects would be mutually beneficial to both sides, Spain’s Ambassador to Hungary Anunciada Fernández de Córdova tells Diplomacy&Trade. Cooperation in the field of renewable energy and the inclusion of Spanish in the curriculum of primary education are key objectives for Spain’s top diplomat in Hungary. see articles on pages 10-17

Rethinking the Future

Bringing the depletion of the planet’s natural resources to a stop and pursuing sustainable business models are tasks that humanity can ill afford to postpone, according to international sustainability expert Dr. René Schmidpeter. The professor warns that mankind needs to unite to achieve these objectives as there is no second option.

see more on page 18

Book 1.indb 1

11/6/19 1:13 PM

Energy comes in many forms The new Audi Q5 TFSIe with powerful plug-in hybrid technology.

Electric has gone Audi The average combined fuel consumption of the new Audi Q5 TFSIe is 2.4 –2.0 l/ 100km, its combined electricity consumption is 19.1–17.5 kWh/100km and its combined CO2 emission is 53–46 g/km. The fuel consumption and CO2 emission values have been determined according to the current version of the required standard (Regulation (EC) No 715/2007). These values serve as a basis for comparison with other vehicle types and do not guarantee the actual fuel consumption of the vehicle.

Book 1.indb 2

11/6/19 1:13 PM

s

c.

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 3

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

F E B R U A R Y

2 0 1 5

3 11/6/19 1:13 PM

letter from the publisher

'Who You Think I Am' revolves around French actress Juliette Binoche's dramatic portrayal of a woman in her 50s desperately seeking love

page 25

05 ON THE RECORD 06-07 COMPANY BRIEFS 08 ANALYSIS

22 STYLE Passion for luxury 23 WITTYLEAKS by the Argentine

10-17 SPANISH FOCUS

Interview with Hungarian soprano Éva Marton; The grand game of seduction

Hong Kong, the troubled city

Interview with the Spanish Ambassador to Hungary, Anunciada Fernández de Córdova; Economic counsellor; Instituto Cervantes; La Liga; CAF

18-21 BUSINESS AND DON’T FORGET

monthly in print - daily on the web

www.dteurope.com

Sustainability expert Dr. René Schmidpeter; Matchmaking in the labor market; Belgian business delegation; Made in CEE; Tech monopolies

PUBLISHER: Peter Freed EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Edith Balázs EDITOR: Sándor Laczkó COPY EDITOR: Joyce Freed PHOTO EDITOR: Dávid Harangozó SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR: Tamás Varga DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Tibor Ocsenás ADMINISTRATION: Judit Ludányi ASSISTANT: Ágnes Rapaport

EVA Air, La Liga, Instituto Cervantes, CAF, Embassy of Argentina, István Gyarmati, Live Nation, Robert Capa (International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos), Theodor Oshar Krath, Gábor Dusa, Taldans, Hajnalka Hurta, Stan Ahuja, László Emmer, Gints Serafinovics, Kristina Goher/Hrvatski glasnik/MCC, Attila Busák, Pomo D'oro, Tamás Bata/www.mifotosunk.hu, Elements, Equerto, MTI Photos: Márton Mónus, Zsolt Szigetváry, János Vajda, János Mészáros, Zoltán Máthé

Copyright 2004-2018 DUAX Kft., all rights reserved | ISSN 1589-8075 This magazine is produced by DUAX Kft. The opinions published in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DUAX Kft.

4 Book 1.indb 4

26-27 SOCIETY 28-29 WHAT’S ON

Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest

30 HOSPITALITY

Pomo D’oro; Elements Budapest 31 WINE New Ostoros wine labels

Diplomacy&Trade will dedicate an upcoming country focus section to Japan, whose diplomatic relations with Hungary date back 150 years. Japan is one of the top investors in Hungary and the amount of corporate investments coming from the Asian country exceeds EUR 2 billion to date. There are about 160 Japanese companies operating in Hungary, providing jobs to more than 30,000 people. The Focus will feature an interview with Japanese Ambassador to Hungary Kuni Sato on issues ranging from economic relations (including trade and investment) to political, social and cultural ties. It will also include articles on developments in the operation of JETRO (Japanese External Trade Organization), Shokokai (the organization representing Japanese investors in Hungary), the Tokyo office of the Hungarian export promotion agency HEPA and several Japanese companies present in Hungary.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: Studio Incendo/Wikipedia (Cover), Diaphana Films, Studio Incendo/Wikipedia, Depositphotos.com, Hungarian Food Bank Association,

TELEPHONE [+36-70] 320-3051 | FAX [+36-1] 350-5660 E-MAIL editor@dteurope.com | ADVERTISING ­­adsales@dteurope.com

24-25 CULTURE

JAPANESE FOCUS - COMING SOON

CONTRIBUTORS: Edith Balázs, Sándor Laczkó, Tamás Magyarics, Réka A. Francisck, Maximiliano Gregorio-Cernadas

annual fee of EUR 72 in Hungary, or EUR 90 to all other destinations. SEND REQUESTS AND INQUIRIES TO DUAX KFT. H-1034 Budapest, Bécsi út 60.

Ambassador

We welcome inquires for advertising in this issue.

PLEASE CALL TAMÁS VARGA FOR FURTHER INFORMATION +36 209 350 250 - tvarga@budapestweek.com N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, DIAPHANA FILMS, HAJNALKA HURTA, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

PUBLISHER

NEWSSTAND PRICE: HUF 1,710 or EUR 6 - Subscriptions are ­a vailable for an

page 19

­­ contents

Peter Freed

COPIES ARE AVAILABLE AT SELECTED RELAY AND INMEDIO OUTLETS IN MAJOR HUNGARIAN CITIES.

Matchmaking in today's labor market is no easy feat

photos by

Following nearly five months of increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong, there seems no peaceful solution to the crisis in sight. With full integration of the city into China scheduled for 2047, “Hong Kongers” worry that the deadline may be brought forward and democratic rights obtained in past decades may be curtailed. While stopping short of using the heavy-handed methods of 1989, the government in Beijing will not hesitate to suppress the uprising for fear that it may spread to other territories, our foreign policy analyst writes. As the international community keeps a wary eye on the developments in Hong Kong, the tensions may be diffused by the Chinese government granting a “less special” status to the city and stepping up its interventions in political and economic issues.

November’s country focus takes stock of Spanish-Hungarian relations, showcasing the room for further growth in bilateral investments and trade activities. In an exclusive interview with Diplomacy&Trade, Spanish Ambassador Anunciada Fernández de Córdova highlighted that Spain’s track-record of participating in some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects is proof that Spanish companies could successfully contribute to such developments in Hungary. The diplomat also stressed that further facilitating Spanish language education in Hungary and promoting Spain as a diverse and culturally rich tourist destination are the top priorities on her agenda.

Internationally acclaimed sustainability expert René Schmidpeter strikes a somber note saying that humanity has about five years to switch to a new mindset or risk losing it all. The professor argues that profit and sustainability are not mutually exclusive notions, moreover, a socially and environmentally conscious business model is increasingly emerging not only as the sole solution but also as a key to profitability.

Do not miss this month’s WittyLeaks section in which Argentinian Ambassador Maximiliano Gregorio-Cernadas gives readers a captivating lesson in the history of Tildy Palace, one of the city’s most beautiful buildings and the seat of his country’s ambassadorial residence.

As the days grow increasingly colder and shorter, catching an opera performance or a night at the movies are excellent ways to spend a pleasant evening. Our Culture section offers inspiration for both. Worldrenowned Hungarian soprano Éva Marton shares her thoughts on the world of opera and some of the most memorable moments of her amazing career. French movie diva Juliette Binoche returns to the big screen with a thought-provoking film on aging and the place of women in a society obsessed with looks and appearances.

Apple co-founder calls for oversight of tech giants like page 21 Google or Facebook

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:13 PM

on the record

photos by

MÁRTON MÓNUS/MTI, ZSOLT SZIGETVÁRY/MTI, HUNGARIAN FOOD BANK ASSOCIATION, ZOLTÁN MÁTHÉ/MTI

HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION MAKES HEADWAY IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Scoring its biggest victory in a decade, Hungarian opposition parties conquered the capital Budapest in municipal elections held on October 13 as their candidate for mayor, 44-year-old Gergely Karácsony ousted incumbent István Tarlós, backed by the ruling Fidesz party. In addition to snatching the Budapest mayoral post from Fidesz, opposition forces – which supported a joint candidate in a large number of voting districts nationwide – also won 18 of the 23 district mayoral positions in the capital. Opposition candidates were elected mayors in a number of large cities while Fidesz remained the strongest party in rural areas.

At a turnout of 51.47%, Gergely Karácsony received 50.86% of the votes in Budapest while István Tarlós received 44.1%, according to data on the National Election Office website. “This victory is about making Budapest green and free," Karácsony said, adding that the new leadership will steer Budapest from the 20th to the 21st century and back to its historically rightful place, Europe.

In the 33-seat Budapest city assembly, the parties supporting Gergely Karácsony will have 18 seats, Fidesz will have 13 seats and independents two. Opposition parties also narrowed the gap with Fidesz outside Budapest by winning in ten of Hungary’s 23 big cities.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at a Fidesz gathering on election night that “today, the citizens of Budapest have decided that the time has come for something different. We accept this decision and in the interest of the country and the citizens of Budapest, we are ready to cooperate.”

Analysts are in agreement that the government will need to pay more attention to Budapest. "The voting base remains stable, Fidesz has mainly lost in big cities, so, I believe the government's economic policy will not change substantially," online news portal portfolio.hu quoted Péter Virovácz, chief economist at ING Bank Hungary as saying. Gábor Regős, Head of Macroeconomics at Századvég Economic Research does not expect a significant change in economic policy either, “but if there is, it will be due to a change in the global economic environment and fears related to the spillover of a German recession.” The analyst added that “Budapest needs more resources, just think of public transport and infrastructure.”

BUDAPEST HOSTED THE 2019 WATER SUMMIT The third Budapest Water Summit (BWS), organized in the Hungarian capital in October, attracted more than 2,000 participants from 118 countries. The focus of the three-day conference was the prevention of a global water crisis, including water scarcity and pollution. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 5

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

The event aimed to call the attention of the world’s political, economic, financial and scientific decision makers to waterrelated global challenges. In locations where a crisis cannot be averted, those in charge need to assess all the possibilities of managing such occurrences in order to ensure the survival of affected populations, a document detailing the BWS vision says.

The central topic of this year’s summit was based on the recognition that steps taken so far (including those based on the goals and recommendations of the 2013 and 2016 Budapest Water Summits), while indispensable, have proven insufficient to prevent the escalation of water crises that increasingly impact the planet's present and future.

The conference sought to elevate the results of the 2016 Budapest Water Summit, the Paris Climate Change Conference and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by UN member states. The Budapest event, which will be followed by the 2021 Dakar World Water Forum, helped further the work of the United Nations, the European Union, the World Water Council, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank Group as well as other organizations and cutting-edge platforms.

The closing document of BWS 2019 entitled the ‘Budapest Appeal’, formulates messages and guidelines for the international community to prevent and manage looming water crises. In addition, it provides a comprehensive summary of the findings and recommendations of the Summit and the preliminary online consultation process. For the document, please consult the enclosed QR code.

BUDAPESTWATERSUMMIT.PDF

WORLD FOOD DAY IN HUNGARY

Trucks loaded with food donations queued in central Budapest on World Food Day (October 16), in a bid to call attention to food waste and the importance of healthy diets.

Beyond raising awareness, the joint action of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Hungarian Foodbank Association was also designed to help Hungarian families in need.

Aimed at emphasizing nutritional diversity, the 50 tons of food hauled by the trucks consisted of a wide range of food products, such as pasta, canned food, cookies, drinks, chocolate, and other foods with a long shelf life.

“Achieving Zero Hunger is not only about addressing hunger, but also nourishing people while nurturing the planet. This year, World Food Day calls for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone,” Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO Assistant DirectorGeneral and Regional Representative said at a press conference in Budapest.

According to FAO data, up to one-third of all globally produced food goes to waste every year. Although the quantity of food produced would be enough to feed every person on the planet, some 820 million people still go hungry. Providing the necessary calories to people is not enough to eradicate hunger; the world needs diverse and healthy nutrition while also protecting natural resources. Cutting down on food loss and waste would help tackle these challenges.

Altogether 20 Hungarian and international food producers and retail companies joined the convoy. Throughout the year, these companies save surplus food and deliver it to the needy with help from Foodbank.

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

UPCOMING NATIONAL DAYS November

December

1

Algeria

National day

9

Cambodia

National day

11

Angola

Independence day

15

Belgium

King's day

18

Latvia

National day

18

Morocco

National day

19

Oman

National day

19

Monaco

National day

22

Lebanon

National day

25

Bosnia and Hercegovina

National day

28

Albania

National day

1

Romania

National day

2

Laos

National day

2

UAE

National day

5

Thailand

National day

6

Finland

National day

12

Kenya

Independence day

13

Malta

National day

16

Kazakhstan

Independence day

16

Bahrain

Independence day

18

Qatar

National day

23

Japan

National day

24

Libya

Independence day

29

Mongolia

Independence day

ORBÁN AND PUTIN DISCUSS EU RELATIONS, UKRAINE CRISIS IN BUDAPEST Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed means to mend Russia’s relationship with the EU and solve the crisis in Ukraine at a meeting of the two politicians in Budapest. Putin, who has met regularly with Orbán since 2013, visited Budapest on October 30 . “Hungary has a vested interest in improving the cooperation between the West and Russia; if relations between East and West are bad, Hungary suffers. But if relations are good, Hungary benefits,” Orbán said at a joint press conference after the meeting. The two leaders talked about bilateral trade, the importance of an improved NATO-Russia relationship, stability in the Middle East, and the two countries’ commitment to protecting Christians around the world. The volume of bilateral trade increased for the first time in 2018 since the implementation of international sanctions against Russia. Hungary’s EU and NATO membership doesn’t rule out cooperation with Russia, the Hungarian premier noted. The Russian President stressed that for several years there has been a mechanism in place that ensures successful cooperation between the two countries at the highest level, particularly in terms of trade and economic relations. He added that efforts are being made to diversify economic relations, although energy remains the priority. The Hungarian and Russian parties signed eight bilateral agreements related to inter-regional cooperation, social security, collaboration in the fields of oncology, sports and physical education as well as rail transport, according to a statement published by Orbán’s press office. The two sides also signed a reinsurance agreement between Eximbank and the Russian export insurance agency Exiar, and cooperation agreements between Samara Oblast and Győr-Moson-Sopron County as well as Mol, Lukoil and Transneft regarding future oil supplies.

