HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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19th February, 2026
State facial recognition contract far exceeds initial estimate
FaceKom, a technology company once majority-owned by the Central European Opportunity Private Equity Fund linked to Istvan Tiborcz, secured a far larger public contract than previously disclosed for developing facial recognition features for Hungary’s digital citizenship mobile app, 444 reports.
The fund became the majority owner in 2021 and sole owner in 2024, when it obtained the state order.
4iG announced in December, that it had acquired FaceKom.
While earlier reports mentioned Ft 303 million in public funding, documents seen by 444 show that FaceKom signed a contract worth at least Ft 4.3 billion plus VAT with the state-owned National Infocommunications Service.
Of this sum, Ft 2.75 billion was earmarked for development and integration support, and Ft 1.6 billion for operational tasks.
In addition, the company is paid Ft 1,860 per registered user, up to a ceiling of five million users.
Based on around two million users at the end of last year, this could translate into a further Ft 3.6 billion, according to 444’s calculations, including payments for users who do not actively use the facial recognition function. (444.hu; hvg.hu; telex.hu; forbes.hu; 24.hu)
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19th February, 2026
MPs to vote on Board of Peace founding document
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto submitted to Parliament on Monday a bill on the promulgation of the basic document of the Board of Peace formed by US President Donald Trump.
Parliament can vote on the matter in the coming weeks.
The Board of Peace was established by Trump in January at Davos, Switzerland, primarily to resolve the Gaza conflict and supervise the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, but its aims quickly expanded to take in a wider handling of global conflicts.
The countries invited into the Board of Peace can remain members for three years but if they pay $1 billion in the first year, they may obtain permanent membership.
After the third year the membership of any country depends on Trump’s personal decision. (telex.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Most Hungarians do not see Trump as a peacemaker
Some 59% of Hungarians say Donald Trump brings conflicts into the world rather than peace, according to a survey conducted by the Publicus Institute as reported by Nepszava.
Meanwhile, only 28% of respondents say that the American president will bring peace.
Unsurprisingly, Fidesz voters see things differently than other parts of society: 70% of them believe that Trump will smooth international conflicts in the future.
Overall, 31% of Hungarians trust Trump, while his trust level among Fidesz supporters stands at 78%.
On another question, 48% of respondents no not agree that Trump’s presidency will be beneficial for Hungary, as against 38% of all respondents – including 85% of Fidesz faithful – who expect positive consequences.
Two-thirds of Hungarians do not consider it acceptable that Trump interferes in the internal affairs of other countries by ignoring international law, but 24% say this is acceptable if a repressive regime rules in a given country.
In a party breakdown, 78% of opposition voters oppose such acts outside international law, compared to 48% among Fidesz voters. (24.hu; nepszava.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Navracsics agrees with Fidesz most of the time
Public Administration and Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics confirmed in an interview with Telex that he will quit politics and return to teaching if he is not directly elected to parliament in his constituency in Veszprem county.
Asked how he feels about the political situation today, he replied “I think it almost doesn’t matter how much I feel responsible. What’s more important is that I see that the public holds me accountable. The public isn’t interested in what someone’s personal opinion is, but they believe that anyone who is currently or has previously been involved in government is accountable. I accept that.”
He said he agrees with Fidesz about 65.3% of the time but he has never considered leaving the party.
As to whether the prime minister has become rich illegally, Navracsics said “no one has yet been able to prove whether Viktor Orban has any wealth, how much wealth, and if he does, whether he acquired it legally or illegally … I’m much more interested in other issues than who has how much money.”
He said he accepts that the general public considers him responsible for the political system of the past 16 years and to an extent he also feels that way.
He described the atmosphere within Fidesz as cautious but confident.
Even in the surveys showing the largest difference, Tisza leads by about 10 percentage points in relation to the total population, he observed, adding that British campaign strategists usually say that a governing party can overcome a 10-12 percentage point disadvantage.
