Then-Sen. Rubio to Pres. Trump in 2019: concern about the downward democratic trajectory in Hungary, erosion of democracy and rule of law, close relationship between Hungary and Moscow, etc. www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

Then-Sen. Rubio to Pres. Trump in 2019: concern about the downward democratic trajectory in Hungary, erosion of democracy and rule of law, close relationship between Hungary and Moscow, etc. www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

"For more than 15 years, the Fidesz-led government has funnelled an estimated €2.3 billion into football infrastructure, according to an investigation conducted by Hungarian business news outlet G7." €2.3 billion.

👉 Italian court makes first-ever asylum award to a citizen of a fellow EU Member State over human rights violations 🔗 Link to the article: 1url.cz/@itali-en-ro...

With Hungary’s elections only 2 months away, let’s look at what the opposition promises when it comes to the EU, rule of law & Hungary’s alliances. Media coverage highlighted euro adoption and independence from RU energy by 2035 but there's much more in the program www.reuters.com/business/hun...

👀 Bosnian politicians and experts slammed the opening an office of Hungary’s Counter-Terrorism Center (TEK) near Banja Luka, calling it unconstitutional and set up without federal approval. Officials demand investigations into the move.

As North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis previously said, “Vladimir Putin is a war criminal who uses Russia’s energy exports to fund his campaign of murder and aggression.” www.foreign.senate.gov/press/dem/re...

💥Viktor Orbán’s campaign is under heavy strain after his rumored heir, minister János Lázár, made offensive remarks about Roma people—and, when a group of Roma protested, claimed they were “criminals.” A fresh poll finds that 55% of Hungarians and even 21% of Orbán supporters want Lázár to resign.

Worth noting as this may be the 1st time the activation of Art 7(1) in respect of Hungary has led a court in another EUMS to find the asylum application of a 🇭🇺 citizen admissible on account of Protocol no 24, point (b) before granting the application @tinekestrik.bsky.social @petrabard.bsky.social

Prosecutors seeking "summary judgment without a trial." "In the lead-up to Budapest Pride, government officials had warned that organisers could face up to a year in prison."

🖕Two district prosecutors have brought charges against the mayor of Budapest for holding Budapest Pride in June. Gergely Karácsony could face a fine. “I have gone from being a proud suspect to a proud defendant," he wrote in response to the prosecutors’ statement 🏳️‍🌈

Another Fidesz self-own: Janus Lazar attacks Hungarian identity of Tisza candidate because she got Hungarian citizenship under flagship Fidesz citizenship law. These mistakes are really starting to add up. telex.hu/belfold/2025...

‼️Viktor Orbán’s already bad reelection chances just got worse after rumored successor János Lázár said Hungary’s Roma minority (~5–10%) should clean “shitty toilets” on trains since there are no migrants left to do such low-level jobs. Uproar in the mostly pro-Orbán Roma community is huge.

@odihr.pl has completed its assessment of the upcoming elections in Hungary. As it did four years ago, it is now recommending a long-term election observation mission, which means more thorough and longer monitoring. Why? The report is below👇

Germany-based R. Kawczynski played an important role in elevating Romani issues in the 1990s in multilateral orgs (OSCE, CoE). This is an illuminating & fascinating interview from @romeacz.bsky.social covering a lot of turf. 1/3 romea.cz/cz/zahranici...

"Being invited is one thing, but according to the Times of Israel, which cited the council's founding document, Donald Trump would ask each nation participating in it for three years for a $1 billion contribution."

🇵🇱⚖️ We've reached a crucial point in the Polish rule-of-law crisis: a court found a divorce null and void due to a "neo-judge" presiding over the proceedings. Given how quick, easy, and fast access to divorce is in the country, this story will make waves. 1/

New book by the extraordinary Dr. Margareta Matache, @magdamatache.bsky.social, co-founder and Director of the Roma program at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University! I have ordered my copy. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-perman...

Slovak PM Robert Fico will meet US President Donald #Trump on Saturday, Mar-a-Lago, Florida. #Slovakia

Founded in Berlin in 2017, "ERIAC is the only transnational institution operating across Europe with a systematic focus on promoting and recognizing Romani art, culture, and history."

Today I am remembering one of the most notorious examples of Nazi reprisals: Lidice, occupied Czech lands. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/t...

“'I consider the...situation regarding...Turek...to be...wholly unprecedented since the adoption of the Constitution, incomparable to any past case of...refusal of an appointment in relation to proposed members of the Government by past presidents of the Republic,' Pavel wrote to Babiš."

"The Transcarpathia region [...] is a key issue in [HU] foreign policy because of its sizeable ethnic Hungarian community. Magyar took swings at Orban for not having visited the region since 2015, and for his failure to condemn the Russian missiles that landed there." spectator.com/article/will...