5 11/6/19 1:13 PM

­company briefs GS YUASA’S HUNGARIAN PLANT MARKS MILESTONE IN E-MOBILITY

SANOFI TO OPEN EUROPEAN COMPETENCE CENTER IN BUDAPEST

Japan’s GS Yuasa has completed the construction of its first factory producing lithium-ion batteries outside Japan in the eastern Hungarian city of Miskolc. The EUR 28.8 million plant was set up to better enable the Japanese battery producer to supply European automotive partners that manufacture electric vehicles with lithium-ion resources. The Hungarian government contributed HUF 465.3 million (EUR 1.39 million) in non-returnable funding to the project.

Kyoto-based GS Yuasa Group, a world leader in the design, manufacturing and sales of lead-acid batteries, celebrated its centenary in 2017. The company’s partners are primarily key players of the automobile and motorcycle industry. The Group provides employment to more than 14,000 people globally.

In recent years, focus at GS Yuasa has shifted to the manufacturing of lithium-ion systems, the most advanced technological solution to date. In addition to the availability of the necessary workforce, the advanced infrastructure and the capital's accessibility, renewable energy resources (primarily geothermal energy) to be used for heating the plant were the reasons behind the Japanese company’s decision to establish a plant in Hungary.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has decided to establish a competence center called ‘Center of Excellence’ in Budapest.

Initially, 100 employees will assist Sanofi subsidiaries in the fields of accounting, HR and finance in seven languages; the center will be expanded to 350 persons by 2022.

The company, a strategic partner of the Hungarian government since 2013, is the 16th largest exporter in the country and ranks 21st in terms of revenue. Production takes place in Budapest, Veresegyháza and Csanyikvölgy near Miskolc; the company also operates an R&D center and a logistics and distribution site in Hungary. The latter supplies 290 million boxes of medication a year to more than 50 customers from a range of products manufactured by 59 factories.

Sanofi’s Hungarian competence center will be one of more than 110 business services centers located in the country. These employ over 50,000 people, typically members of generation Y with higher education degrees and foreign language skills. The new office will initially assist Sanofi's European and North American subsidiaries.

Founded in 1973, Sanofi is one of the leading pharmaceutical stakeholders worldwide with products distributed in 170 countries. The company group, with headquarters in Paris, employs over 100,000 people in 100 countries.

K&P CHEM TO SUPPLY COSMETIC INDUSTRY FROM SZOLNOK

The second phase of Samsung SDI’s Hungarian investment nears completion with the construction of new buildings at the company’s business site in Göd, north of Budapest, now completed. The second phase will yield 1,200 new jobs and a significant increase in the plant’s battery cell production. The Korean company invested EUR 1.2 billion to expand the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles in Hungary. Samsung SDI, a member of the Samsung Group, has produced batteries and energy storage systems of various sizes, types, and usage for more than 20 years.

Its most important partners in the automotive industry include several leading European vehicle

6 Book 1.indb 6

JÁNOS VAJDA/MTI, MÁRTON MÓNUS/MTI, JÁNOS MÉSZÁROS/MTI, DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

SAMSUNG SDI MAKES HEADWAY ON MAJOR EXPANSION PROJECT IN GÖD

manufacturers, which rely on Samsung products for their hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

Production at the Göd battery plant started in 2018 after the reconstruction of a former TV screen factory. Samsung SDI was the first global player to establish operations in Hungary’s electro-mobility industry and its presence has helped draw the attention of other significant Asian companies to Hungary as an investment destination. Prominent Asian peers like SK Innovation, GS Yuasa and Shinheung have also set up European centers in Hungary in the past years.

The European Commission has launched a detailed investigation to determine whether the Hungarian government's plan to grant EUR 108 million in state aid to Samsung SDI for the expansion of the manufacturing plant in Göd is in line with the bloc’s regional state aid regulations, online news portal napi.hu reported.

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

photos by

GS Yuasa is joining Samsung SDI and SK Innovations as a supplier of powertrains for electric cars in Hungary. Since the start of their production activities in the country, the two South Korean battery manufacturing companies have decided to further develop their operations here, strengthening Hungary’s position in European e-mobility.

Japan is the most important Asian investor in Hungary and last year Hungary became Japan’s top investment destination in Europe, according to the IBM-PLI Global Location Trends 2019 report.

Trial operation is set to start at K&P Chem’s new manufacturing plant in Szolnok with live production slated for early 2020. The factory, part of an EUR 16.5 million investment, will create 50 new jobs. The plant will manufacture basic materials for cosmetic products and will supply key cosmetics industry players in Central and Eastern Europe, including Procter&Gamble, Unilever and Henkel.

The factory in Szolnok will be the first Hungarian plant of Greece’s Kapachim Group. Kapachim, which is K&P Chem’s parent company, has been involved in the production of basic materials for pharmaceuticals, soaps, cleansing and other chemical products for a decade. Currently, the Group has four manufacturing locations in Greece, Morocco and Algeria, employing 200 people. Kapachim places special emphasis on research and development and is one of the few companies manufacturing household chemicals that sell their own patents to global multinational companies.

The chemical industry, which is deeply rooted in the Hungarian economy, offers employment to nearly 100,000 people. It accounted for 4.9% of the total added value of the national economy in 2018 with sales turnover exceeding HUF 6,000 billion.

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:13 PM

c­ ompany briefs MASTERCARD ADVISORS TO MOVE REGIONAL CENTER

HUNGARIAN CENTRAL BANK PUBLISHES FINTECH STRATEGY The National Bank of Hungary released its fintech strategy entitled ‘Financial innovation and stability’ at a conference in October, attended by the representatives of Hungarian fintech companies. The key objective of the strategy, the first to be published by a central bank in the CEE region, is to facilitate the market penetration of competitive and innovative services in Hungary, strengthen the efficiency and stability of the financial system, stimulate the domestic fintech ecosystem, and develop general financial culture and professional training. The monetary authority drafted 24 specific initiatives and proposals to achieve these objectives. Facilitating the digitalization of the domestic financial system, the development of the fintech sector and the general level of financial awareness are key priorities for the bank. Consistent with all these efforts, the central bank established an executive directorate responsible for the digitalization of the financial system and the development of the domestic fintech sector in May 2019. The responsibilities of the new unit include the analysis of developments related to financial system innovation and digitalization as well as the creation and continuous development of central bank instruments, which support the digital competitiveness of institutions providing financial services. The Supervisory Lab for Financial Innovations monitors the international practice of the latest financial market and supervisory technology innovations and proposes their implementation in the domestic supervisory practice.

Mastercard Advisors, a strategic consulting division of Mastercard, is moving its European headquarters to the Hungarian capital and in the next few years it plans to increase the number of consultants to one hundred, the company told Hungarian news agency MTI. Endre Eölyüs, Managing Director for Hungary and Slovenia at Mastercard said in the announcement that Mastercard Advisors has been functioning on a local level, for the past five years. At the beginning of 2019, however, Mastercard decided to establish unified regional centers at the European level with a larger number of consultants. The Budapest operation will be one of these centers, alongside those in Lisbon, Bucharest and Istanbul.

The company's objective is to combine Mastercard's unique knowledge with a highly skilled team to create a competitive advisory service. Mastercard Advisors' consultancy activities are no longer limited to the financial sector, its clients hail from commerce and the public sector, he noted.

István Maklári, Head of Mastercard's regional consulting business and tasked with the expansion of the Budapest team, said that the company was looking to set up a team that can be deployed and delegated to a wide range of consulting projects in regional and European markets.

JOYSON SAFETY SYSTEMS REVAMPS FACTORY IN MISKOLC

Joyson Safety Systems will implement a new investment at its Hungarian factory in the northeastern city of Miskolc. The EUR 50 million project is designed to boost efficiency and production volume by installing new machinery and introducing new manufacturing methods. Joyson Safety Systems, headquartered in the Unites States, is a unit of the Chinese Joyson Electronics and is present in 25 countries worldwide.

Joyson Safety Systems manufactures passenger safety products. The Chinese company group has recently carried out significant acquisition projects, including the purchase of the Japanese Takata Group.

Joyson’s Miskolc factory is one of the largest automotive airbag production units in the world, manufacturing protective products for the largest car manufacturers on 60,000 square meters. The factory’s range of products includes complete air bag modules and components, inflators and electronic products.

The company built a new plant in Miskolc in 2013 with an investment of EUR 68 million, creating 2100 workplaces. It seeks to become a global leader in the production of transport safety equipment, Kersten Hugo Bachmann, Managing Director at Joyson Safety Systems Hungary told reporters. “The past five years are also proof of the fact that it was a good decision to establish the plant in Miskolc, and we are now expanding our existing production Diplomacy-n-Trade.ai 1 2017. 02. 27. 11:22:30 capacities with a further investment of EUR 50 million,” he added.

photos by

DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM, EVA AIR

NEW SALES REPRESENTATION FOR EVA AIR IN HUNGARY Taiwan-based five-star airline EVA Air has chosen the Hungarian office of Central European Aviation Solutions Ltd. (CEAS) as its sales and marketing agent. EVA Air Director for Central and Eastern Europe, Edward Ho said he looks forward to a successful, long-term cooperation. Boglárka Gyuricza will act as Sales and Marketing Manager for EVA Air in Hungary. EVA Air is a privately owned Taiwanese airline founded in 1989 by the Evergreen Group, one of the world's largest ocean freight carriers. Headquartered C in Taipei, the airline’s main airport is Taiwan's Taouyuan Airport, located in the northern part of the island M state. As one of the safest airlines in the world, Eva Air is renowned for its premium services, according to the company’s press release. The carrier has been selected one of the best airlines in the world in 2019 by Y AirlineRatings.

CM For Hungarian travelers, the most important route that Eva Air offers is the Vienna-Bangkok-Taipei MY flight, operated four times a week, landing in the Thai capital in both directions. Many Hungarians choose the flight for a comfortable and affordable journey to Thailand, which has long been a favorite CY destination for Asian travel. The CMY airline also offers direct Taipei flights K from Vienna three times a week. Eva Air operates a fleet of 83 aircraft to 68 cities around the world, consisting mostly of Boeing 787, Boeing 777, Airbus 321 and 330 models. By the end of 2022, Eva Air‘s fleet will also include 24 Dreamliner aircraft. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 7

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

7 11/6/19 1:13 PM

analysis

ONE COUNTRY – HOW MANY SYSTEMS? A GLANCE AT THE UNREST IN HONG KONG

BY TAMÁS MAGYARICS

The British left Hong Kong in 1997.

Nevertheless, their imperial legacies are still alive in most of the former territories of the largest empire ever seen in world history.

One such legacy is cricket: the game is played on the highest level by some of the former colonies, including India and Pakistan. Although cricket did not really take roots in Hong Kong (as opposed to, for instance, horse racing), a test match between the best national teams – the name indicating that such a game requires mental and physical endurance – may as well be an appropriate metaphor for recent events in Hong Kong. Though the decree that originally provoked the protests in Hong Kong has since been revoked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the occasionally violent clashes between demonstrators and the police have continued.

In fact, there have even been pro-government (and pro-Beijing) ‘demonstrators.’ It remains an open question whether the latter emerged spontaneously, which some observers question, but the fact is that the population of Hong Kong is almost evenly divided between the two sides. It goes without saying that Beijing accuses ’foreign agents’ of inciting demonstrations against the Hong Kong leadership, which is seen as too close to the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China.

‘Hong Kongers’ The other major issue involved is how deeply the British legacy of the rule of law, the observance of civil liberties, including the freedom of speech and the freedom of association, have taken root among the inhabitants of Hong Kong. As one of the protesters put it, “In 2047 we will return to China fully, we understand that. But we are trying to protect what we have until the last day.” (The Economist, September 28th, 2019, p. 54.) It is especially the young people of Hong Kong who have a sort of split personality insofar as they describe themselves as “Hong Kongers” rather than “Chinese.” A divided identity within China is not welcomed by its leaders for fear of fueling centrifugal forces on the fringes of the country. The same issue also emerged in the Republic of China, a.k.a. Taiwan, where one of the major parties openly demands independence from mainland China. Moreover, the protests in Hong Kong are ominous reminders for many people of the events in Beijing in spring and early summer of 1989, and the eventual

victory of the Democratic presidential candidate (whoever he or she will be) is bound to bring back a closer scrutiny of Chinese violations of civil and human rights.

brutal crackdown of the demonstrators by the authorities after weeks of indecision.

For sure, Hong Kong in 2019 is not Beijing 1989, but for a leader in any authoritarian regime to show weakness is the first step toward early retirement from political life.

