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3rd July, 2025
Orban announces 3% mortgage rate for first-time buyers
Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced a new scheme for those buying their first home, based on a mortgage rate of 3%.
A post uploaded to his Facebook page as the cabinet met on Wednesday said “Government decision: 3% preferential loan for the first flat or house. For anyone. Anywhere. Details soon!”.
Portfolio notes that the measure raises numerous questions, adding that the details will define its economic impact.
Of particular interest, the website remarks, is the source of financing the gap between the fixed 3% and market rates.
In his Facebook video, Orban said that in the “home creation loan programme”, loans of up to Ft 50 million can be taken out for a 25-year term, with an interest rate of 3% throughout the term, and a 10% down payment from the buyer’s own resources.
Orban said in the video that in the past few years, property prices have soared in Hungary, which may be good news for those who own their home, but many people have not yet been able to buy or build their first home. (telex.hu; nepszava.hu; portfolio.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Orban ready to fight EU over water
PMO leader Gergely Gulyas and government spokeswoman Eszter Vitalyos will hold a press conference on Thursday to report on the outcome of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the cabinet took action in May to prepare for summer drought, as he looked forward to a dispute over the issue with the EU.
A drought protection operative task force was formed in May, he said, and 1,000 people worked during the May rainy period to store the water equivalent to one-third of Lake Balaton, to be taken to drought-stricken areas.
“Of course, Brussels attacked the Hungarian government for providing water for free to Hungarian farmers,” said Orban.
He was presumably basing his comment on a report that the European Parliament has drawn up a new water strategy whereby farmers in EU member states will have to pay for the use of water.
“We shall not surrender to the pressure, we shall not give in, so we shall continue to provide water for free to farmers, no matter what Brussels thinks of it”, he declared on Facebook.
The cabinet will continue its water supply work in drought-afflicted areas not only in the summer but in the autumn as well, he added. (atv.hu; vg.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Fidesz preparing not only for election defeat but for quick return
Fidesz expects a parliamentary election defeat in 2026, but there is an internal narrative of a speedy return, a government source with insight into the Fidesz world told HVG.
The unnamed source said that, following an election defeat, the president, the prosecutor general, the head of the Constitutional Court – all cemented in place with two-thirds laws – along with the state of the economy will ensure that it would be impossible for Peter Magyar to govern and four years later or even earlier they can come back, as is seen in Poland.
Another source suggested that Orban would willingly present dossiers about the infamous acts of several leading Fidesz officials to Magyar if the opposition leader agreed to ensure that other Fidesz officials are not investigated.
They also told HVG that Magyar “might possibly be taken out of the system this year, somehow, but that would be risky and impossible directly before the elections.
HVG observes that Fidesz is working to hinder a two-thirds majority even if it cannot avoid an election defeat.
Fidesz officials criticised Orban’s work, saying that no domestic policy benefit has arisen from the foreign policy successes – if they can even be called that.
HVG was also informed that Janos Lazar’s recent street forums are viewed as a test and if it is a success, then other politicians, perhaps even the prime minister could start holding forums in response to Peter Magyar’s tour of the country.
However, the weekly’s sources fear that Lazar may be given a more serious role because “he can betray anybody anytime” and so they would not like him to take on a leading role if Orban were to withdrew into the background. (24.hu; hvg.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Fidesz cites invalid referendum result in response to huge Pride parade
Ever since the biggest Budapest Pride of all time caught observers by surprise last Saturday, the government’s communication has put forward a new interpretation every day of the event that they banned, but which ultimately took place without any disturbances.
Initially, the message was that Fidesz had actually outwitted the entire opposition by letting the parade go ahead. The idea is that the opposition parties and supporters fell into a trap by associating themselves with views not held by the majority of Hungarians.
More recently, the Fidesz communications machine, led by Viktor Orban, is trying to assign new meaning to the 2022 referendum on child protection, Telex reports.
They talk about the rejection of Pride in Hungary, citing an invalid referendum that did not even remotely touch on the issue of the Pride parade, according to Telex.
Fidesz is now citing the results of that referendum to claim that the majority of Hungarians reject what Pride stands for.
But there are some details about the referendum that the prime minister does not mention when he contrasts the “majority of Hungarians who say no to the gender described by Pride” with the “several tens of thousands” of marchers in Budapest.