1url.cz/@babis-turek... 🇨🇿 Political tensions at the highest level in Czechia Czech President Petr Pavel is refusing to appoint Filip Turek as Environment Minister, despite his nomination by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

Far-right leader Grzegorz Braun, whose party has recently been rising in the polls, has announced that he wants Mateusz Piskorski, a man currently on trial for alleged espionage on behalf of Russia, to be one of his parliamentary election candidates.

Denmark has moved in lockstep with the U.S. in Greenland to deter authoritarian regimes in the region for decades. As co-chairs of the Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus, Rep. Blake Moore and I condemn the continued threats to annex Greenland that would undermine our cooperation for no gain.

1/ The Slovak law creates another opening for Peter Magyar with ethnic-kin voters following Orban’s miscalculated support last year for anti-Hungarian Romanian candidate George Simion. bsky.app/profile/szab...

🔥Citing “national security,” Viktor Orbán’s government denied my public information request for agreements signed with Maduro’s Venezuela (incl. oil & gas) two years ago. Mentions of FM Péter Szijjártó’s meeting with Maduro are nowhere to be found on the Hungarian government’s website. I wonder why.

🇭🇺 The World Through Hungarian Eyes - Foreign Policy Attitudes in Hungary in 2025 📊 Policy Solutions’ comprehensive foreign policy attitudes survey explores how the Hungarian public viewed the world in 2025. ✅ Read it here: www.policysolutions.hu/userfiles/el...

Useful backgrounder on U.S. ideological exclusion and deportation from @juliarosekraut.bsky.social, @tylermcbrien.com, @lawfaremedia.org—with bonus Helsinki Final Act reference. 1/ www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

Great analysis, a tidy 24 minutes.

"Nawrocki courted Braun, turning the antisemitic firebrand into a kingmaker. In order to prove his bona fides to Braun’s supporters, Nawrocki said he would end the annual presidential menorah lightings."

ICYMI: State Dept. Sr Advisor for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, young Mr. Samson, on CE, “building on the [NSS], building on the [VP’s] speech from February at the Munich Security Conference,” “golden age of U.S.-Hungary relations,” etc. etc. www.state.gov/digital-pres...

Poland will start producing anti‑personnel mines for the first time since the Cold War and deploy them on its borders with Russia and Belarus. It may also export some to Ukraine. Warsaw is currently in the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of such mines.

🌍 Three days left to apply to the 2026 Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN) cohort! Are you ready to lead change and build inclusive communities across the Atlantic?

There’s really a lot going on in this story.

Am I sad that this egregious case of police brutality against Romani teens in Slovakia from 2009 is still dragging on in the year of 2025? Yes. Am I glad that there is another shot at justice? Yes. romea.cz/cz/zahranici...

Unsurprisingly, the latest scandal in Hungary about horrific physical and sexual child abuse at care facilities involves (but is not limited to) institutions with mainly Roma children

More on the Pecs case from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. (Sorry, I can't remember who 1st posted this.) @hungarianhelsinki.bsky.social helsinki.hu/en/wp-conten...

From the land of war-is-peace: Budapest Mayor charged with violating freedom of assembly for... assembling. Orban was humiliated by his Pride-ban failure and will now use select people as rhetorical punching bags until the elections (w/real consequences for those people). telex.hu/belfold/2025...

💡 Apply before December 19 to join the 2026 Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN) cohort! 📝 More info: buff.ly/117OUsR

⚖️ Nová šance na spravedlnost! Slovenský krajský soud zrušil osvobozující rozsudek policistů a nařídil nové projednání případu šikany romských dětí, který se stal symbolem selhání systému. 📢 Více v článku na Romea.cz: 1url.cz/@zahranici-s...

Daniel Rona: fields great Qs about the non-Fidesz, non-Tisza minor parties and about a significant target constituency: undecided women voters. youtu.be/swZ36J4g4KA?...

Zsofia Banuta: Hungary’s current legal framework and its institutions are inadequate to respond to electoral fraud and abuse which may surpass 2018’s “slew of irregularities and fraud”. youtu.be/swZ36J4g4KA?...

Daniel Hegudus: pushes back against erroneous assumptions regarding how Orban would have performed in hypothetically genuinely free&fair elections, posits such assumptions undermine election observation processes youtu.be/swZ36J4g4KA?...

Peter Kreko: “for the first time, Russia and the United States are united in their preference, with both President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump vocally supporting the Hungarian prime minister.” [!] youtu.be/swZ36J4g4KA?...

From @“gmfus.bsky.social : Hungary’s 2026 Elections: The Stakes and Challenges. Information, insights, analysis. Worth watching every second, but key food-for-thought for me: youtu.be/swZ36J4g4KA?...

"Absence is acquiescence: US can’t afford to step back from the global stage" Meaghan Mobbs, via The Hill thehill.com/opinion/inte...

From @“gmfus.bsky.social : Hungary’s 2026 Elections: The Stakes and Challenges. Information, insights, analysis. Worth watching every second, but key food-for-thought for me: youtu.be/swZ36J4g4KA?...