One country – one and a half systems The leaders in Beijing must be aware of the fact that “Hong Kongers” cannot be treated with the same heavy-handed methods employed elsewhere in the country in the past. The people of Hong Kong have already tasted (and continue to do so) some of the ”forbidden fruits” that the majority of the population in Communist China is deprived of. The genie cannot be entirely forced back into the bottle.

At the same time, ”Hong Kongers” should also realize that in this test match the other side is heavily favored – and for good reasons. Beijing can make life more miserable for them than they can for Beijing. The “one country – two systems” principle will most likely evolve into a “one country – one and a half systems” over the next few years before the total incorporation of Hong Kong into China in 2047.

Doomed goals?

Xi Jinping is arguably the strongest leader since Mao Ze-dong. He entertains extremely ambitious plans, including the ”Made in China” by 2025 and the ”two centenaries.” The latter refers to creating a “moderately well-off” society by the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China in 2021, and a “modern socialist society” by the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 2049. It is obvious that these goals are doomed in the face of domestic instability, slowing economic growth and a potentially deteriorating international environment. The latter is foremost attributable to the U.S.China trade war, which threatens to change the terms of international trade that have been extremely favorable to the Chinese in the past few decades. Meanwhile, a potential

Tamás Magyarics is a foreign policy analyst

A question of identity

8 Book 1.indb 8

photo by STUDIO

INCENDO/WIKIPEDIA

The broader questions involved in recent events affect the identity of the people of Hong Kong. Quite a few identify first and foremost with the Chinese in ‘mainland’ China. Even though the agreement concluded with the outgoing British authorities in 1997 granted Hong Kong the ‘one country – two systems’ status for the next 50 years, these people share memories of humiliation by western powers from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century.

They are willing to accept the autocratic centralized rule Beijing has imposed on all the territories under its control – including, among others, Tibet. In essence, this means that they are united with some 1.4 billion Chinese when it comes to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of China. At the same time, Beijing’s Communist leaders have a vested interest in suppressing any separatist movements in the territories under their rule so as to prevent the spread of ‘separatism’ in general. Therefore, there is worry in Hong Kong that the full integration of the city may be carried out earlier by Beijing than 2047. A decision toward this goal by the Chinese Communist Party may be hastened by an economic slowdown (though a 6-7% increase in annual GDP rates is still relatively high) and the potential economic and social (and political) problems resulting from it. Furthermore, domestic unrest is also lurking under the surface: Tibet or Xinjiang have been causing headaches for Chinese leaders and are likely to continue to do so. In short, showing strength and resolve against perceived anti-government demonstrators is likely to be seen by Communist Party officials in Beijing as a political necessity.

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:13 PM

s

c.

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

F E B R U A R Y

2 0 1 5

9 11/6/19 1:13 PM

INTERVIEW WITH ANUNCIADA FERNANDÉZ DE CÓRDOVA, SPANISH AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY

10 Book 1.indb 10

BY EDITH BALÁZS

“In terms of economic relations Spain is not Germany of course, but Spanish companies have a significant presence here. Spanish enterprises that have already invested in Hungary rely on advanced technologies in their operations and this is in line with the Hungarian government’s objectives of attracting investors that provide higher added value. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has often pointed out that Hungary is not only looking for investors that create more jobs, particularly considering the shortage of skilled labor in the country, but rather businesses that offer added value. Spain is the 4th largest economy in the EU and I point this out often to our Hungarian friends, who are also interested in reducing their dependence on Germany,” the Ambassador tells Diplomacy&Trade in an exclusive interview.

Spain was one of the fastest growing developed economies in 2018 and international organizations like the IMF and the OECD forecast that the country’s economy will continue to grow at one of the fastest rates among developed nations.

The Spanish economy has become highly internationalized in the aftermath of the global financial crisis with the number of exporting firms increasing by more than 30% from 2011. Bilateral economic relations could benefit from the economic expansion witnessed by both Spain and Hungary, according to the Ambassador. The volume of annual trade between the two countries in 2018 amounted to nearly EUR 4.4 billion, with Hungarian exports to the south European country exceeding the amount of Spanish exports to Hungary. Official figures show that there are 270 companies in Hungary that have Spanish capital, and these provide employment to 4,200 people. Their operations cover a wide spectrum, ranging from the automotive, electronics N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

and water sectors to food and agriculture and the hotel industry. The number of Budapest hotels operated by Spanish companies is set to rise to seven this year when a new establishment opens near Parliament.

“Infrastructure development and renewable energy are the two sectors where cooperation could be further boosted between our countries. These are sectors where Spanish companies have a wellestablished presence in Poland and the Czech Republic but not yet in Hungary. After the 2008 crisis some Spanish companies withdrew from Hungary and never came back. What I would like is for Spanish companies to come back to Hungary,” de Córdova notes.

You ask for it, we provide it The Ambassador stresses that Spanish companies boast a global prestige in the infrastructure sector, most notably in railways and transportation.

&

T R A D E

|

photo by

Boosting the participation of Spanish companies in Hungarian infrastructure development projects and promoting cultural ties, especially the inclusion of the Spanish language in the primary school curriculum, top the list of priorities for Spanish Ambassador Anunciada Fernández de Córdova.

The diplomat also seeks to promote Spain as a tourist destination that has a lot more to offer than just sun and the beach.

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

BUILDING LINKS

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:13 PM

spanish focus Five of the world’s largest firms in transport infrastructure management are Spanish and more than 3,000 air traffic management systems use Spanish technology worldwide. “I would be delighted if Spanish companies were involved in big infrastructure projects in Hungary,” she says, adding that the Belgrade-Budapest and WarsawBudapest railway link projects would provide great opportunity for Spanish companies.

The 350-kilometer high-speed rail line connecting the Hungarian and Serbian capitals that carries a price tag of nearly USD 3 billion is the first stage of the planned Budapest–Belgrade–Skopje–Athens railway connection. It is a hallmark project of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative that would link the China-run Piraeus port in Greece with the heart of Europe. The Warsaw-Budapest rail link is a project initiated by the Visegrád 4 countries earlier this year, and the planned two-track line would allow trains to travel at speeds ranging from 250 km/h to as much as 350 km/h with stops only in the three capital cities (Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest) and Brno. The new line would cut travel time from Warsaw to Budapest to three hours instead of the current 10 or 12 hours.

“Many of the most important infrastructure projects in the world have been carried out by Spanish companies or by consortiums led by them. Spain has the second largest high-speed rail network in the world. We supply projects in a wide range of areas, from trains to the ticketing system. You ask for it, we supply it,” the Ambassador says, adding that the lack of transparency and the very short period available for submitting tenders, in addition to the language barrier, often make it difficult for foreign companies to submit bids in Hungarian development tenders.

Immigration in focus

photo by

DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

The visit of Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to Budapest in December 2018 broke an 11-year hiatus in meetings between the foreign ministers of the two countries and underpinned Ambassador de Córdova’s primary mission of strengthening relations on the political level. “The scope of political cooperation is very wide. There are many areas where we could act together, even in the field of immigration,” the Ambassador notes.

Spain experienced the first big wave of migrants in 2006 when nearly 650,000 landed at its shores, almost half of the EU’s total intake. In response, FACTS COMPARED AREA country comparison to the world POPULATION country comparison to the world POPULATION GROWTH RATE country comparison to the world BIRTH RATE country comparison to the world LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH country comparison to the world NET MIGRATION RATE country comparison to the world GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) country comparison to the world UNEMPLOYMENT RATE country comparison to the world TELEPHONES - MOBILE/CELLULAR country comparison to the world AIRPORTS country comparison to the world

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 11

|

Spain launched a policy of aiding the countries of origin and transit in terms of economic development and collaboration between security forces as well as border control. “In this respect, Hungary and Spain share the same views because Hungary also wants to tackle the problem at the root, namely in the countries of origin. As an external border of the EU, similarly to Hungary, we do not want to have the sole responsibility in dealing with migration. At the same time, I need to stress that for us the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility foreseen in the Treaties is crucial, and Spain has signed the global pact on migration which Hungary hasn’t. We are also in favor of integration once legal immigrants are accepted into a country. As far as legal immigrants are concerned, we have a different stance than Hungary,” according to Anunciada Fernández de Córdova. The diplomat added that the standards of rule of law are also something where further work could take place between Spain and Hungary, although the main forum for that discussion is Brussels.

Key objectives In addition to facilitating the participation of Spanish companies in Hungarian infrastructure projects, the Ambassador sees the inclusion of the HUNGARY

SPAIN

93,028 sq km 111 9,825,704 (July 2018 est.)

92 -0.26% (2018 est.)

214 8.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

206 76.3 years (2018 est.)

88 1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

54 USD 29,600 (2017 est.)

68 4.2% (2017 est.)

54 12,030,940 (2017 est.)

75 41 (2013) 103

505,370 sq km 53 49,331,076 (July 2018 est.)

28 0.73% (2018 est.)

137 9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

205 81.8 years 23 7.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

13 USD 38,400 (2017 est.)

49 17.2% (2017 est.)

179 52,484,655 28 150 (2013) 38

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

Spanish language in the curriculum of local primary schools as one of her key objectives. “There are seven secondary schools in Hungary with bilingual sections and four Departments of Spanish studies at Hungarian universities. In recent years, Spain has been spending an average of EUR 300,000 on promoting the teaching of Spanish in Hungary.

Ours is a language spoken as a mother tongue by more than 500 million people worldwide, it is the second most popular language on Facebook and the third on the Internet after English and Chinese.

I find it awkward that students in Hungarian primary schools cannot choose Spanish as a second language. Offering the opportunity to Hungarian children to learn Spanish would, in my opinion, be beneficial for an open economy like Hungary and would also be coherent with the government’s Southern opening strategy,” the Ambassador says.

Another objective to which de Córdova dedicates a lot of effort is a monumental El Greco exhibition to be hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest in 2021, under the patronage of the King of Spain and the President of Hungary. As a warm-up to that exhibition, the Embassy is organizing in conjunction with Instituto Cervantes a series of talks on the art of painting, with speakers from the Museum of Fine Arts and the Prado Museum in Madrid, says the Ambassador who believes that cultural links between nations are of paramount importance. Under her guidance, the Embassy and Insituto Cervantes have launched a series of monthly dialogues between Spanish and Hungarian writers, hosted by the Uránia cinema in Budapest, in collaboration with the Petőfi Museum and ELTE university. Hungarian film lovers will also be able to enjoy a Spanish Film Week featuring 12 awardwinning movies (dramas, comedies, documentaries, with excellent directors and actors) subtitled in Hungarian, from October 29 to November 3 in Budapest.

Not only sun and beach Tourism is a key area of bilateral relations, with more than 286,000 Hungarians visiting Spain last year versus the 186,000 Spaniards that came

to Hungary. A key reason behind the expansion in tourism is that there are 13 direct air links between the two countries; in August 2018 and 2019, there were more than 300 flights between Spain and Hungary, meaning 10 flights per day.

“One of my goals in this field is to show that there is more to Spain than sun and beach. It has much more to offer, like excellent gastronomy and wines, the third highest number of UNESCO World heritage sites worldwide, fantastic culture, the second highest number of biosphere reserves on the planet, rich folklore and artisanry traditions. Presenting a complex picture of my country in all its beauty is something I am very much striving for,” the Ambassador says. When it comes to culinary arts, the diplomat has her own personal campaign. Annoyed by coming across subpar interpretations of the famous Spanish tomato soup gazpacho, de Córdova has taken it upon herself to introduce this delicacy to as many Hungarians as possible. ”I invited the members of the Spanish Hungarian friendship group in Parliament to lunch and the first course was gazpacho prepared by me in front of them. I also offered to make gazpacho for students studying Spanish at the seven secondary schools in Hungary,” she notes smiling.

Good omens Anunciada Fernández de Córdova is not a newcomer to Budapest. During her six years as Spanish Ambassador to Slovenia, she often visited the Hungarian capital, mostly for the “excellent” exhibitions hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts, which boasts the largest collection of Spanish paintings outside the Prado. In Madrid she also worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where she was responsible, among other countries, for Hungary. “I arrived on May 15th, 2018 on the day of Madrid’s patron saint San Isidro, which I consider a good omen. Another good omen was the fact that both my predecessor and I celebrate our birthdays on April 1. So far, these omens have proven accurate.”

11 11/6/19 1:13 PM

spanish focus

SPAIN SEEKS TO TIGHTEN ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH HUNGARY Apart from the 2008 and 2009 crisis years, the volume of bilateral trade between Spain and Hungary has been on the rise since Hungary’s 2004 accession to the European Union and has more than doubled from that date. Even though the bilateral trade and investment figures of recent years are encouraging, there is ample room for growth in both fields, says Susana de Ibarrondo, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Spanish Embassy.

Global foreign direct investment inflows to Spain reached a record EUR 55 billion in 2018. However, the EUR 20.2 million stock of Hungarian investments is still modest leaving room for considerable improvement, she notes. Hungary’s investments are concentrated in sectors such as film and video distribution, civil engineering and real estate.

“Gross investment flows from Spain to Hungary have been declining since 2007 and have been very low except for the years 2014 and 2017; they continue to be far from the figures reached in the years before the crisis,” Susana de Ibarrondo says. Nevertheless, the total stock of Spanish investments in Hungary reached EUR 1 billion in 2017. The largest Spanish companies present in Hungary are active in the automotive, electricity supply and the textile-fashion sectors, the most competitive areas of Spanish economy.

Spanish companies also play a significant role in the hotel sector in Hungary.

