Eurasia Press & News
Elsewhere, Hungary angers allies by easing entry for Russian citizens; leader of Slovak National Party says he’ll visit Moscow; protests against Azov Brigade presence in Prague; and inflation in Poland on the rise again.
Bilateral relations between Poland and Hungary nosedived after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine – Poland is one of Ukraine’s staunchest defenders, Hungary is Russia’s only remaining sort-of ally in the EU – and relations have not improved since the government of Donald Tusk took power in Poland at the end of 2023. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban’s self-styled ‘peace mission’ since his country assumed the rotating EU presidency on July 1 – encompassing visits to Moscow, Beijing and Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida – did not go down well in Warsaw. And things took a further turn for the worse this week after Orban complained about the Poles in his annual speech at Baile Tusnad in Romania: “They lecture us on moral grounds, they criticise us for our economic relations with Russia, and at the same time they are blithely doing business with the Russians,” Orban said, referring to Poland’s alleged purchases of Russian oil via intermediaries. Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski responded that Warsaw does not conduct business with Russia, but the issue is complex: when the war started, Russia covered two-thirds of Poland’s oil needs, with state energy company PKN Orlen only concluding its relationship with Rosneft at the end of 2023. Not mincing his words, Bartoszewski then remarked: “I don’t understand why Hungary wants to remain a member of organisations that it dislikes so much and that allegedly treat it badly,” referring to NATO and the EU. Then his boss, Radoslaw Sikorski, added fresh fuel to the fire by saying that Hungary had ultimately agreed to a Polish proposal to hold an EU meeting in Ukraine, to which his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto retorted: “Sikorski crossed another line and lied when he claimed that I enthusiastically supported his nonsense proposal to hold the next informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ukraine.”
Hungary to ease entry for Russians; Budapest district votes on Airbnb ban
Recent changes to Hungarian legislation that will now allow the entry of Russian and Belarusian citizens into the EU visa-free zone was raising concerns in Brussels this week. Manfred Weber, chairman of the European Parliament’s largest party grouping, the EPP, warned in a letter addressed to European Council President Charles Michel that the expansion of Hungary’s so-called “National Card” program to include six other nationalities, passed after Orban visited Moscow in early July, would create space for espionage activities and pose a serious risk to the bloc’s security. “This policy could also make it easier for Russians to move around the [borderless] Schengen Area, bypassing the restrictions required by EU law,” Weber said in his letter, which was first reported by the Financial Times. The European Commission announced on Thursday it would contact the Hungarian government to seek clarification, particularly with regards to the scope of the scheme and “whether or not it is covered by EU rules”, EU Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper said. In July, Hungary amended legislation that had allowed simplified entry for Serbian and Ukrainian citizens to Hungary to help ease labour shortages to include citizens of Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Bosnia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The Hungarian government argued the legislation would facilitate the entry of Russians working on the Paks 2 nuclear power plant construction. Yet Russia expert Andras Racz countered that the plant’s construction hasn’t even reached the stage where more Russian workers or experts are needed, as Rosatom has so far been unable to prepare plans and permits that would meet EU standards. A Finnish MP, Tytti Tuppurainen, called on Hungary to be excluded from the Schengen Area.
Budapest’s central 6th district, popular with tourists and home to most of the capital’s Airbnb rentable apartments, is launching a referendum on restricting short-term rentals. The referendum is in line with many similar initiatives in European cities, where locals complain about a flood of cheap tourism that is making traditional life impossible and limiting the ability of locals to rent long term. Residents over the age of 16 in the Budapest district can vote on a simple question in the first two weeks of September: “Do you agree with banning the renting of apartments in condominiums for Airbnb-type accommodation?” Short-term rentals account for more than 7 per cent of all apartments in the district, or 2,200. In theory, the district could limit the rental period to more than 30 days, but lacking the legal means to enforce this, the decision has to be an either-or: a total ban or leave the situation as is. “We will respect the decision of our residents,” said Tamas Soproni, the left-wing mayor of the district.
Putin-admirer Danko plans Moscow visit; justice minister hounds Supreme Court judge
Andrej Danko, the deputy speaker of Slovakia’s parliament and leader of the nationalist Slovak National Party, this week announced plans to visit Russia, a country that labelled Slovakia a “hostile country” in 2022. In a video posted on social media, Danko, an outspoken admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “insane” and a “dangerous man”. Danko stated in the video: “I have an open invitation to visit [Russia] at any time of my choosing,” asserting that Slovakia’s economy would collapse without Russian cooperation. Despite criticism from experts and opposition parties, Danko claims his visit will also address issues related to Ukraine’s decision to halt oil from Russian major Lukoil transiting its territory to Slovakia. Slovakia is currently Russia’s largest European oil importer, though Lukoil accounts for only a quarter of supplies to the Slovnaft refinery, according to former economy minister Karel Hirman, so there is no imminent oil crisis facing the country. Meanwhile, PM Robert Fico threatened to halt diesel exports from Slovnaft, owned by the Hungarian company MOL, to Ukraine, though it remains unclear how this would be enforced, given that Slovnaft is a private entity. Unlike other EU member states, Slovnaft is not subject to EU sanctions prohibiting the import of Russian oil, as Slovakia secured an exemption allowing the refinery to export products made from Russian crude to the Czech Republic until December 5, 2024. After this date, Slovnaft will still be able to source Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, but the products can only be sold within Slovakia.
