HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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26th May, 2023
Hahn paints dismal picture of talks on EU funds
The European Commission’s negotiations with Hungary on releasing EU funds have made little progress recently, while major issues still remain unresolved, EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn told the European Parliament yesterday.
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25th May, 2023
Retailers object to fines on missing products
Retailers are protesting that the consumer protection authority is fining them for not having fixed-priced products in shops even when suppliers cannot provide them, as is currently the case with potatoes, the Retail Association (OKSZ) announced on Wednesday.
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25th May, 2023
Kifli overtakes Tesco as largest online FMCG retai
Hungarian company Kifli.hu has overtaken Tesco as the largest online FMCG retailer, according to 2022 data from GKID-Mastercard.
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24th May, 2023
808 people-smugglers to be released
Authorities had released 606 foreign human traffickers from Hungarian penitentiaries by Tuesday afternoon, and another 202 may soon be released, website 24 reports.
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24th May, 2023
Madame Tussauds Budapest opens
Madame Tussauds will open its 24th wax museum worldwide on Dorottya utca in downtown Budapest on Thursday, displaying wax figures of famous Hungarians and foreign celebrities.
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23rd May, 2023
Renovated metro line reopened
The last two stations to be renovated on the M3 metro, Lehel tér and Nagyvárad tér, were reopened on Monday, ending the renovation of Budapest’s longest metro line after five and half years.
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22nd May, 2023
Ft 1bn in fines for violations of food price caps
Consumer protection checks and controls have been continuous since the price caps on specified foods were introduced and more than Ft 1 billion in fines have been meted out by the authorities, “which sends a message to shops that it is not worth playing tricks”, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi stressed at a press conference on Friday.
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22nd May, 2023
Tour-bus operators to save billions in VAT
Jordanian businessman Zakarya Hamdan, along with an entrepreneur close to István Tiborcz, the prime minister’s son-in-law, will benefit from the government’s decision to lower VAT for Budapest hop-on, hop-off sightseeing buses from 27% to 5%, website 24 reports.
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19th May, 2023
MOL complains about deal with Janaf
MOL had no choice but to sign the oil transport and storage agreement with Croatian pipeline operator Janaf as the Adriatic pipeline plays an important role in the security of supply in the Central and Eastern European region, the Hungarian energy company said on Thursday.
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19th May, 2023
Von der Leyen refutes stopping shipments claim
The Hungarian office of the European Commission denied on Wednesday that President von der Leyen had advised Ukraine to cut off deliveries of Russian crude oil to Hungary through the Friendship pipeline.
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18th May, 2023
Budapest Airport invests €30mn in cargo base
Budapest Airport will expand its annual air cargo capacity from 250,000 to 300,000 tons with the expansion of Bud Cargo City at a cost of €30 million, deputy chief development officer René Droese announced at Wednesday’s topping-out ceremony.
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17th May, 2023
100s of people-smugglers to be released from jail
Hungary will soon release hundreds of foreigners convicted of people-smuggling, allowing them to return home or travel within Europe, HVG reports.
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17th May, 2023
Racetrack opens at Lake Balaton
The Balaton Park Circuit racetrack has been officially opened in Balatonfőkajár, located off the M7 motorway just 85km from Budapest.
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16th May, 2023
New EV plants will boost imported electricity
The average wholesale price of electricity is expected to rise by at least 0.5% and companies will face an extra burden of Ft 12 billion in electricity costs a year as new EV battery plants are set to boost annual energy needs, requiring significant investments in the gird and higher imports, G7 reports.
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16th May, 2023
Hungarian pulls off shock tennis win
Fábián Marozsán of Hungary defeated world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the third round of the Rome clay court tennis tournament on Monday.
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12th May, 2023
Mészáros still the wealthiest Hungarian
Lőrinc Mészáros, with assets estimated to be worth Ft 660 billion, continues to be the richest person in Hungary, the 2023 summary of the publication The 100 Richest Hungarians reveals.
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12th May, 2023
19% of university students are foreigners
The number of foreign students at universities studying for bachelors and masters degrees more than doubled from 15,000 to 36,000 between 2010 and 2022, meaning that as a proportion of the total they have increased from 6.9% to 19%, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.