For example, the 2022 referendum on child protection, in which 3.7 million people supported the government’s view, fell short of the 50% participation level that would have made the referendum valid. (telex.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Orban Baile Tusnad speech set for July 26
Prime Minister Viktor Orban will deliver his speech at the annual Fidesz open university in Baile Tusnad, Romania on July 26, ATV reports.
Orban usually presents his assessment of the domestic and foreign policy situation on these occasions.
At last year’s event Orban said Fidesz must find courageous and young fighters with national feelings, as liberal, slim, and arrogant politicians will be on the other side. (index.hu; atv.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Tisza claims cockroaches are in hospitals
Tisza Party official Andras Kulja wrote on Facebook on Wednesday in a post illustrated with several pictures that cockroaches have swarmed the operating theatre and the nurses’ rooms at the Peterfy Sandor Hospital in Budapest.
He wrote that the hospital staff have repeatedly complained but state secretary Peter Takacs instructed them that hospital services may not stop no matter what the circumstances are like.
The hospital later denied the accusations and said it would file a complaint against Kulja for spreading false rumour, slander and jeopardising the safe services provided to patients. (index.hu; blikk.hu; hvg.hu; telex.hu; 444.hu; magyarnemzet.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Majority blame cabinet for Budapest budget crisis
Nearly twice as many people blame the Orban cabinet for Budapest’s financial crisis as say the city leadership is at fault, according to a new Publicus Institute survey commissioned by Nepszava.
Along with most opposition supporters, half of Fidesz voters would like to know what the money collected from local councils as solidarity contributions is spent on.
A vast majority of 78% of respondents would like to know exactly which municipalities the money is distributed to.
It is possible that there is no distribution at all and that the government does not spend the amount on the municipalities, Nepszava writes.
The money taken as solidarity contributions flows into the central budget, so it is impossible to track exactly what it is spent on, the newspaper adds. (nepszava.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Trade surplus lower on higher volume
Hungary’s trade surplus sank to euro 739 billion in May, down from euro 1.020 billion a year earlier, and also down from euro 1.340 billion in April, the Central Statistics Office reports.
Export volume increased by 3.2% and imports went up by 5.4% from one year earlier.
On a monthly basis, the export volume dropped by 0.6% and imports were up by 2%, according to seasonally and workday adjusted data.
The value of exports in May was up 2%, year-on-year to euro 12.198 billion, while imports went up by 4.8% to euro 11.458 billion.
The trade surplus for the first five months of 2025 amounted to euro 6.1 billion, down from euro 6.6 billion a year earlier. (ksh.hu; mfor.hu; portfolio.hu; economx.hu; novekedes.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
MEKH licenses first autonomous electricity generator
MEKH has issued its first licence to a self-sufficient electricity generator, a 1.68MW solar panel operator, the energy and public utility authority announced on Wednesday.
The solar-powered unit will start production at the end of July.
The Electricity Act allows the establishment of self-sufficient electricity generation units larger than 0.5MW from January 1, 2025.
These units do not feed the energy generated into the public grid, but provide it to dedicated users. (portfolio.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
AKK completes 96% of 2025 issue plan
The state debt manager AKK has announced the completion of 96% of its revised 2025 financing plan, which was amended in June.
The agency fulfilled 75% of the net issuance target for the institutional forint market, 45% for the retail forint segment, and 148% of the net foreign currency financing goal.
The average remaining maturity of central budget debt stands at 5.6 years, split between 4.1 years for forint-denominated debt and 9 years for foreign currency obligations. (portfolio.hu; mfor.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
CATL dismisses dozens in Debrecen
Chinese EV battery giant CATL, currently constructing a factory in Debrecen, has laid off dozens of Hungarians over the past week, according to five independent sources, including current and former employees, cited by Telex.
The company reportedly intends to replace the dismissed employees with workers from China.
The cuts began with probationary employees before extending to those on permanent contracts who had been with the firm for up to six months.
The layoffs have affected office staff, skilled labourers, maintenance crews, quality controllers and process engineers alike. (telex.hu; economx.hu; 444.hu; portfolio.hu; index.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
4iG plans joint venture with state defence company
4iG Space and Defence and the state-owned HM Logistics and Asset Management have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to explore strategic co-operation opportunities in defence digitalisation.
