cont en ts

23 WITTYLEAKS by the Ambassador of Israel

24 CULTURE

Adolph Zukor celebrated in Ricse

AUSTRIA; SPAR Magyarország; Österreichisches Kulturforum; Rail Cargo Hungaria; Porsche Hungaria ITC; Österreich Werbung; Napelem Szerelő Kft.

22 BUSINESS

German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce

25 WHAT’S ON Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest

26 WINE

Disznókő Estate in Tokaj

27 GASTRONOMY

Hungary wins bronze at Bocuse d’Or 2023

PUBLISHER: Peter Freed PHOTO EDITOR: Dávid Harangozó

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR: Tamás Varga ADMINISTRATION: Blanka Szalontai

CONTRIBUTORS: Edith Balázs, Sándor Laczkó, Tamás Magyarics, Yacov-David Hadas Handelsman, Gabriella Bokor

PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS: depositphotos.com (cover), Courtesy of Balázs Bokor (cover), World Chess Hall of Fame, Budapest Airport/Róbert Baranyi, depositphotos.com, PKN ORLEN, BMW Group, Khell Food, Ipoteka Bank, Hydro, David Payr, SPAR, Christian Autengruber/Austrian Cultural Forum, Grossglockner Bergbahnen Touristik GmbH/ Peter Maier, Österreich Werbung/thecreatingclick.com, Solar Panel Installer Ltd., András Mayer, Sofia Wittert, Róbert László Bácsi, Live Nation, Anton Corbijn, Courtesy of Balázs Bokor, Furmint Photo, Disznókő Estate, White Mirror, Julien Bouvier Studio, Zoltán Balogh/MTI

HUNGARIAN FOCUS - COMING SOON

In line with the regular country focus compilations on mainly economic relations between Hungary and other states in connection with the national day of the given country, Diplomacy&Trade will present – for the third time – a Hungarian Focus this spring on the occasion of the national day of March 15 (that commemorates the 1848 Hungarian revolution). In recent years, the penetration of Hungarian-owned companies in Hungary has been increasing and they have a more and more important role in export revenues. As a result of the Russian war in Ukraine, businesses are facing many challenges and not only well-known brands but also emerging family businesses have a big role to play in keeping the economy running – we plan to showcase these economic actors in the Hungarian Focus.

EU COUNCIL SUSPENDS EUR 6.3 BILLION TO HUNGARY

The Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU has found the required qualified majority to impose measures for the protection of the Union budget against the consequences of breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary, concerning public procurement, the effectiveness of prosecutorial action and the fight against corruption in the country. The budgetary impact of this suspension amounts to approximately EUR 6.3 billion in budgetary commitments, the Council of the European Union announced in the middle of December.

In the course of the procedure, Hungary has committed to adopt a number of remedial measures considered by the Commission as capable to address the concerns raised, if taken together and correctly and effectively implemented. Given the remedial measures so far adopted by Hungary are affected by significant weaknesses which seriously compromise their adequacy to address the breaches of the principles of the rule of law identified by the Commission in its proposal, the Council considers that the ensuing risk for the budget of the Union remains high. However, in light of the number and significance of remedial measures that have been satisfactorily implemented by Hungary and given the degree of cooperation it would be a “reasonable approximation” to establish the remaining risk for the budget at 55% of the commitments of the programs concerned, according to a statement by the European Council.