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11th May, 2023
Gov’t decisions kept secret every day
In the first three months of the year, the government made 96 decisions that were not classified as secret, but which were carefully hidden from the public, 444 reports.
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11th May, 2023
Hungary takes step toward global minimum tax
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has authorised the signing of an agreement required for the adoption of a global minimum tax regime previously vetoed by the Hungarian government, Portfolio reports, citing a new decree.
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10th May, 2023
Guest worker population at 81,000
The number of guest workers in Hungary rose by 14% to 81,000 in 2022, the Central Statistics Office reports.
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10th May, 2023
Hundreds stranded as Germany turns back train
Some 350 passengers were forced to disembark at the Czech-German border on Sunday when German rail authorities refused to allow a MÁV-Start Hungária EuroCity train to enter the country, due to its “inappropriate” technical condition.
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9th May, 2023
Fewer foreigners buying property
Some 2,500 foreign investors from outside the EU and the EEA bought real estate in Hungary last year, accounting for 2% of the 125,000 total transactions, real estate broker Duna House reports.
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9th May, 2023
Packeta Hungary adds nearly 800 parcel terminals
Czech-based Packeta has raised the number of its parcel terminals in Hungary from 29 at the beginning of 2022 to 800 by year’s end, the company announced.
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8th May, 2023
MTelekom sets date for share buyback auction
Magyar Telekom will buy back up to Ft 14.6 billion worth of shares at an auction on May 25, based on the AGM decision last month.
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8th May, 2023
Tracks break as freight train derails
Rail track repair work could take several days and the damage could be as high as hundreds of millions of forints where a freight train carrying iron ore derailed on Sunday between Hajdúhadház and Újfehértó in eastern Hungary.
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5th May, 2023
Bill paves way for guest workers
The government posted a bill on the employment of guest workers in Hungary on its website on May 2, for comment by the public until May 10.
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5th May, 2023
Suspect prosecuted for keeping exotic menagerie
A 54-year-old man illegally kept 100 exotic birds on his farm in Gyula, as he did not have a license to keep half of them, Telex reports.
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4th May, 2023
Yettel launches mobile TV service
Yettel has launched its home TV service based on mobile technology, after a successful 10-week pilot project, sales director and deputy CEO Nemanja Zilovic announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
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4th May, 2023
Food retailers seek gov’t help in lowering prices
Food retailers are ready to co-operate with the government on the new decree ordering them to offer regular discounts on food products, as well as on other ways to curb inflation, the retail association OKSZ announced after a meeting with Economy Development Minister Márton Nagy.
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3rd May, 2023
Locals to vote on traffic on Chain Bridge
Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Tuesday that the residents of Budapest will decide whether the Chain Bridge will be closed to motorised traffic when it is reopened following renovations.
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3rd May, 2023
MOL starts new car-sharing service
MOL’s new MOL Limo Fix car sharing service featuring Tesla Model 3 cars, began operations on Tuesday, the energy company announced.
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2nd May, 2023
Iványi’s church files lawsuit against state
The Hungarian Evangelical Brotherhood will take legal action against the Hungarian state for having deprived the church of the possibility of receiving voluntary contributions from donors of 1% of their personal income taxes, president Gábor Iványi announced on Friday.
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2nd May, 2023
Body repeatedly run over on motorway
Dozens of cars ran over the remains of a man who had been hit by a car on the M0 motorway on Sunday night, RTL Híradó reported.
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28th April, 2023
Magyar Posta to cut services
Economy Development Minister Márton Nagy filed an amendment to the Postal Service Act that will reduce the range of services provided by Magyar Posta.
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28th April, 2023
BKV resumes boat service on Danube
Budapest public transport company BKV will resume its Danube boat service on May 2, the Budapest transport centre BKK announced on Wednesday.
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27th April, 2023
Pessimism grows among German companies
The proportion of German companies in Hungary that would again invest in Hungary has fallen to 79% from 88% a year earlier, according to a survey conducted by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
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27th April, 2023
BSE to list its own shares
Budapest Stock Exchange shareholders approved plans to make the organisation a public company, with the aim of listing its shares, at the AGM on Wednesday.
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27th April, 2023
Renovation of Keleti station completed
Keleti train station has been renovated at a cost of Ft 1.9 billion, financed by the EU and the state, Construction Ministry state secretary Bálint Nagy said when presenting the site to journalists on Tuesday.