“Hungarian companies could profit from the investment opportunities offered by Spain, especially considering that Spain is one of the most open countries to foreign investments.

The OECD ranks Spain as the 10th country in the world with the least restrictions on foreign investments from a regulatory point of view,” the counsellor says.

12 Book 1.indb 12

trade and economic relations between Hungary and Spain, especially in the sectors where Spain has proven expertise such as infrastructure railway, specialized engineering services and high value-added exports. There is also margin to increase our trade in other sectors like technologies for intensive crops, consumer goods and e-commerce,” the counsellor says.

Automotive, machinery sectors in focus Spain ranked as Hungary’s 11th largest export partner in 2018 with a share of 2.71% of total Hungarian exports and 15th as supplier, with a share of 1.6% of Hungarian imports. In terms of the sectorial distribution, the main concentration is in the automotive and machinery sectors.

Key products Spain imported from Hungary in 2018 were passenger cars and other automobile vehicles (11.67%), vehicle parts and accessories (10.6%), piston or explosion motors (9.88%)

and medicines (3.13%). Concerning Spanish exports to Hungary in 2018, the highest monetary value corresponds to passenger cars and other vehicles, accounting for 20.1% of the total, vehicle parts and accessories (5.51%), piston or explosion motors (4.39%) and pork (3.55%). The textile and fashion sectors are also important in Spanish exports to Hungary. The strengthening of bilateral investment relations could bring important benefits for both countries.

“In terms of investments, both Hungary and Spain offer great opportunities for foreign investors and the strengthening of bilateral economic relations in the field of investment could bring important benefits for the two countries. Spain was the 8th largest recipient of FDI globally last year. This is an indication of the competitive advantages and opportunities our country offers as a destination of foreign direct investments,” according to Susana de Ibarrondo.

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

photo by DÁVID

Relations between Spain and Hungary have been built on a solid institutional framework that promotes and facilitates economic relations. “Although bilateral trade has been traditionally more favorable to Hungary, the balance shows a reduction in the deficit for Spain due to the dynamism of Spanish exports in recent years. Moreover, the increasing volume of bilateral trade, which rose 6.5% in 2018 compared to 2017, reflects a positive development in commercial relations between the two countries,” Susana de Ibarrondo tells Diplomacy&Trade.

Spanish exports to Hungary have shown an encouraging tendency in the 2016-2018 period, reaching nearly EUR 1.8 billion last year, which represents an increase of 5.53% compared to 2017. On the other hand, Spanish imports from Hungary amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, rising 7.13% compared to 2017 figures.

“Our objective for the future is to strengthen

With 47 million inhabitants and 82 million tourists visiting the country each year, Spain is a key European market for investors and a gateway to non-European countries. Spanish companies are increasingly beginning to act as global players, seeking synergies that allow them to access business opportunities in third countries, particularly those in which they have natural access, such as Latin America. Additionally, the high degree of internationalization of the Spanish economy and its geostrategic location make the country an alluring platform from which to conduct business in the Western Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East.

The counsellor highlights that Hungary has had a very good track record in attracting foreign investments in recent years, due – among other points – to its strategic position in the center of Europe and the proximity of important markets and production centers. However, one factor affecting foreign investors is the shortage of qualified labor, especially in the automotive and hotel sectors, according to Susana de Ibarrono.

“Hungary’s good economic performance and the positive prospects for 2019 are important in attracting foreign investment and all measures aimed at increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the Hungarian economy are very positive in this regard. Another aspect to be considered regarding foreign investment is the importance of predictability and regulatory stability because the decision to invest abroad is taken by companies based on long-term prospects and these two factors are essential.”

HARANGOZÓ

Gateway to the world

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:14 PM

spanish focus

FROM CERVANTES TO ALMODÓVAR VISIONS OF HISPANIC CULTURE

exception; one of the main activities of the Budapest institute is teaching Spanish. “We have our own academic curriculum and we are the reference for Spanish language in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Currently, we have sixteen teachers coming from Spain, Argentina and other Spanish speaking countries. Also, we offer Hungarian language courses for foreigners with Hispanic roots and special courses and workshops relating to language and culture,” the Director explains.

Cultural activities with vision

Instituto Cervantes, a public entity established by the government of Spain in 1991, has been promoting Spanish language and culture in Hungary for 15 years. Headquartered in Madrid and Alcalá de Henares - the hometown of writer Miguel de Cervantes -, the institute is a bastion of Spanish and Latin American culture worldwide.

In Hungary, Instituto Cervantes offers an extensive program showcasing the best of the literature, cinematography and performing arts of the Spanish speaking world. Working closely with an extensive network of Hungarian, Spanish and Latin American institutions as well as other European cultural institutes, it promotes cultural cooperation through a diversity of activities.

show this modern and democratic Spain to the world.” Riding on the waves of this exuberant environment, the 2004 opening of Instituto Cervantes in Budapest as a cultural center came at a moment when the institute was boosting its presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

King Felipe and Queen Leticia inaugurated it in the presence of the then Hungarian President Ferenc Mádl and his wife Dalma.

Colorful cultural creativity

The ultimate place for learning the language

photos by DÁVID

HARANGOZÓ, INSTITUTO CERVANTES

The last decade of the 20th century brought about an era of economic and artistic revival in Spain. Javier Valdivielso Odriozola, Director of the Cervantes Institute in Budapest, recalls that at the time of the establishment of the Institute “in the 1990s, Spanish society was living in a period of tremendous modernization. After the country became a member of NATO and the European Union in 1980s, the Olympic Games in Barcelona and the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992 were two occasions that showed the world the great potential of Spain. The economy was growing, large infrastructure investments were underway, and a colorful cultural creativity was present everywhere. In those times, Instituto Cervantes was the tool to w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 13

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

Every year, more than 80,000 people sign up for Spanish courses at Cervantes Institutes operated worldwide. Hungary is no

According to Javier Valdivielso Odriozola, the cultural program of the Institute is a representative melange of all the arts. “We focus our work on Spanish culture, with all the plurality of our country (in Catalan, Basque and Galician). And we have the Hispanic vision including the cultures of all the countries that use Spanish as the official language.

We try to open our cultural program to the entire Hungarian society, our Library ‘Ernesto Sabato’ (named after a fundamental and terrific exponent of Argentinean literature) is the biggest Hispanic library in Hungary and we organize literary and poetry clubs there.”

The Instituto Cervantes is the Spanish cultural center in Hungary. “Our goal is to present the Spanish and the Hispanic culture and to cooperate and collaborate with the Hungarian cultural network,” he notes. The large variety of cultural offerings by Instituto Cervantes in November includes a roundtable discussion on El Greco’s art of painting with Leticia Ruiz, the curator of the Prado Museum, a guitar performance by the Duo con Fuoco and an exhibition by Chilean painter and illustrator Marcela Trujilo, organized in cooperation with the Embassy of Chile in Hungary.

Expansionary plans The Director believes that the cultural dialogue between Hungary and Spain is one of the most positive relationships between the two countries and the Institute is able to fill gaps in cultural relations between Hungary and the Spanish speaking countries. “At Instituto Cervantes, we support the training of Hungarian teachers of Spanish and Hispanic culture. We also work to facilitate the translations of Spanish and Hispanic works in literature, cinema and other arts.” In the future, the Institute plans to organize cultural activities in cities in the countryside in addition to Budapest. “We want to be Instituto Cervantes for Hungary.”

13 11/6/19 1:14 PM

spanish focus

LA LIGA – MORE THAN JUST FOOTBALL SPANISH TOP DIVISION SOCCER PROMOTED IN HUNGARY THROUGH LOCAL PRESENCE

and prove that La Liga and our clubs are much more than just a competition. We care about the expectations of the fans and take concrete steps to meet these expectations.

Establishing an international presence for clubs has a series of positive long-term effects, such as commanding a larger TV audience and creating new overseas partnerships, which in turn lead to the creation of jobs and income as well as increased sports opportunities around the world.”

In addition to football matches, fans also expect to be engaged in between games with personalized content. Social media channels are the primary means of communication with fans and Elisa Alvarez Martin and her colleagues ensure that this is done in the local language to an increasing degree.

La Liga produces a wide range of regular content in English and Spanish, including virtual tours inside the stadiums of La Liga Santander, profiles of the league’s emerging young players, as well as weekly match previews and unique local stories.

The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División (La Liga), or the top division of the Spanish football championship, is one of the most popular soccer competitions among Hungarian sports fans. Elisa Alvarez Martin, La Liga’s representative for Hungary and the Balkans seeks to boost the popularity of the championship in this part of the continent.

It’s not football. It’s La Liga

14 Book 1.indb 14

who answer questions correctly about the video enter a raffle to win the shirts.

Communicating La Liga

La Liga Experience

“Our aim is to lead the international expansion of La Liga, increase its value internationally, boost the number of followers around the world and generate business opportunities for La Liga and its clubs. Our primary objective is to get as close to the fans as possible

The television broadcasting rights of La Liga games in Hungary are currently held

by Spiler TV, which is supported through promotions and campaigns. “They (Spiler TV) know they have a person of contact living in their country who is always available to give them support and act as a key contact person with the Madrid headquarters.”

Spiler TV has launched a sweepstakes campaign via social media as part of the La Liga Experience. Spiler receives football shirts from all the clubs in La Liga Santander (the name of the sponsor) and spectators are invited to participate in a game to win the jerseys. The campaign features a weekly video of noteworthy developments related to the championship and viewers

FROM THE FOOTBALL PITCH TO SPORTS MANAGEMENT Football has always been Elisa Alvarez Martin’s passion. She played in her hometown club Oviedo Moderno for six seasons and was a member of the Women’s Soccer Team of Newberry College in the United States. After retiring, she became a football coach: she holds an official level 2 coaching certification.

As for the business part, she holds a degree in Business Management from the University of Oviedo (Asturias, northern Spain) and has experience in finance and accounting. For the past two years, she worked at a football agency as a sports advisor.

After completing the Sports Business & Law MBA program at the Centro de Estudios Garrigues and La Liga Business School, she applied for the position of Delegate in the La Liga Global Network project and has been working in her current job since June this year. “It is an honor for me to be named the new Delegate for Hungary and the Balkans. I look forward to all of the excitement and challenges that lie ahead.”

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

LIGA

collaborate with the Instituto Cervantes in Hungary on managing the fan clubs of the different teams of the championship.”

La Liga also signed a cooperation agreement with the Corvinus University of Budapest as part of the La Liga Business School project.

The two sides are cooperating on several projects, including conferences and workshops.

photo by LA

Elisa Alvarez Martin is a Delegate of the La Liga Global Network in charge of Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Serbia. Her job is to help maintain and strengthen “our position as one of the global leaders of the entertainment industry. For this, we use what we call a ‘Glo-cal’ (global-local) strategy,” she tells Diplomacy&Trade.

She notes that the mandate of the organization is to “ensure greater presence and exposure by such activities as public or private viewings and seek opportunities and alliances in various sports projects. We try to build brand awareness by preparing specific content in the communication and digital areas. Our goal is to create local presence; to this end, we have established relationships with local partners such as Spiler TV (our broadcaster), the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) and its clubs, Spanish Institutions like the Spanish Embassy and Instituto Cervantes as well as La Liga supporters’ clubs and local media. We have organized a workshop in Madrid together with the MLSZ and we also have high-level engagement with other organizations in Hungary. Additionally, we

Football is Spain’s most important sport and an incremental part of Spanish culture.

However, Ms. Martin points out that football is more than just sports. “Our slogan is ‘It’s not football. It’s La Liga’. We make use of the most advanced audiovisual techniques in our fight against piracy and the promotion of other sports or social initiatives. As a result, we have succeeded in significantly increasing the revenue of the clubs and created a foundation for further growth.”

La Liga and its clubs are important Spanish international brands and the league seeks to set football standards worldwide. “We want to have the world’s best clubs, the world’s best players. We want to be the world best football spectacle there is,” she adds.

‘El clásico,’ the legendary contest between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona is one of the most anticipated football events worldwide. The clash between two of the world’s best teams that musters some of the greatest players on the globe – “is much more than just a game. Our aim is to be the second league in each market after the local one,” Elisa Alvarez Martin says.

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:14 PM

Book 1.indb 15

11/6/19 1:14 PM

spanish focus

STANDING THE TEST OF TIME

SPAIN’S CAF IS A KEY PLAYER IN HUNGARY’S TRANSPORT SECTOR

Compañía Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A. (CAF) was established in 1917 primarily as a manufacturer of freight wagons. However, the company’s beginnings date back to 1892, when the production of wagons started in Beasain in Basque Country and to 1897 with the manufacturing of tramways in Zaragoza, Aragón. Over the past century, the company has grown into one of the largest transportation sector players globally, offering its products on all continents.

“CAF stood the test of time and celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2017, meeting the challenge of business longevity while growing and diversifying internationally. We are now in a very promising period with exciting new projects and developments worldwide,” María Pérez, CAF’s Country Manager for Hungary tells Diplomacy&Trade. The company is a veritable global player. It is present on all continents and while it has some production units in the Americas, the bulk of its manufacturing activities takes places in Europe, with the latest addition being a state-of-the-art factory in the south of Wales and the enlargement of its production plant in Bagnères, France. CAF increased its global footprint last year with the acquisition of Solaris Bus & Coach, which is present in 700 cities in 32 countries, two of which are Debrecen and Budapest. As a result of this acquisition, CAF Group’s product portfolio includes hybrid and trolley buses as well as battery and hydrogen powered buses.

Cutting edge innovations From the time of its foundation, the CAF Group has been known for its versatility, flexibility and capacity to adapt to the requirements of every customer. “This curiosity and openness for the specific needs of our partners differentiates us from the other big companies present in the railway sector.