Navracsics surmised that some voters are not yet concerned with the election, and said the turning point will be March 15.
In addition, the advantage of the ruling party position is that the opposition speaks, but the ruling party can act, “and the ability to act can be a very serious campaign factor.”
Navracsics said he considers the procedure launched by the government office in the Samsung matter to be of adequate thoroughness.
For his part, he pointed out, he initiated increases in the maximum fine for violations of environmental regulations.
Navracsics was directly elected to Parliament in 2022 with 50.7% of votes, ahead of opposition alliance candidate Lajos Rig with 44.5%.
This year he faces Tisza Party nominee Peter Balatincz, head doctor at the Ajka hospital. (telex.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Orban: Fidesz is ahead but must work
Fidesz would win 65-70 of the 106 parliamentary constituencies if the elections were held now, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a gathering of party activists in Sumeg on Tuesday.
Speaking alongside local MP Tibor Navracsics, he said “You can’t win by slaving away or cowardice, you need courage and a lot of work”, adding that they must also be active in the digital space.
“Nobody should bet on us to win in Budapest but in the provinces most of the people are with us,” he declared.
“We can win by more than we are now, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Orban said that based on surveys conducted at the end of January, Fidesz has a 9% lead in popularity over the Tisza party. (nepszava.hu; index.hu; hvg.hu; 444.hu; telex.hu; 24.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Semmelweis to absorb Godollo clinic
The specialist outpatient clinic in Godollo is to be transferred not to the state, as previously planned, but to Semmelweis University, under a new health model programme championed by Culture and Innovation Minister Balazs Hanko.
Hanko, who oversees higher education and is the Fidesz party’s candidate in the Godollo constituency, is himself a graduate of the Semmelweis medical university.
The plans entail a major renovation, upgraded equipment and additional medical staff.
The town council voted to transfer the clinic to the state last spring, citing persistent staff shortages, rising municipal funding needs and concerns about patient safety, according to mayor Gyorgy Gemesi. (444.hu; hvg.hu)
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19th February, 2026
State debt-GDP ratio rises to 74.9%
The state debt stood at 74.9% of GDP at the end of 2025, up 1.4 percentage points from 2024, the second consecutive annual increase, according to financial accounts data published by the MNB on Wednesday.
The figure is slightly above the 74.6% previously indicated by Economy Minister Marton Nagy.
The last higher year-end reading was recorded in 2021.
The general government’s net financing requirement amounted to 4.7% of GDP for 2025.
Although this metric does not fully correspond to the EU’s ESA accrual-based deficit measure, the two indicators typically move in tandem.
On that basis, last year’s deficit narrowed from 5.1% of GDP in 2024. Nagy had earlier projected a 4.9% result. (portfolio.hu)
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19th February, 2026
New study finds Hungary is poorest EU member state
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre launched the ABSPO pilot project in 2018, introducing an “absolute” measure of poverty based on the costs of meeting basic needs for individuals and households.
Under this methodology, 31.9% of Hungarians – more than double the EU average of 15.7% – fall below the poverty threshold, placing the country among the poorest in the EU.
Unlike official indicators such as AROP and AROPE, ABSPO shows a significantly higher share of deprived people in many Eastern and Central European countries compared to Western Europe.
Yet, several regional peers, including the Czech Republic and Poland, have achieved far greater success in reducing poverty than Hungary.
Inflation since 2021 has pushed Hungary’s poverty thresholds sharply higher.
In 2024, a single adult required an average monthly expenditure of Ft 298,000, a married couple Ft 474,000, and a family of four Ft 677,000.
These amounts are nearly twice the subsistence minimum calculated by the Central Statistics Office until 2015 and exceed other recent estimates.
The ABSPO thresholds are deliberately set above mere subsistence, aiming instead to define a “decent living” consistent with a European standard of living. (telex.hu; hvg.hu; portfolio.hu; 24.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Masterplast scraps rock wool project
Masterplast announced on Tuesday that it will abandon plans to build a rock wool plant and halt production at its expanded polystyrene (EPS) factory in Italy, opened just two and a half years ago.