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26th April, 2023
Foundations get Ft 91bn in dividends
Foundations set up in recent years by the government and endowed with considerable state shareholdings and other assets will receive Ft 91 billion in total from dividends to be paid by MOL and Richter on 2022 profits, website 24 reports.
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26th April, 2023
Roman-era doctor’s grave found
Archaeologists have found a doctor’s grave and a full range of medical equipment dating to the first century AD, close to Jászberény, in Jász county.
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25th April, 2023
Nearly 60% of bank customers use digital banking
Two-thirds of Hungarian bank account holders actively engage in internet banking and 58% manage their finances digitally, according to a study released by Gránit Bank, Hungary’s first digital bank.
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25th April, 2023
Snipers and helicopters to monitor crowds
Wide-ranging security preparations are ongoing for the Budapest visit of the Pope: all street lamps and sewers are being checked and manhole covers are being welded down near the locations of the papal visit and three possible routes leading from the airport to central Budapest.
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24th April, 2023
Hungarians escape from Sudan
A group of 14 Hungarians and 48 foreigners who were on a diving holiday in Sudan when a civil war broke out last week have managed to flee the country, Foreign Minister Péter Szij¬jártó announced on Saturday.
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21st April, 2023
Auto fuel sales plunge on phase-out of fuel price
Auto fuel sales in Hungary slumped by 18.2% year-on-year to 896 million litres in the first quarter as motorists cut back on fuel purchases after the government phased-out price caps in December, the Hungarian Mineral Oil Association (MÁSZ) announced on Thursday.
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21st April, 2023
Fashion designer released from prison
Fashion designer Zoltán Herczeg, who, was arrested with an accomplice last October on suspicion of drug trafficking, was this week released from jail after almost six months detention, website 24 reports.
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20th April, 2023
Court declines to rule on Ryanair case
The Constitutional Court has rejected a complaint from airline Ryanair against the introduction of the extra profit tax introduced in the summer of 2022, declaring that it does not have the authority to rule on the matter.
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20th April, 2023
New e-scooter sharing service starts
Whoosh has become the fourth e-scooter-sharing company (after Lime, Bird and Tier) to launch its service in Budapest, with a fleet of 750 vehicles in the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth districts.
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20th April, 2023
Balaton cyclists route completed
State secretaries Bálint Nagy for transport and Máriusz Révész for active Hungary opened the last section of a bicycle route encircling Lake Balaton yesterday in Balatonrendes.
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19th April, 2023
Nearly 120,000 mobile phones replaced
The “NetreFel” programme for the replacement of obsolete mobile phones provided modern devices to nearly 120,000 owners of 2G or 3G phones over the last 12 months, the media and telecoms authority NMHH, which run the subsidy scheme, announced on Tuesday.
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18th April, 2023
Kalashnikov production line disappears
A production line for the manufacture of ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles imported from Turkey five years ago has gone missing, news website 24 learned from Csaba Papp, the owner of the importing company.
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18th April, 2023
Border guards detained for corruption
Debrecen prosecutors have ordered the detention of five border guards and two civilians suspected of accepting bribes and other crimes committed in a criminal organisation, it was announced on Monday.
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17th April, 2023
Cash deposits via ATM catching on
Cash deposits made through ATMs – a quarter of total deposits – grew by 25% to Ft 2.5 trillion last year, as the number of deposits rose by 22% to 11 million deposits, according to figures from the MNB.
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17th April, 2023
Fitness guru’s franchise in dire straits
Norbi Update Lowcarb, a lifestyle and nutrition product franchise owned by fitness guru Norbert Schobert, is facing serious financial troubles, website 24 reports.
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17th April, 2023
Tightrope walker crosses Danube
A circus performer crossed over the Danube on a tightrope on Saturday afternoon in downtown Budapest, the first person ever to perform this stunt.
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14th April, 2023
Momentum submits 150 referendum questions
Momentum has submitted 150 referendum questions, among them obvious nonsense, to the Debrecen election committee, regarding EV battery factories.
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14th April, 2023
Roaming wolf shot dead
A hunter has shot dead the wolf fitted with a tracker that had wandered from Switzerland to Hungary in recent weeks.