It has allowed us to develop our products and services based on market expectations, but it also obliges us to be up to date on all technological advances,” María Pérez says. Some of CAF’s market-shaping

developments include the tramways without catenary, which have been in service since 2011, and the LeadMind platform, which allows customers to monitor vehicles in real time. The latter made its debut in Berlin last year at the Innotrans Worldwide Fair.

The world’s longest tram CAF supplied 37 short and 12 long tramways to Budapest’s public transport company (BKK) between August 2015 and December 2016. The short time available for delivering such a high number of vehicles was an exciting challenge for all the parties involved, including BKK as the owner of the tramways, the Budapest Transport Authority (BKV) as the operator and later also the maintainer and CAF. “We cannot insist enough: the cooperation of all

more recent project in Hungary involved the delivery of 18 tramways to Debrecen, Hungary’s second largest city. Although Debrecen's public transport company DKV operates and maintains the CAF Urbos 3 trams, CAF lends support to DKV in terms of know-how, specific materials and spare parts through RailLine Components, a CAF Group company. ”Winning in Debrecen through several complicated tender procedures was very fulfilling for our company as was the great outcome. Working with DKV and Debrecen’s Municipality was eye opening for the company’s knowledge of Hungary as a potential market and it could not have happened in a more welcoming city,” according to María Pérez, who moved to Budapest 5 years ago to represent CAF in the country.

The local office of the company has always employed an international group of people, including colleagues and partners from several European countries. “I am proud to say that, over the years, CAF has understood its clients’ needs for support throughout the life cycle of its products and services. It has become a strategic baseline within the group to assure the availability of material and technical support for public transportation operators worldwide with CAF vehicles. As this is uncommon in the railway sector, I strongly believe that it is a differentiating factor when selecting CAF as a business partner.”

institutions in this project has been without a doubt one of the key factors of success for this first phase of the Budapest project and we are confident it will remain so for the second phase we have recently entered into,” according to María Pérez. Budapest boasts one the biggest fleets of CAF Urbos 3 tramways in commercial service, the world’s longest tram as well as one of the largest tramway and public transportation networks in Europe. For CAF, this project has become an example of successful collaboration despite remarkable cultural disparities. “Gaining our partner’s trust led to a second purchase of tramways and this speaks for itself. After the first 47 tramways, BKK has recently ordered 26 more; 21 short and 5 long trams. As the need for longer tramways is more pressing, we have started delivering those first. Right now, 3 of them are in Budapest under testing,” the country manager notes, adding that the delivery of all the trams will take place until the beginning of 2021. Similarly to the first project, CAF will collaborate with the partly state-owned Dunakeszi Járműjavító Kft. (DJJ) in the assembly and testing of the 20 short tramways.

Confident about the future CAF has long-term and diverse plans regarding the Hungarian market. It aims to collaborate with Hungarian institutions and partners in tramway projects, but also in developments involving other railway vehicles such as the future renovation of the fleet of the Budapest suburban rail line HÉV. “Regarding our ongoing collaborations, we work both with tramways and trolleybuses and look forward to adding more vehicles to our existing fleets. We feel confident about the knowledge acquired during these last years about the Hungarian market and local customer expectations and are willing to take on new challenges as they come,” the executive concludes.

Projects to be proud of

16 Book 1.indb 16

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

photos by DÁVID

HARANGOZÓ, CAF

CAF has two other projects in Hungary that the company is proud of: Hungarian state railways MÁV's order of 76 cars in 1992 was CAF’s first project outside Spain; these cars have undergone remodeling in the last 3 years and are still used in commercial service throughout Europe. María Pérez says that whenever older generations of CAF employees meet, the memory of this project still brings a smile to their faces as it marked the beginning of a new internationalization era for CAF. The company’s

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:14 PM

The new SEAT Tarraco.

Why not know?

Introducing the large SUV made for those who embrace change.

Up to 7 seats give you space to keep growing.

A distinctive sporty exterior, dynamic rear LEDs and lightweight 20” Alloy Wheels help you stand out from the crowd.

Ready for something new?

The highest combined fuel consumption in the SEAT Tarraco group is 9.5 l / 100km, CO₂ emissions 214 g / km. The values given are determined by the factory equipment; recorded during type approval and are valid at the time of ad posting. These values are measured according to WLTP, do not apply to certain vehicles, are not part of the prospectus, but are merely for the purpose of comparing different vehicle types in accordance with the current regulations of Regulation (EC) No 715/2007. These values are influenced by some extra equipment, accessories, and driving habits and other non-technical factors (e.g. environmental conditions). The specific fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions data of the new passenger car can be found in the fuel economy brochure, which is available free of charge at every point of sale and at the consumer protection authority. The image is an illustration; it can also show extra equipment.

Please contact our dealers for detailed information.

Book 1.indb 17

11/6/19 1:14 PM

business we all lose. We can no longer make profit at the expense of others. The old paradigm of profit maximization will not work in a world of high uncertainty and transformation.

Companies which develop entrepreneurial solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges will not only solve our problems but are also bound to generate positive return.

The businesses of the future will only be economically successful if they create real value for stakeholders,” Schmidpeter stresses.

The new normal This is an era when the “story of business is being rewritten” and measures adopted by the corporate world will decide whether enterprises are the “good guys” in the story, the expert notes. “Business needs to be part of the solution not the problem. In the new mindset there is no longer a trade-off between profitability and sustainability.” Social start-ups, sustainable entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses are at the forefront of developing new solutions for social and environmental challenges while state-owned businesses need a clear call from politics to integrate sustainability into their strategy, Schmidpeter says, adding that multinationals are also changing because investors realize that sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive. “The more investors ask for sustainable business investment opportunities, the more pressure comes from financial markets to change the mindset in the boardrooms. The latest declarations from Larry Fink of Blackrock as well as from the 181 CEOs of the largest U.S. companies show the direction: the goal of business is no longer to maximize profit but to serve a clear purpose and to make a positive impact in society.

Nevertheless, all businesses have to be part of this change to make sustainability the new normal.” Schmidpeter notes that there are products and industries which will have no market in the future and if companies fail to reinvent themselves, they will share the fate of dinosaurs. But the right kind of changes will ensure survival. In the not too distant future, “we might see cars that clean the air instead of polluting it, we will see energy production that regenerates nature rather than exploiting it and chemical processes that contribute to circular economies and help clean the water.”

PROFIT AND SURVIVAL RENOWNED EXPERT ARGUES HUMANITY’S FUTURE HINGES ON CHANGING MINDSET

The paradigm of profit maximization is leading humanity down a road of destruction and only a new mindset of creating positive social impact can ensure our survival on the planet, says Professor Dr. René Schmidpeter, internationally acclaimed sustainability expert. Time is of the essence for mankind to adopt a novel attitude or it risks losing it all.

Scientists analyzing nature’s capacities and the impact of human activities on the environment have long been sending out warning signals that climate change is a severe issue for mankind. But even more pressing are the limitations of the natural nitrogen cycle as

18 Book 1.indb 18

Ending the vicious circle The rapidly accelerating depletion of the planet’s natural resources and the continued rise in population numbers, estimated to reach 10 billion by the end of the century, call for swift action. “It is completely up to us whether we change our mindset from the old thinking of industrialization to a new model of a knowledge-based society. I see two different scenarios: we either destroy our planet within the next 50 years or we see the current global transformation as an opportunity to build a future, which eventually overcomes today’s limitations. The latter means building new sustainable systems of mobility, energy, food-production, finance and media within the next 50 years,” according to Schmidpeter.

Accomplishing these goals requires, in his opinion, putting the needs of humanity in the center of economic development and finding a sound base for the collaboration of humans and artificial intelligence. “We need to overcome the old trade-off thinking. Win-lose actions are no longer an option. Either we all win, or N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

Is it too late?

“Sometimes I am worried that we are running out of time. Studies show that we have only 5 to 10 years left to start the great transformation. On the other hand, I already see the transformation happening, I am increasingly invited to give keynote speeches at mainstream business conferences,” the professor says. Students and the younger generation in general have already adopted a new mindset and are ready to do things differently. In addition, financial markets are also adapting rapidly to a new sustainable business paradigm. Schmidpeter is optimistic that young people, corporate decision makers and investors will also change politics and governments. “Once enough people have adopted this new perspective, things will change very fast and new solutions that we didn’t dare think of will emerge. We will either be united as a global community or fail all together. There is no second option.”

&

T R A D E

|

HARANGOZÓ

Pressing challenges

the widespread use of fertilizers may turn the soil barren and the rapid loss of biodiversity, according to René Schmidpeter, Head of the Center for Advanced Sustainable Management (CASM) and Secretary General of the World Institute of Sustainability and Ethics (WISE). “Both issues are directly influencing our capabilities to feed 8 billion people and are immensely important for the stability of the world's food production. Finally, there isn’t enough data available to assess the effects of chemical pollution (e.g. microplastics) and whether we need to rethink the usage of certain chemical products. Besides ecological issues, we are also facing social issues, such as increasing migration, social injustice, protectionism and the far-reaching transformation of world markets due to new technologies and digitalization,” the expert tells Diplomacy&Trade in an interview. The era of artificial intelligence will also challenge the role humans play in the evolutionary process, and all these challenges combined lead to immense uncertainty and the need for a new mindset, he notes.

photo by DÁVID

Albert Einstein warned that once bees disappeared from the face of the Earth, man would have four years left to live. At a time when the global media is awash with news of the disappearance of animal species and extreme weather conditions worldwide, alarm bells are going off in many government offices, corporate boardrooms and research centers. The need for a new approach to our environment, the way we live and do business is increasingly becoming a fact of life rather than a question of belief. Sustainability is the buzzword of the day as angry teenagers take to the streets in various corners of the world demanding that political and business leaders take action to ensure their future.

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:14 PM

MATCHMAKING IN THE LABOR MARKET

business

SUMMIT TACKLES KEY LABOR ISSUES IN HUNGARY

As the labor shortage continues to escalate across Central and Eastern Europe, businesses are becoming increasingly concerned about finding and retaining a skilled workforce. The fifth Business Meets Government Summit organized by AmCham Hungary and the investment promotion agency HIPA, brought together senior executives, industry experts and academics to identify potential solutions to this pressing issue.

The scarcity of skilled labor has become an unpleasant reality for most companies operating in Hungary. While reducing unemployment was a key priority for the government only a few years ago, the tightness of the labor market is now an even more acute problem. Attendees at the Amcham and HIPA conference, organized on October 16, took part in an interactive discussion on the challenges of finding and retaining talent. The audience cited intense competition, lack of adequate education, rising salary levels and emigration as the key reasons for labor force scarcity. Even though wages in Hungary have risen by more than 10% on average in recent years, the country still ranks 24th among the 28 EU member states in terms of salary performance, said Tungsram's Ferenc Pongrácz, who moderated a 5-member panel discussion on the labor market. “The key question is whether Hungary’s outstanding GDP growth rate is sustainable given the dwindling labor supply,” Pongrácz added. Sándor Baja, Managing Director of Randstad Hungary, noted that despite the increase in the overall employment rate, employment in the under 24 and 55-65 age group was still “disgracefully” low. He added that approximately 600,000 Hungarians are most likely employed illegally and “this game that started in the early 1990s should be brought to an end with the force of the law.” He stressed that the government should expand the work visa program for people coming from former Yugoslav and some Soviet states and raise teachers’ wages significantly to bolster education and help avoid shortage becoming a permanent feature of the domestic labor market. As an example of corporate efforts to attract and retain talent, Zoltán Szabó, Managing Director at British Telecom Operations Center, highlighted that business service centers operating in Hungary have joined forces in their drive to recruit employees, especially members of the Z generation. The executive added that U.S. financial institutions present in the Hungarian market were also following the same strategy for acquiring talent. Approaching the issue from an employee perspective, Magdolna Csath, professor at the National University of Public Service and member of the National Competitiveness Council, said that average Hungarian companies lack the corporate culture, agility and flexibility that are the pre-requisites of a competitive workplace in the 21st century. “Oftentimes, this is the main reason many Hungarians decide to leave the country, not just higher wages,” she noted. Csath admitted that Hungary has a poor ranking in terms of tertiary education attainment, especially in the fields of mathematics, computer sciences and engineering.

SEEKING TO FORTIFY BELGIANHUNGARIAN COOPERATION BELGIAN BUSINESS DELEGATION VISITS HUNGARY

photos by

HAJNALKA HURTA, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

Brussels-based Wallonia ExportInvestment Agency (AWEX) and its local subsidiary AWEX Budapest organized a series of meetings for a delegation of businessmen representing Belgian/Walloon companies looking to market their products in Hungary.

Agoria, the federation of the technological industry in Belgium. With 1,900 member companies, Agoria is the most important sector federation in Belgium and seeks to build relations with automotive industry suppliers and R&D centers operating in Hungary.

European Colostrum Industry, a subsidiary of the Belgian Research Center “CER Groupe” and the French company “Ouest Elevage”, was also part of the delegation. The company’s mission is to collect colostrum of first milking, to transform it and market it as raw material or in health food products. The other businesses came from the electricity, metallurgy, water and cosmetics industry. Meetings took place at the Hotel Mercure Korona in Budapest on October 17 and 18. Belgium’s recently appointed Ambassador to Hungary, Siegfried Peinen welcomed members of the delegation at his residence and hosted a dinner reception that was attended by representatives of Belgian firms in Hungary, potential Hungarian partners, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other professional organizations.

