Hungary is set to receive EUR 254.1 million (more than HUF 92 billion) in Norwegian and EEA funding after negotiations between Budapest and the donor countries were concluded. The agreement marks a major step towards restoring a funding programme that was suspended in Hungary in 2021.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/hungary-eur-250-million-norwegian-funds/ | DailyNewsHungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar is due to hold his first official one-to-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, following a major breakthrough on Hungarian-language education in Ukraine.

Magyar announced the planned meeting in a Facebook post on Wednesday as he travelled to Brussels for a key European Union summit. Before the summit, he is also scheduled to meet the leaders of the Visegrád Four countries and attend several other high-level discussions.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/magyar-to-meet-zelenskyy-this-week/ | DailyNewsHungary

The war in Ukraine, the threat posed by Russia and a wide range of broader security issues were among the key topics discussed at this year’s Warsaw Security Forum.

"Next Prime Minister of Romania?" (~$5M traded, Oct 14):

• Luca Niculescu 87.5% (+29 in 24h, was 43% on Oct 6)
• Sorin Grindeanu (PSD leader) 3.7% (was ~13.6% yesterday morning)
• Alexandru Nazare 2%

Context: the Bolojan government fell May 5. Niculescu is the fourth PM-designate since. The last one, Mureșan, got 182 votes; 233 are needed.

What moved it (Oct 13, both reports citing unnamed sources, via Digi24):

• PSD would join a Niculescu government, with technocrats proposed by President Dan for Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs. PNL and UDMR would vote it in.
• Dan's reported ultimatum: a clear majority by Thursday, or a dissolution decree on Friday. No fifth nominee.

Other side: PSD hasn't formally decided (leadership meets today). On Monday its line was "only if PNL and UDMR join too". USR and AUR want snap elections. The presidency hasn't confirmed the ultimatum.

Is 87.5% right, or is the market pricing a sourced report as a done deal?

(We break this down in today's episode of The Poly Brief. Search it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.)

The Ukrainian parliament’s adoption of the law on education in minority languages is an important step forward for the educational rights of Hungarians in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, the foreign minister said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Foreign Minister Anita Orbán stressed in her post that the Ukrainian parliament’s decision was an important step forward, but the process had not yet been concluded.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/ukraine-signs-minority-education-law/ | DailyNewsHungary

The EU Council has approved the European Commission’s proposal to end the rule-of-law procedure against Hungary, opening the way for EUR 4.2 billion in frozen funding and restoring access to Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe for foundation-run universities.

Hungary is set to regain access to EUR 4.2 billion (more than HUF 1,500 billion) in frozen EU funding after member states approved the closure of a long-running procedure over concerns about the rule of law and the protection of the bloc’s financial interests.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/hungary-unlock-4-2-billion-eu-funds/ | DailyNewsHungary

The European Commission has proposed a 15-year probation period for future EU member states, with countries potentially facing the loss of voting rights or funding if they breach democratic standards.

The plan, outlined by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, is designed to give the bloc faster tools to respond if a newly admitted country undermines the rule of law, democracy or the EU’s principle of sincere cooperation. Kos explicitly invoked the former Hungarian prime minister, saying:

“No more Viktor Orbán.”

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/eu-viktor-orban-probation-new-members/ | DailyNewsHungary

Russia’s winter offensive is already under way, starting earlier than expected, but something more fundamental appears to have changed.  

In September, according to Ukrainian intelligence based partly on intercepted Russian communications, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin loosened previous constraints on the targets his forces could attack.