At the same time, the company is assessing options to expand capacity at its glass wool plant in Szerencs, completed last year.
The company said it is exploring potential state aid and tender funding, and is in advanced talks with the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency.
The Szerencs facility, owned equally by Masterplast and Poland’s Selena Group, marked the return of glass wool production to Hungary after a 16-year hiatus.
The euro 47.5 million project received Ft 5.6 billion in non-refundable state support and currently has annual capacity of 19,000 tons. (portfolio.hu; mfor.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Richter partners with FimmCyte on novel therapy
Gedeon Richter has signed a strategic research collaboration and option licence agreement with Swiss biotech firm FimmCyte to co-develop FMC2, an investigational antibody therapy for endometriosis.
FMC2 is designed to target the underlying cause of the disease and could become the first treatment to do so.
The partnership combines Richter’s established expertise in gynaecology with FimmCyte’s immunotherapy platform and proprietary antibody technology.
According to the WHO, endometriosis affects around 190 million women worldwide. (portfolio.hu; economx.hu; mfor.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Opus Global plans Ft 1bn share buyback in April
Opus Global plans to repurchase at least Ft 1 billion of its own shares in April through fixed transactions, the company said on Wednesday.
Details of the timing and mechanics will be announced later.
On the day such fixed transactions are executed, no additional buybacks will be carried out during regular trading on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
The group has used a similar approach before: on January 30 it acquired more than Ft 2 billion worth of shares in a single day.
In its five-year strategy unveiled in 2024, Opus pledged up to Ft 10 billion in share repurchases as part of efforts to enhance shareholder value. (portfolio.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Bus drivers push for early retirement
The United Transport Trade Union (EKSZ) has become the first to join a recent initiative by railway workers calling for the reinstatement of their early retirement scheme, the union said.
The campaign was prompted by remarks at a public forum held by Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar in Gyor, where he signalled his openness to reviewing the possibility of restoring the scheme for engine drivers and drivers employed by the MAV group, including those at Volanbusz.
The dedicated early retirement scheme was abolished in 2012. (portfolio.hu; 24.hu; novekedes.hu; telex.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Hiventures launches Ft 1bn EU-backed startup fund
Hiventures, part of the MFB Group, has launched a Ft 17 billion venture capital fund to back early-stage Hungarian startups.
Financed from EU resources, the vehicle will target companies with technological or business innovation, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, deeptech and healthcare, CEO Laszlo Hradszki told reporters in a background briefing.
Individual investments may reach up to euro 300,000 per company, with startups able to access funding within three months.
The fund intends primarily to invest alongside co-investors. (portfolio.hu; economx.hu; novekedes.hu; mfor.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Fatal accident at site of BYD plant
A worker died on Saturday at the construction site of BYD’s new EV factory in Szeged, local outlet Szegeder reported.
Prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings on suspicion of causing death by reckless endangerment.
The accident is understood to have occurred during a loading and crane operation.
The main contractor, AE Industry Hungary, said it and its subcontractors are fully co-operating with the authorities.
The same company was the general contractor for the construction of BMW’s Hungarian plant. (szegeder.hu; 444.hu; telex.hu; nepszava.hu; blikk.hu; portfolio.hu)
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19th February, 2026
Charges pressed over building collapse
Charges have been pressed against four people regarding the partial collapse of a building on Jokai utca in the Sixth District three-and-half years ago, but none of them feels responsible for the accident.
Dancer Nikolett Toth sustained lasting injuries in the accident while several people sustained lighter injuries.
Budapest’s Sixth and Seventh District prosecutor’s office proposed a prison sentence for the builder, and suspended jail terms for the general constructor, the static designer and the responsible technical leader. (24.hu)
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