AWEX is responsible for the development and management of Wallonia's international economic relations within the global and Walloon business communities. It also supports Walloon exporters in their internationalization projects, their sector of activity and target markets. Members of the delegation represented a great variety of industries, some of which play a key role in Hungary’s economy.

One of the participants was Agoria Transport & Mobility Technology Club, which is part of w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 19

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

19 11/6/19 1:14 PM

business

THE FUTURE ‘MADE IN CEE’

The Hungarian Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics stressed that the use of modern technologies and high valueadded investments have helped the Hungarian economy to maintain its growth momentum despite the international slowdown. He noted that the transformation of the country’s research network must be completed and that several funding issues remain to be solved. He also called for closer cooperation between research institutions, universities and corporate entities, adding that the state should play an important role in complementing the role of employers in adult education.

Hans-Paul Bürkner, Chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, said that Central and Eastern Europe is set to develop from a region of laborintensive assembly companies to a location of "Smart Suppliers", that is innovative suppliers.

The region already boasts dynamic growth, a well-educated workforce and a considerable cost advantage. However, digitization will change this economic model, and this requires increased efforts to promote digitization.

Thomas Narbeshuber, Vice President Central and Southeast Europe at chemical company BASF, emphasized that digitization offers Europe and the region a unique opportunity to compete for sustainable solutions in the global innovation competition. Targeted support for Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and B2B industrial platforms offer ample opportunities for the region.

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE’S ABILITY TO CHANGE IS KEY FOR ITS ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Central and Eastern Europe is playing an increasingly important role in the European Union's economy and current technological changes can give the region additional impetus. Similarly to the entire continent, the region needs to focus on innovation and the digital transformation to sharpen its competitive edge. and challenges in the region in terms of competitiveness and the tasks companies, governments or the education system face.

Johannes Teyssen, CEO of the German energy company E.ON SE, stated in his keynote address that just like in the era of industrialization in the 19th century, the world had once again entered a new phase in which technology plays a crucial role in the global distribution of prosperity. In his opinion, Europe has a long way to go in technological innovation to retain its competitiveness. The speaker noted that innovation flourishes where people with diverse personal, cultural and professional backgrounds can exchange ideas freely and openly. However, a successful digital transformation also requires a corresponding culture; above all, employees should be encouraged to acquire digital knowledge.

photo by DÁVID

HARANGOZÓ

Central and Eastern European countries are becoming more and more economically emancipated and are moving away from a role of ‘extended workbench’, contributing to innovation and growth in the EU, according to speakers at a conference organized by the ‘Netzwerk Digital’ initiative and the organization called ‘United Europe.’ The conference highlighted that the region's competitiveness needs to be boosted for countries to fully live up to this changed role and digitization can be of significant help in this process.

Marie-Theres Thiell, Managing Director of Innogy Hungary and Vice President of the GermanHungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, presented the key messages of a roundtable discussion held earlier in the day where some 25 top managers exchanged views on opportunities

20 Book 1.indb 20

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:14 PM

business

RETAINING CONTROL

POWER OF MONOPOLISTIC COMPANIES SHOULD BE CURTAILED, SAYS APPLE CO-FOUNDER Authorities need to rein in the power that monopolies like Facebook, Amazon and Google retain over their customers, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said at a conference in Budapest. The businessman praised Europe’s approach to tech giants and noted that the United States was not alert enough to these challenges.

There is a very good chance that global monopolies like Facebook, Amazon and Google will get broken up because they leave people with very few choices and almost no control, American inventor, electronics engineer, programmer and technology entrepreneur Steve Wozniak said at a regional innovation conference organized by CIB Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo. “I distrust big tech companies; they have gone too far. Facebook bothers me the most, I disagree with their dishonesty. I’m very happy with Europe’s approach to some of these privacy issues. I hope that some of these companies are dealt with in ways that will change their business.

If a company becomes so huge, like Facebook, that they start their own cyber currency and force their customers to use it, that’s abusive of their monopoly,” he said.

Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Inc. with Steve Jobs in 1976, is one of the founders of EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) that fights civil liberties issues in the digital world.

New form of slavery While acknowledging that technology has made life more convenient in myriad ways, the businessman stressed that excessive reliance on technological solutions was not the way forward. “We need the support

behind the product and one of the problems with this digital age is that a lot of the time you can’t possibly get through to a human if you have a problem and try to contact a company. What bothers me is that in the new economy many people decide to start up a business and do everything they can to get rid of all the humans and just have pure technology running things because that will make the money. And the employees at some of these companies get paid so little that it’s like another form of slavery,” Wozniak said.

He also warned that technological development is set to accelerate further, and businesses need to spot the trends early or they will be disrupted. “I often say that companies should have a Chief Disruption Officer that does not report to the CEO. The CEO has to keep the revenues coming in day to day while disruption may be years down the line. The CDO should report to the Board of Directors and should probably live in a different city. When change comes you better be on the right side of things.”

rad-D&T-szilveszter-127,5x160-201903:Layout 1

10/29/19

9:37 AM

Page 1

Join us in celebrating the first

after the grand renewal of the Radisson Blu Béke Hotel, Budapest, offering an unforgettable party and gala dinner with unique programmes and memorable moments for this special night!

Star guest of the evening is ZSÉDA

and the stunning VARIDANCE production, the dance music is provided by STARMACHINE band and by a DJ who will take care of the dancing mood on the dance floor until dawn.

Nostalgia photography and surprise programmes!

Participation fee: 54 900 HUF/person

including breathtaking five-course menu of József Jaksics Executive Chef, midnight buffet and unlimited drink consumption until 3:00 am.

photo by

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

For reservation please contact the hotel reception directly, email us at timea.sarik@radissonblu.com or find us on JEGYMESTER.HU!

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 21

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

21 11/6/19 1:15 PM

style

PASSION FOR LUXURY THE STAN AHUJA BRAND TAKES TAILORING TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Timeless fit Customer experience doesn’t come second to the actual product at Stan Ahuja. Abhishek Stan Ahuja stresses that a memorable client experience from the first measurement to the last fitting is of utmost importance. “Once you have scheduled an appointment, you can trust that you are in capable hands. Your consultation starts with discussing your needs, preferences, wardrobe and so on. This helps us focus on the client’s specific situation as ensuring a superbly fitting suit is a critical part of the process. We promote a timeless fit that is neither skinny, nor baggy. Our goal is to strike that delicate balance where the suit is both flattering and comfortable. To accomplish this, we go much farther than a few token measurements. Our traditional measuring system is very detailed, allowing for extremely subtle adjustments to accommodate even the most challenging body types.”

The clientele at Stan Ahuja ranges from customers working at law firms, consulting companies, to clients engaged in other types of business activity, from expats to Hungarians.

The number of young clients from the creative industries is also on the rise.

Never underestimate the power of a well-tailored suit. At Stan Ahuja Couture Ltd., founded

by Abhishek Stan Ahuja, they believe that perfect appearance is an indispensable aspect of a gentleman.

Slow evolution Abhishek Stan Ahuja lived in London for about ten years, but the Hungarian capital has been his city of residence since 2009. “I also spent a few months in Warsaw, so living in Europe is definitely not new to me. Talking about Budapest means talking about a city full of creativity, culture and inspiration. These attributes are extremely important in my work. I love the atmosphere of the meeting of Eastern and Western Europe. Although I travel a lot, when I get back to Budapest I feel at home,” he says.

In a previous interview six years ago, he said his mission was to educate Hungarian youth to be well-dressed. The entrepreneur notes that he can see some improvement, but “we are still far from our aims. I do not want to be a hypocrite, I’m aware that being well dressed is not only about style, financial opportunities can also influence this evolution. We need to understand some very important foundations. To be well dressed is about style, but also about being conscious of the choices we make. The fashion industry is one of the major pollutants in the world, especially companies that manufacture inexpensive, mass produced clothes. If we start buying good quality products, there is a good chance they will last longer.”

At Stan Ahuja, it is not only the suits that are tailor-made but also the approach to customers. “I wanted to capture the essence of the classical style in our designs and share them with gentlemen all over the world. I came from Mumbai, India and moved to the United Kingdom to follow my dreams. Born out of a passion for luxury menswear, the Stan Ahuja brand was founded in 2004,” Abhishek Stan Ahuja tells Diplomacy & Trade. Having pursued degrees in business management and fashion merchandising, Abhishek joined forces with his brother Abhijeet Marc Ahuja in 2007 to become the driving force behind the Stan Ahuja brand.

photos by

The dazzling variety of men’s fashion shops makes it difficult to find professional tailors that genuinely care about the customer. “We celebrate life every day, which means not just feeling, but looking good. We adhere to the power of first impressions and good manners as taught by our father whose best advice to us was to always seek a perfect appearance, treat everyone with respect and honesty, and never forget that the best business card is actually a handshake. We are still living and doing business by these principles,” Abhishek Stan Ahuja says passionately.

He stresses that the tailoring experience at Stan Ahuja is something they take very seriously. “A garment made to last for many years is not done quickly. Every suit

22 Book 1.indb 22

Webshop in the pipeline Stan Ahuja products are currently available in several European countries, including Hungary, Austria, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Romania and Poland. The Budapest boutique is located on Andrássy Avenue in the downtown area. “Although the tailoring business is very personal, we are planning to launch a webshop for our ready-to-wear pieces and accessories,” Abhishek Stan Ahuja says.

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

AHUJA

DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM

The journey of a suit

photos by STAN

or shirt starts its journey as a notion – a design eager to be realized. The selected fabric swatches, shortlisted trimmings and measurements noted meticulously during the initial consultation all serve as the backbones of curation for what comes together in the final piece. Thereafter, customized patterns drafted from scratch must be carefully cut and painstakingly hand-stitched to construct the first silhouette of the garment. At the Baste fit, the client can discern how the suit will feel and fall. By the second fitting, our master craftsmen sew the fabric into perfect contours, giving it shape and ascribing it a structured identity. At the last trial, the suit in its immaculate form is accoutred with accessories that breathe life into the ensemble and the evolution is complete.”

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:15 PM

witty leaks WITTY

IN THIS SERIES, DIPLOMATS SHARE PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF THEIR EXPERIENCES ON “EXCURSIONS” into Hungarian culture, art, gastronomy & scenery.

LE A K S

VOICES AT THE PALACE THE PAST AND PRESENT OF TILDY PALACE, THE SEAT OF THE ARGENTINE EMBASSY

BY MAXIMILIANO GREGORIO-CERNADAS, AMBASSADOR OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

When I arrived to Budapest three years ago, the Residence of the Argentine Embassy was on top of Buda’s highest hill. Reaching Pest could take one hour and if it snowed, a complete day, since not even professional drivers dared to pick me up. In other words, Argentina was hidden somewhere in the hills. When my Hungarian friends, the owners of magnificent villas there, asked me why on earth I wanted to leave that bucolic peace, clean air, spectacular view and cute forest animals, I always answered: “If I lived your way of life, coming home early to spend time on the couch with my kids in front of the TV, that would be fine, but that’s not my life. It is around 5 p.m. that the second part of my daily job begins: vernissages, cocktails, concerts, dinners, usually till very late.”

photos by EMBASSY

OF ARGENTINA

A historical p(a)lace Fortunately, I managed to convince my Ministry to move to Pest ‘where the action is’, and found the Tildy Palace, located on the most beautiful avenue of Budapest, which is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage. What I didn’t imagine is that I would not only find ‘the action’ there, but also many other amazing things.

First of all, I discovered memories witnessing Hungary’s past 150 years. After the avenue was opened in 1877 by the brilliant Count Andrássy, this three-storied neo-renaissance palace was ordered by a young couple hailing from the wealthy and aristocratic Herzl-Herzog Jewish family. It was built in 1883 by the famous architect Adolf Feszty. In 1911, the palace was purchased by Philip, prince of Saxon-CoburgGotha, scion of the Hungarian line of the family, who ruled several countries from England to Bulgaria. A wealthy landowner, Philip was a famous traveler and hunter, who led an eccentric life and died in 1921. He is famous for having survived two duels with his wife’s lovers and for being the principal witness of the ‘Mayerling Incident.’ The incident is the series of events surrounding the mysterious death of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and his lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera near Vienna in 1889. Philip was the first person to find the body of his cousin and close friend Rudolf and his 16-year-old lover.

Following the incident, Philip became an outcast in court and moved to Budapest.

In 1936, the palace was bought by the widow of a banker. The building survived World War II but its facade was riddled with bullets holes. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 23

|

After the widow's nephew married the daughter of Zoltán Tildy, the first and last freely elected president of the second Hungarian Republic proclaimed in 1946, the building became the presidential residence and was named Tildy Palace. I have some old photographs of Mr. Tildy greeting the crowds from our own balcony that was surrounded by bullet holes. In 1949, the palace was nationalized. From that point, my records were blank, until one day, during an Argentine Malbec tasting, a lady told me: “You know, Ambassador, I spent the most beautiful moments of my childhood in this place. During communist times, high ranking officials of the Interior Ministry used to take their kids here after school, so they could continue working while we had snacks, did our homework and played. Even though the palace was in very bad shape, we ate in the dining-room – the same as today –, and we ran and shouted joyfully all over the three floors.” The story was a sort of relief, since one never knows what this kind of building was used for under that regime, and up until then I had feared the worst.

Modern days In 1990, the Tildy Palace came to be privately owned again and it was restored around 2015. In April 2017, I moved in and the Tildy Palace became the seat of the residence of the Argentine Ambassador with an official opening on May 25.