More specifically, the two companies will look for ways to work together in the fields of software development, system integration, IT and telecoms infrastructure development, and cyber defence.
They will also examine the possibility of establishing a joint venture. (portfolio.hu; economx.hu; novekedes.hu; magyarhirlap.hu; index.hu; mfor.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
4iG purchases virtual network firm
4iG Telecommunications Holding has signed an agreement to acquire a 99% stake in the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Netfone Telecom.
The deal aims to align the interests of Netfone Telecom and the mobile network operator (MNO).
Post-acquisition, Netfone Telecom will maintain its independence and continue operations as a separate entity.
Customers will not experience any disruption, with services continuing unchanged.
The transaction remains subject to approval by the competition authority GVH. (mfor.hu; novekedes.hu; index.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
UBM sets up Kazakhstan joint venture
Hungarian fodder maker UBM announced on Wednesday the creation of UBM Nutrition Central Asia in Kazakhstan on June 30.
The new company is a joint venture established by its subsidiaries UBM Feed Kazakhstan and UBM Grain, along with a minority partner who brings long-standing local market expertise and animal-husbandry experience.
UBM Nutrition Central Asia will build and operate a premix plant for UBM in Kazakhstan, positioning the group to capture a larger share of the region’s fast-growing animal-nutrition market. (portfolio.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
MOL stops refinery units due to malfunction
A technical malfunction at the Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta, near Budapest has led to increased flaring and visible smoke in nearby communities, MOL said after readers reported the case to Telex.
Repair work is under way, and fuel supply remained unaffected, the energy company said.
However, as restoration efforts continue, further episodes of heightened flaring and smoke are anticipated at the site, MOL added.
The problem was caused by an overheated compressor producing compressed network air, which caused the affected plant units to be shut down. (telex.hu; portfolio.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Zwack appoints new CEO, announces dividend
Zwack Unicum has appointed Csaba Belovai as its new CEO, effective July 1, the Budapest-based distiller announced on Wednesday.
Born in 1970, Belovai joined Zwack in 2004, initially as a sales director, after spending 12 years with Unilever.
CEO Frank Odzuck and deputy CEO and chief financial officer Tibor Andras Dornyei retired on June 30.
Dornyei’s position was taken over by Gyorgy Guttengeber, former controlling and logistics manager.
Zwack also announced a Ft 1,500 dividend per share payout from July 30, to those who own shares on July 23. (mfor.hu; portfolio.hu; economx.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Sport shoe chain Playersroom to close
The final Playersroom store is set to close on September 1, with the website shutting down simultaneously, the company announced on Facebook.
The entire remaining stock will be liquidated online at discounts of 50-70%.
Playersroom was “a defining player in domestic sneaker culture” in Hungary over more than two decades with 125 stores, and was the largest sales agent of global brands such as Nike and Adidas, said CEO Peter Gem.
His team will henceforth concentrate efforts exclusively on Dorko, a well-known Hungarian footwear brand and chain. (portfolio.hu; telex.hu; index.hu; 24.hu; economx.hu)
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3rd July, 2025
Godollo palace obtains Sisi painting
The Godollo Royal Castle has bought a previously unknown portrait of Queen Erzsebet by Gyorgy Raab painted in 1867, at a cost of more than Ft 30 million, Culture and Innovation Minister Balazs Hanko announced on Tuesday.
The painting and two other artworks were purchased on June 12 at the Kaiserhaus auction of the Vienna-based Dorotheum auction house.
Hanko told a press conference held at the Godollo castle on Tuesday that the palace was the Hungarian residence of Emperor Franz Josef and Queen Erzsebet – known to Hungarians as “Sisi” – at the time of the 1867 Compromise.
Tamas Ujvary, the executive director of the Godollo Royal Castle, said the painting immortalises Erzsebet in the dress she wore at her Hungarian coronation.
The artist (also known as Georg Raab) was an Austrian painter born in 1821. He worked in Budapest from 1842 and became the painter of the Vienna court where he painted members of the royal family several times.
Ujvary said the museum’s collection expanded with more than 500 art objects through purchases and donations last year, when it was visited by 356,107 people. (turizmus.com)
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