In a controversial move, Slovak Justice Minister Boris Susko, a member of Fico’s Smer party, has called for the dismissal of Supreme Court Judge Juraj Kliment. His proposal is contentious because all the accusations against Kliment come from a single individual, Marek Para, a lawyer under criminal investigation and an advisor to the PM. According to a report in the Sme daily, Susko’s disciplinary motion closely mirrors a previous complaint penned by Para himself. Notably, Para has appeared at Smer press conferences, including one where the party criticised Kliment just weeks ago. Susko alleges that Kliment is biased against the lawyer. This move has drawn criticism from former justice minister Maria Kolikova of the opposition party SaS, who condemned Susko’s actions as inappropriate. The disciplinary case against Kliment will be adjudicated by the Supreme Administrative Court. In a related development, the police inspectorate, which operates under the Interior Ministry, charged police investigators and a prosecutor involved in investigating corruption cases linked to people close to the Smer party. The inspectorate accuses these individuals of creating an unofficial case file that collated initial statements from cooperating defendants, allegedly choosing parts to charge selected people associated with the current coalition. However, experienced prosecutors argue that having such a dossier is standard procedure.
Ukrainian soldiers in Prague; fit for service?
About a hundred protesters, mainly from the Communist Party according to Czech Radio, gathered in Prague on Wednesday evening to protest against a debate involving members of the Ukrainian army’s controversial Azov Brigade. Its representatives came to Prague as part of a European-wide tour designed to engage with Ukrainians living abroad, talk about the developments of the war against Russia, and convince more men to enlist. Protesters outside the X10 Theatre, where the event took place, shouted “shame on the government” or “Gestapo” at the police officers monitoring the demonstration. Originally founded in 2014 in the coastal city of Mariupol as a volunteer unit to fight against the Russian-backed invasion of eastern Ukraine, the Azov battalion has long been mired in controversy for its far-right and neo-Nazi roots, providing the Kremlin with ammunition in its self-declared goal of ridding Ukraine of its “fascist” elements. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in 2022, the unit has tried to soften its image and made tragic headlines during the battle of Mariupol. Last June, the US lifted its ban on weapons supplies and training of the controversial brigade, saying it had “found no evidence of gross violations of human rights” by its members, leading Moscow to accuse the US of “flirting with neo-Nazis” in its efforts to defeat Russia. Before Prague, representatives of the brigade travelled to Poland and are scheduled to head to Vilnius on Friday. Similar events in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany were cancelled over security concerns. Earlier this week, the Czech government also announced it was considering its own involvement in the Ukrainian Legion formed by Poland last month, but was still “gathering more information” to decide which shape it could take.
Meanwhile, the Czech Ministry of Defence softened the health requirements for people wishing to enlist in the army, Novinky.cz reported. According to the decree, which is due to come into effect on September 1 and is meant to help the Czech army meet its recruitment goals and attract more reservists, the rules that military doctors must follow in assessing the fitness of applicants will be relaxed, although these updated guidelines will mainly apply to non-combatants. The new decree also hopes to accelerate the entire process of medical examination, and comes years after another 2017 reform that allowed people with poor eyesight or applicants forced to take daily medication (diabetes, allergies, etc.) to join the armed forces. Now, people suffering from even poorer eyesight or who have a speech impediment, as well as obese people – about one fourth of the Czech population today – will be considered fit to join certain non-combatant professions in the army. Applicants diagnosed with cancer or HIV will also be given a more relaxed evaluation, although final approval or rejection will ultimately be decided on a case-by-case basis and depend on the seriousness of the illness and prevalence of symptoms. The Czech army hopes to reach 30,000 soldiers by the end of the decade, up from about 24,000 today, but has struggled to attract recruits. The commander-in-chief, 62-year-old President Petr Pavel, has meanwhile been declared fit to perform all his presidential duties following a health check carried out by the Central Military Hospital, whose conclusions were released this week.
Polish inflation on the rise again
Inflation in Poland is on the rise again, following a decision by the government to unfreeze energy prices. The previous PiS government took the decision to fix electricity prices in 2023, in an attempt to help consumers battle the surge in energy prices after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. From the start of July, electricity prices for households could rise as high as 500 zloty per MWh (about 110 euros) compared to around 400 zloty before. Distribution prices, which account for about half of a regular consumer’s bill, have also been liberalised. After the new government relaxed the price restrictions, July’s inflation rate reached 4.2 per cent, a significant rise from the 2.6 per cent rate in June. According to data from the National Statistical Office (GUS), inflation in July was primarily caused by rising energy prices, which were up 10 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year.