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13th April, 2023
Young people feel they will not be able to earn
Some 79% of the 16-30 age group feel that they will not be able to make their dream come true from a financial perspective, according to a survey conducted for OTP bank reveals about the habits and attitudes of the target group.
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13th April, 2023
Apple’s Look Around now in Hungary
Apple has launched its Look Around service in Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland and Slovenia after a test on Friday, technology news website Hwsw reports.
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12th April, 2023
Half of startups leave Hungary
Half of the startups launched in Hungary have moved their headquarters abroad, mainly to the US, UK and Estonia, or are planning to move them in the coming year, according to the 2022 Hungarian Startup report.
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12th April, 2023
City aims to sell dozens of properties
The city of Budapest plans to sell 61 properties with the goal of raising Ft 18 billion, Népszava reports.
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11th April, 2023
Székesfehérvár hotel to join Accor
The Hotel Magyar Király in Székesfehérvár will join the French Accor hotel chain, under a franchise agreement, from the summer, Moore Hungary, the consultancy facilitating the transaction announced.
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11th April, 2023
Emigration at five-year high
An estimated 26,500 Hungarians left to live abroad last year, according to Central Statistics Office data, the highest figure since 2017.
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6th April, 2023
Ministry withdraws Ukrainian corn from market
The Agriculture Ministry announced on Wednesday that it has imposed restrictions on or ordered the destruction of more than 29 tons of Ukrainian corn.
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6th April, 2023
Vodafone launches data rollover
Vodafone is providing the possibility for its subscribers to roll over unused mobile data credit to the following month, the mobile service provider announced on Wednesday.
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5th April, 2023
Otthon buys Polish property agency
Otthon Centrum purchased a 70% stake in Polish property agency Freedom Nieruchom¬osci on Monday, the Hungarian property agency announced.
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5th April, 2023
Hungary has world’s highest alcoholism rate
The percentage of the population that are alcoholics is higher in Hungary than any other country in the world, according to data from the World Population Review.
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4th April, 2023
Lake Fertő project loses environmental permit
A court has ordered the Győr-Moson-Sopron county government office to revoke the environmental permit issued for the government’s Lake Fertő resort project and instructed the authority to launch a new procedure, Greenpeace Hungary announced on Monday.
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4th April, 2023
Roxy Rádió returning online
After a hiatus of 12 years, Roxy Rádió will restart broadcasting online and via its mobile phone app from May 1, the revived radio station announced on Monday.
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3rd April, 2023
MPs approve modified 2023 budget
MPs on Friday rubber-stamped amendments to the 2023 budget approved by government decree at the end of December.
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3rd April, 2023
Demand for alternative tobacco products surges
Tobacco sales reached Ft 285 billion in the fourth quarter and exceeded Ft 1.1 trillion for the year according to data from the Central Statistics Office.
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3rd April, 2023
MOL expands bike-sharing scheme
MOL has enlarged its bike-sharing service by adding seven new docking stations in Budapest’s Third District, including one on Szent¬lélek tér next to a HÉV suburban rail station.
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31st March, 2023
ECHR orders end to segregation of Roma
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Thursday that Hungary had violated the clause of the European Convention prohibiting discrimination against Roma in connection with the right to education.
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31st March, 2023
Hungary paid 30% more for Russian gas
Hungary paid Ft 556 per cubic metre for Russian gas in January, some 30% more than the EU average, G7 reports, citing data from Eurostat.
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30th March, 2023
MPs remove barrier outside premier’s office
For the second consecutive morning, Momentum MPs removed the barriers set up outside the Prime Minister’s office in Buda Castle that were erected 18 months ago.
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30th March, 2023
BKV faces growing shortage of bus drivers
The Budapest transport company BKV told journalists on Wednesday that it is facing a shortage of bus drivers which is constantly increasing from 70-80 at present.
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29th March, 2023
YouTube cuts off PestiSrácok again
Fidesz-friendly website PestiSrácok is organising a protest demonstration outside the local headquarters of Google on March 31, after the technology company deleted the website’s YouTube channel.
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29th March, 2023
Eight applicants bid to run Opera
A second attempt to find a new general director of the Opera House produced eight candidates by Tuesday’s deadline of 5 p.m.
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