Hungary’s governing Socialist party must reach a
compromise with the small opposition Free Democrats and Democratic
Forum parties, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany told daily Nepszabadsag
on Saturday. Continue »

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany wants the
European Union to arrange a package of as much as EUR 180 billion to
help east European economies, banks and companies weather the financial
crisis. The PM also announced that Hungary will propose in the European Council to
accelerate the procedure of joining the euro-zone Continue »

Hungarian police have established connections between
recent attacks against Roma, some of which ended in deaths, director of
the National Investigation Office told the press on Friday. A former
policeman is suspected with a murder of a Roma couple last November. Continue »

A global environmental agreement or “green New Deal”
could halt the irreversible damaging effects of climate change,
European Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas told a climate
summit in Budapest on Friday. Continue »

LiTraCon (Light Transmitting Concrete) has been the talk
of the international design and architectural scene in the last few
years. The product is a translucent combination of optical fibres and
fine concrete. At the end of 2008 the Hungarian inventor of LiTraCon
won a lawsuit against Germany’s HeidelbergCement, which, following
unsuccessful negotiations to purchase the LiTraCon patent, simply
passed off the product as its own development, using the name of the
individual who led the negotiations as the inventor.  Continue »

Jack Frost has struck again this winter, not only
freezing  puddles, but  also turning streets into sheets of ice. What
may be annoying on the commute can be turned to the advantage of your
cardiovascular system and also help flatten your posterior. Continue »

Budapest’s officials and elected representatives
apparently continue to ride roughshod over the public interest and
well-planned city development, particularly in the case of property
affairs. Last week’s scandal was published by the right-wing daily
Magyar Hírlap and concerns District VIII.  Continue »

Detroit-based tecno legend Carl Craig will perform at
the A38 Ship on Friday, 27  February, supported by Hungarian acts
Suhaid & Süto Márton, Crimson, Johnson, DJ Shuriken and Kiégo
Izzók.  Continue »

In the last few weeks Hungarian companies have laid off
a large number of workers, blaming the global economic crisis. This
response to their orders falling often hits the companies hard as well
as the employees because they lose qualified staff and know-how,
meaning that their image may also suffer. By contrast we can hear that
in Germany, for example, companies in many cases have ordered shortened
working hours, such as four-day working weeks, in order to prevent
large-scale dismissals. What possibilities do the Hungarian state and
employment law give employers to react to the crisis with some
flexibility, and without resorting to lay-offs? Continue »

The financial crisis has hit Hungary
at a time when the local government
system is in a weakened state
due to structural problems. These
now pose a significant fiscal risk.
Since the development of the system there has
been an almost constant need for reform, but
until now national politics has not dared to touch
the local governments that function as a
patronage mill. Suggestions for local government
reform have been made recently, but political
inability to act and a lack of credibility render
implementation of even the most fundamental
measures doubtful. Continue »