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

Being on one of the most frequented streets of the city ensures our Embassy the kind of visibility and presence I was looking for. I usually tell my kids: “Look, there are people that sell cars and others that sell clothes; we sell a country, and when you sell something you need publicity.” Well, our light-blue and white flag and our shield, illuminated at night, are working for us around the clock, even while I am sleeping. Argentines and tourists take photographs all the time.

Filling the palace with life My wife Cecilia and I are socially very active, love our job, seek to avoid living in a ‘diplomatic bubble’ and are open to Hungarian life. Trusting the virtues of a two-way diplomacy, we managed to turn the Argentine Residence into a meeting point where Argentinians, Hungarians and other nationalities meet to get to know each other and share their experiences in sports, gastronomy, diplomacy, culture, commerce and fashion.

As we cultivate a philosophy of ‘combined promotion’, we organize events where tango is offered with Malbec or tourism with sports.

We also believe in a cooperative diplomacy, and therefore, we enjoy organizing events with my colleagues. Let me only mention the ‘Tango & Boleros, Malbec & Guacamole Night’ organized with the Mexican Ambassador, and the ‘Malbec and Bourbon Jazz evening’ put together with the U.S. Ambassador. In this regard, I must express

my gratitude to our generous sponsors who help us offer the best Malbec, Argentine meat, empanadas and dulce de leche in the city.

Our interior halls regularly stage Hauskonzerte (in the old German 19th Century salon where we invite prominent guests to hear special Argentine and Hungarian artists and music), commercial presentations, fashions shows, books readings, wine tastings, academic meetings, and our already expected Christmas tree and decoration.

In spring and summer, the lovely garden is the perfect stage to welcome frequently visiting large Argentine sports delegations with Argentine meat grilled in the open, or host the many ArgentineHungarian ‘storks’ (as I call them after a poem

by Mihály Tompa), who constantly come and go between our two capitals, and of course, entertaining around 400 people till late at night on May 24 for our National Day Party.

Last year, for example, we received a group of 50 Argentine Harley Davidson drivers and adventurers, who are permanently driving around the world, and this time, after crossing Siberia, paraded along Andrássy Avenue and drove through the carriage gates into Tildy Palace with all engines roaring.

Even our front sidewalk and street are full of lively events. For instance, when we open the horse-polo season (something we have been doing each year since 2007), bringing a complete team of horses and players in garments with the Argentine colors to parade along Andrássy avenue or when we closed the famous boulevard to show a ‘tango Milonga’ right on the street.

Since we have created a permanent art installation on the front sidewalk called ‘Vereda del Tango – Kilometer 11.393’, with the basic steps to learn tango and the distance to Buenos Aires, the place is full with tourists and tango lovers taking photos all the time.

In the Tildy Palace, we organize roughly two events a week attended by 500 guests per month, among them many prominent personalities from Argentina and Hungary, such as writers, politicians, journalists, artists, businessmen or TV stars.

In short, I am particularly proud that with my family, my Embassy’s team and our guests, we are guarding and enriching the history and traditions of this amazing Palace, adding to its ancient voices new remarkable ones, and therewith enhancing the rich traditional relations between our two countries.

23 11/6/19 1:15 PM

culture

MY ELECTRA WAS A SOURCE OF FRENZY AND EXCITEMENT ÉVA MARTON SINGING COMPETITION BOOSTS FAME OF HUNGARY’S LEGENDARY SOPRANO

Hailed as one of the most dramatic voices of the 20th century, soprano Éva Marton has always lived to sing. Since her official retirement from the world of opera in 2011, Marton has dedicated her efforts and timeless talent to teaching future generations of opera singers.

Electrifying Elektra

After decades spent on the stages of opera houses and concert halls across several continents, Éva Marton’s name has become synonymous with uncompromising professionalism and exquisite talent. Following a career that saw her captivate audiences from Argentina to Japan, from Russia to the United States, Marton has returned to her native Hungary and found a new calling: teaching. “Naturally, I miss the stage, I'd be lying if I said I didn’t, mainly because these days I see very few true professionals who put their heart and soul into their work.

Performances are put together in a professional manner but that crucial emotional extra is not there. I miss the colorful and varied world of the opera of older times, the ‘spectacolo’ that leaves me in awe. I would love to see the traditions of the old school combined with modern solutions and concepts,” Marton tells Diplomacy&Trade.

“I never dreamt of singing to huge audiences, my goal was to sing for those who love, understand and appreciate opera. The opera is not a movie theater where one goes to have fun. The audience was raving with madness, laughing and crying together with me during my portrayals of Elektra,” Marton says enthusiastically. Although celebrated as one of the most accomplished Turandots in the history of opera, which she performed more than 100 times, the Puccini opera is only one of her many favorites. “With some roles, I felt as if they had been written for me. Tosca was one of them, but so was the empress in The Woman Without a Shadow

by Richard Strauss, which I performed at the Metropolitan in New York. I suddenly felt there was no longer an Éva Marton, I became one with the role. For some other roles – like Elektra – I had to work very hard, I had to fight to become one with the character. All in all, I would highlight Tosca, Turandot, Elektra and Gioconda

by Ponchielli as my favorite roles,” she says.

A star is born Marton made her debut in the Hungarian State Opera in 1968 as Queen of Shemaka in RimskyKorsakov’s ‘The Golden Cockerel’. The young singer caught the attention of German conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi, who offered her a position at the Frankfurt Opera. Once abroad, the opportunities came rushing in and Marton became a free-lancer in 1980. “I have always been proud of the fact that the theaters where I performed asked me to return. Vienna, Buenos Aires, New York, Milan, Chicago, Houston, Washington – I called all these places home at one point in my career,” Marton says, adding that Hungary has always been and will remain her ultimate home.

The 1970s propelled her to the international stage of opera with debuts in Vienna, Hamburg, San Francisco, Chicago, the Metropolitan in New York and La Scala in Milan, alongside artists like Ricardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, James Levine, Plácido Domingo, Birgit Nilsson or Luciano Pavarotti. Her astounding repertoire also helped her garner international recognition. “I learnt an immense number of operas; I have essentially spent my entire life learning. There were years when I had 14 premiers. This was an outstanding number even by international comparison. Once I undertook to perform in 3 different operas, singing in 2 different languages in the course of a single week at the Staatsoper in Vienna, then I promised myself never to do anything like this again,” she notes smiling. The following decades saw the artist rise to stardom amid the ovation of audiences in Paris, London, Chicago, Buenos Aires or Barcelona. In her words, it was the life of a “luxury nomad” that turned her into a world citizen firmly rooted in her Hungarian identity.

24 Book 1.indb 24

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

photo by LÁSZLÓ

With her voice still intact, Éva Marton sings 5-6 hours a day even today. Not to herself at home or friends and family, but to her students at the Budapest Academy of Music, established by Franz Liszt, one of her role models. “Liszt has always been one of my idols, I find it formidable how his character developed in the later years of his life and how he turned toward the people.

My other paragon was Béla Bartók. I remember I had a poster of him on my wall as a young girl and I was in love with his eyes,” she says smiling. As a professor emerita at the Academy of Music and a teacher at various master courses across the globe, Marton prepares the next generations of opera singers. “Teaching is a calling for me. I have never done anything in life that I didn’t put my heart and soul into.

Teaching has essentially been a second career for me. I always advise my students to listen to more music, become familiar with opera literature and remember that a solid future can only be built on traditions.” As proof of her commitment to education, the Éva Marton Singing Competition was launched in 2015. It has since been approved by the World Federation of International Music Competitions and the 3rd Éva Marton Singing Competition in 2018 had a record 61 contestants. Never one to be satisfied with second place, Marton confesses she would like “to turn the competition into the very best among the best.”

EMMER

The second career

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:15 PM

culture

THE GRAND GAME OF SEDUCTION A STORY ABOUT LOVE, OBSESSION AND PRETENSE

French diva Juliette Binoche returned to the big screen with a disconcerting take on modern times and the universal human need to love and be loved.

The intelligent and rich film directed by Safy Nebbou is a 21st-century tale about the place of women in a society obsessed with staying young. the time we spend glued to our smartphones and computers but goes well beyond a simple criticism of this world filled with technology and pretense.

“The sense of being forsaken and lonely are the opening themes of the movie, all other themes are the consequence of these. Being abandoned, humiliated and lonely are universal human feelings. It was not difficult for me at all to put myself in the shoes of the main protagonist. The fear of growing old and consequently, the fear of dying is genderindependent,” Nebbou tells Diplomacy&Trade.

Utterly unjust Juliette Binoche’s excellent portrayal of Claire reveals the difficulty women face to remain desirable in their fifties in a world obsessed with beauty and looks. “Modern society has forgotten how to grow old with dignity, there are a multitude of ways and means at our disposal to hide the signs of old age, especially in the case of women. Women are expected to remain young, beautiful and pretty; there is a saying in France that older women become invisible. I find this utterly unjust because growing old is said to suit men while women are expected to remain forever young. There

photos by

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, DIAPHANA FILMS

Claire (Juliette Binoche) is a single mother of two still reeling from the pain of her divorce. In order to keep a tab on her young lover Ludo, the 50-year old university professor decides to create a fake profile on social media sites by borrowing the identity of a 24-year-old woman named Clara.

The young beauty’s sensual and intriguing photos immediately attract the attention of Alex (François Civil), Ludo’s best friend. Clara and Alex engage in an intense exchange of private messages and soon they are both carried away by their feelings. Claire, trapped in her avatar, falls madly in love with Alex and he seems equally taken by the secretive yet passionate young woman. Even though their story is played out in the virtual world, the feelings are very real, yielding a vertiginous tale where reality and lies merge.

Director Safy Nebbou’s (In the Forests of Siberia, The Mark of an Angel) latest feature film entitled ‘Who You Think I Am’ is very much anchored in everyday realism. But his brilliance in capturing moods and atmospheres, the nuances of everyday life will take viewers on a roller-coaster ride of lies, obsessions, deceit and jealousy. Based on the eponymous novel by Camille Laurens, the film is about

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 25

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

are women who try to delay this fully natural process so much that they turn a bit insane,” Nebbou says.

The deeper Clara and Alex fall in love the more untenable the situation becomes. Claire is torn between the impossibility of finding true love and the pain of having to admit her deception and risk losing it. Claire’s undoing seems as unavoidable as the ageing process; the futility of her made-up story as obvious as the empty lies she tells herself to survive.

Pandora’s box The film captivates viewers from the first second with its sensitive, intelligent and modern plot. Juliette Binoche dominates the screen and takes viewers on a journey between her real identity and her virtual life.

“I was instantly taken by the structure of Camille Laurens’ novel and the narration.

I was touched by the main protagonist, I felt that the author was very close to the main character who has been humiliated yet she does not give up on her desires. I told myself I had to turn this into a movie even as I was reading it. The book sheds light on very important social and personal issues,” according to Nebbou.

Indeed, the film asks pertinent questions about some universal human issues, like the stages of grief after the breakup of a marriage, the need to love and be loved, the question of identity in the virtual reality of the Internet. In these troubled times of "fake news" and #MeeToo, ‘Who You Believe I Am’ takes on the appearance of a not so innocent fable showing how the creation of a fictitious world is perfectly possible and above all perfectly dangerous.

“The film was not meant to denounce social media sites but rather to reflect on the era in which we live and how the way we communicate has undergone immense change as a result of the Internet and social media sites. It is extremely difficult to discern truth in this barrage of information available on the Internet.

We have opened Pandora’s box and it is now very complicated to exert any sort of control over this process. I love the era in which we live and the idea of having access to all this information, but sometimes I have the impression that I am at loss as to what to think and whom to believe. Words have lost their power because everybody is talking but often without conveying a message,” the director says.

25 11/6/19 1:15 PM

society Spanish National Day On the 527th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's first arrival in the Americas, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Hungary, Anunciada Fernández de Córdova held a reception in the Romanesque Hall of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. The event, preceded by an award ceremony, marked the country’s national day and the Day of the Spanish Armed Forces.

Homage to Angel Sanz Briz Keeping with the tradition of previous years, the Spanish Embassy has planted a tree to honor Don Angel Sanz Briz next to his statue in Budapest 3rd district. Briz was a Spanish diplomat, a ‘Righteous Among Nations’ honoree, who saved about five thousand Hungarian Jews from deportation to Auschwitz during World War II.

Japanese recognition The Embassy of Japan in Hungary organized a kimono fashion show where guests, in addition to admiring the exquisite garments, also learnt about its history and role in Japanese fashion. The event, held in the Museum of Music History in Budapest, was opened by Japanese Ambassador Kuni Sato.

Gandhi 150

Four new ambassadors accredited to Hungary presented their credentials to Hungarian President János Áder at the Sándor Palace in the Buda Castle in October (pictured clockwise from the upper left corner): Vytautas Pinkus from the Republic of Lithuania, Saad Abdullah Saleh A. Al-Asousi from the State of Kuwait, Khojesta Fana Ebrahimkhel from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Dag Hartelius from Sweden.

photos by

The Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts and the Embassy of India in Hungary commemorated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi with a wreathing ceremony at the Gandhi statue in the garden of the Museum. The ceremony, followed by a dance-music fusion event, was opened by Indian Ambassador Kumar Tuhin and the director of the Museum, Dr. Györgyi Fajcsák.

New Ambassadors

DÁVID HARANGOZÓ, ZOLTÁN MÁTHÉ/MTI

Beyond Kimono ‘Hagoromo’

The government of Japan has awarded ‘The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon’ to cello artist Csaba Onczay, professor emeritus at the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. The award was presented to the professor by the Japanese Ambassador to Hungary, Kuni Sato at her residence.

26 Book 1.indb 26

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:15 PM

society The Baltic Way The embassies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in Hungary as well as the Estonian Institute in Hungary organized a screening of documentaries produced in the three Baltic countries. Entitled ‘The Baltic Way’, the works of art depicted the events leading to the three states gaining independence from the Soviet Union. The event was accompanied by a reception.

The Day of German Unity German Ambassador Volkmar Wenzel and celebrity TV host Kai Pflaume entertained hundreds of guests in the ‘Castle Bazaar’ event center in Budapest on the occasion of the Day of German Unity. The motto of the event, which marked the 30th anniversary of the demolition of the Berlin Wall, was ‘30 Years with Open Borders’.

Croatia Independence Day The Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Hungary, Dr. Mladen Andrlić and his guests celebrated the 28th anniversary of Croatian independence at the Ambassador’s residence in Budapest. Croatia’s Parliament passed a unanimous decision to declare the independence of the country from Yugoslavia on October 8, 1991.

Nigeria Independence Day

GINTS SERAFINOVICS, KRISTINA GOHER/HRVATSKI GLASNIK/MCC, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Eniola Olaitan Ajayi hosted a reception in the Bellevue room of the Sofitel Hotel in Budapest on the 59th anniversary of her country’s independence from British rule on October 1, 1960.

Korea National Day

photos by

The Ballroom of the Budapest Marriott Hotel was home to the reception held by Korean Ambassador Choe Kyoo-Sik celebrating the Asian country’s National Day and the Day of the Armed Forces.

Attendees included fellow diplomats, Korean nationals in Hungary and other guests. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 27

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

Thai-Hungarian Concert The Embassy of Thailand held a concert in the Nádor Hall of the National Institute for the Blind in Budapest to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the visit to Hungary by Chulalongkorn, the King of Thailand, also known as Rama V. Opened by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy, Pilanya Niyomthai, the event also commemorated Thai-Hungarian friendship.

27 11/6/19 1:15 PM

LAMB CONCERT

NOVEMBER 28, BARBA NEGRA MUSIC CLUB

A NEW WORLD WAS BORN 1914-1922 PERMANENT EXHIBITION

VÁRKERT BAZÁR (CASTLE GARDEN), SOUTHERN PALACES The exhibition guides visitors from the Belle Époque through wartime enthusiasm to bitter disillusionment on over 2,000 square meters. The exhibition brings the horrors of war closer to the spectators of today with the help of exceptional visual devices. www.elsovilaghaboru.com

ISTVÁN GYARMATI, LIVE NATION, ROBERT CAPA - LOYALIST MILITIAMEN JUMPING OVER A GULLY, CÓRDOBA FRONT, SPAIN, SEPTEMBER 5, 1936 © INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY/MAGNUM PHOTOS, THEODOR OSKAR KRATH

Lamb are an English electronic music duo from Manchester, consisting of producer Andy Barlow and singer-songwriter Lou Rhodes. They achieved commercial success with the hit singles Górecki and Gabriel. Although getting their start in Manchester, Lamb are more commonly associated with the Bristol-based trip hop sound that was popular during the 1990s. Aside from trip hop, their musical style is a distinctive mixture of jazz, dub, break and drum and bass, with a strong vocal element and, in their later works especially, some acoustic influences.

Their main successes have been in the UK, but they are also quite popular in several European countries.

Lamb’s seventh album ‘The Secret Of Letting Go’ was released in April. And now, LAMB will stop in Budapest for the fourth time and will perform live at Barba Negra Music Club! www.livenation.hu

THE PHOTOJOURNALIST ROBERT CAPA

UNTIL DECEMBER 31, CAPA CENTER

Capa Center is showcasing a selection of Robert Capa’s oeuvre, one of the most well-known Hungarian-born photographers. Robert Capa (Endre Friedmann, October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) is considered the unique visual chronicler of several 20th-century wars. During his tragically short life, he covered five wars (the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Second World War, the First Arab-Israeli War and the First Indochina War) directly from the battlefield.

His photographs taken in the heartland brought about a visual world establishing a new school of photography. He showed the power of images constructed from a deep sense of humanism to generations to come. The exhibited selection presents close to 50 images of Capa’s oeuvre, from his photograph capturing Trotsky’s speech on one of his first assignments to a picture exposing the Indochina War. www.capacenter.hu

TUTANKHAMUN MYSTERY AND TREASURES UNTIL MARCH 1, KOMPLEX

photos by

Travel back in time and discover the life of the cursed Pharaoh! ‘Tutankhamun – Mystery and Treasures’ is a traveling exhibition that has been viewed by more than 6 million people in Zurich, Dublin, Brussels, Madrid, Seoul and Paris. “I see beautiful things!” exclaimed British archaeologist Howard Carter as he lit a candle through a small hole in the forepart of the Pharaoh's tomb. The Pharaoh had been dead for more than 3,000 years when Carter made his archaeological discovery that is unmatched to this day. He found the completely undamaged tomb of a Pharaoh with all his treasures. Almost 100 years after the sensational exploration, the ‘Tutankhamun – Mystery and Treasures’ exhibition presents the story of the discovery in a unique way, showcasing over 1,000 objects, graphics and videos on 2,000 m2. “For the first time since the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, this is an exhibition that allows people to rediscover treasures and funerary items in the exact layout as they were found in 1922,” reveals Dr Wilfried Seipel, Egyptologist and former director of the Vienna Museum of Fine Arts. www.tickethungary.com

28 Book 1.indb 28

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:15 PM

DOLAP

NOVEMBER 21-22, TRAFÓ

HUNGARIAN STATE FOLK ENSEMBLE: SUNLEGEND DECEMBER 13, HUNGARIAN HERITAGE HOUSE

The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s dance performance ‘Sunlegend’ tells the tale of the Sun and its various phases (day, night, eclipse) mirrored in human life and Hungarian history.

The two-part performance features 40 dancers and two singers, computer-controlled lighting and special effects. The breathtaking, folk-inspired but modern show includes the rhythmic movements of traditional Eastern European dance and new choreographic ideas alike. The production is firmly set in the 21st century and conveys a disconcerting glimpse of the future through archaic ethnic images. Choreographer Gábor Mihályi was chosen ‘The Best Author of the Year’ by the Association of Hungarian Dancers for making ‘Sunlegend’, which debuted in 2000 at Budapest’s Erkel Theater. www.heritagehouse.hu

The starting point of the performance is the simple task of carrying a refrigerator from one place to another. During the investigation where the human body encounters the mass and volume of the machine, the fridge becomes more and more active and determining. “An old fridge is anything but useless! In a well-structured trio with his partner Filiz Sizanli, Mustafa Kaplan transforms it into a surreal character. The ludicrous and dreamlike humor of an engineer and former architect. With their overflowing imagination, Mustafa Kaplan and Filiz Sizanli recycled an old fridge and transformed it into a gym apparatus and a dance partner which is both an enemy and an accomplice. Around this “Dolap”, meaning wardrobe but also plot in Turkish, they’re tricked by some ludicrous and silly situations, like two furniture movers who step in the imaginary world of a child. Adults might grasp different metaphors…” (Thomas Hahn) www.trafo.hu

DEEP PURPLE CONCERT

DECEMBER 9, PAPP LÁSZLÓ BUDAPEST SPORT ARENA

photos by

GÁBOR DUSA, LIVE NATION, TALDANS

With a body of work spanning seven decades, Deep Purple has helped pioneer and define the hard rock genre while progressively moving into new areas to keep their sound fresh and attract new fans to the legions who have remained loyal since the band’s inception. Known as one of the hardest working bands ever, Purple has released six studio albums since 1996 alone and has toured the globe with little rest since forming in 1968. In 2007 (almost 40 years after being formed), the band performed 40 dates in France to an award-winning audience of 150,000 while this summer, across the US and Canada, the band partnered with fellow hard rockers ‘Judas Priest’ embarking on a wildly successful 25 city tour. Comprised of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and Don Airey, Deep Purple has stayed true to its musical roots taken from an eclectic mix of styles to create a distinctive sound that defines the band today, but which, in turn, has created a legacy that very few bands could ever hope to replicate. The band has written and produced so many ‘classic’ songs that its audience ranges widely in age and background, something the band embraces and caters to, with its concert setlists. Having sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for decades, it’s little wonder respected British radio station Planet Rock named the group the ‘5th Most Influential Band Ever’, while VH1 ranked them Nr. 22 on its ‘Greatest Artists of Hard Rock’ list. Additionally, Deep Purple was given the ‘Legend Award’ at the 2008 World Music Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. These guys truly are ‘rock royalty’! www.livenation.hu

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 29

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

29 11/6/19 1:15 PM

gastronomy

POMO D’ORO

ELEMENTS

1051 Budapest, Arany János u. 9. +36 1 302 6473 info@pomodorobudapest.com www.pomodorobudapest.com

1055 Budapest, Szalay utca 4. +36 70 907 4770 reservation@elementsbudapest.com www.elementsbudapest.hu

TRATTORIA POMO D’ORO IS A LITTLE ITALY in downtown Budapest, with authentic Italian cuisine including regional specialties. The atmosphere is always vibrant and cheerful, the wrought iron décor elements and rustic brick walls, along with the red table covers fall in line perfectly to reflect the spirit of an authentic Italian trattoria. Here, everything is fresh and cooked to order, from the bread to the different home-made pastas and those fantastic pizzas! Be sure to book a table for dinner since the conoscenti usually fill the tables. Buon Appetito!

ONE VENUE – A MYRIAD OPPORTUNITIES: Elements Budapest opened last year in the vicinity of the Parliament, offering three dining styles and functions under one roof. There is an easy-going bistro at the entrance, an á la carte restaurant further in, offering Hungarian, Caucasian and Russian specialties, while on the first floor, an exclusive bar and an almost decadent atmosphere await guests.

Elements Budapest has many sides: it is simple, yet cunning; traditional, yet extravagant; conventional, yet impressive. From the menu, guests can choose classics, as well as try rare specialties and high-end dishes.

RECOMMENDATION • Four cheese soufflé with flap mushrooms accompanied by spiced pear • Piquant fish soup Brindisi style • Bigoli pasta with duck breast ragout and chubby duck liver slices • Branzino - Seabass fillet pancetta stuffed with black mussel ragout in tomato sauce • Warm chocolate cake filled with Gorgonzola, served with homemade pear ice

RECOMMENDATION • Salmon gravlax with caviar and blini • Russian fish soup • Ironed baby chicken, mash potato and vegetables with butter • Vareniki with potatos, mushroom and sour cream • Pavlov cake

D'ORO, TAMÁS BATA/WWW.MIFOTOSUNK.HU, ELEMENTS, EQUERTO

Carefully curated festive experiences creating long lasting memories.

photos by POMO

Celebrate the magic and wonder of the holiday season this December with The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest and embark on the unique gastronomic experiences at Kupola Lounge and at DSK Wine & Grill restaurant with your loved ones. For more details, visit ritzcarlton.com/budapest

For DSK reservations, please contact us at +36 1 429 5757 or at dskbudapest@ritzcarlton.com For Kupola Lounge reservations and cake orders, please contact us at +36 1 429 5500 or at concierge.budrz@ritzcarlton.com © 2019 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

30 Book 1.indb 30

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

11/6/19 1:15 PM

ART+WINE = SOLTÉSZ

NEW OSTOROS WINE LABELS ADORNED BY CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS

Three top-of-the-range red wines were launched by the Eger winery Ostoros Családi Pincészet this fall. This is one of those occasions when not only the contents of the bottles provide cause for rejoice but also the packaging as the labels are adorned by paintings of the renowned Munkácsy Prize winning artist, Imre Bukta.

wine The second-generation family winery has been making wine in the Eger region for over fifty years. The 170-hectare estate’s vineyards boast volcanic soils where both white and red grapes are cultivated. The two pillars of the winery’s philosophy are outstanding quality and an excellent quality-price-ratio. They consider it their mission to contribute to the development of Hungarian wine culture by providing the highest quality wines in all price categories making it possible for all customers to consume their products.

Besides its well-established and popular wines, the winery is constantly striving to introduce novelties to the market. The top-of-the-range reds of the winery are marketed under the brand name ‘Soltész.’ These are wines produced only in the best vintages and are either single vineyard bottlings or barrel selections. The three most important wines in this line are: Kékfrankos, a wine selected for the National Wine Selection, Delelő, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zweigelt and Merlot that has won Gold Medal at the Hungarian Wine Competition and finally the 2016 Egri Bikavér Superior that has won Gold Medal in Bordeaux.

“We wanted our favorite reds to be visually different from the rest of our range. We contacted Imre Bukta who has strong ties to Eger and asked him if he would allow the use of some of his works on our labels,” says the owner of the winery, Gergő Soltész. “We love Imre’s paintings and he loves our wines, so thankfully both sides were happy to participate in this cooperation.” The label for the Kékfrankos carries the painting ‘Gipsy girl ice skating’, the blend is adorned by the painting ‘Delelő’ from which the wine takes its name, and the label for the Bikavér carries the painting ‘Béla with a pheasant’. The three paintings were adopted for the labels by graphic designer Géza Ipacs.

The end results are bottles which please both wine connoisseurs and art lovers. The new Soltész wines are available in selected wine stores, restaurants and at the Soltész cellar.

photos by

ATTILA BUSÁK

MADE WITH DEDICATION AND PRIDE FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS

w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m

Book 1.indb 31

|

D I P L O M A C Y

&

T R A D E

|

N O V E M B E R

2 0 1 9

31 11/6/19 1:15 PM

ESTRELLADAMM_360x280mm.indd 1 Book 1.indb 32

5/11/19 1:15 13:40 11/6/19 PM