Viktor Orban
Hungary lifts movement restrictions on capital from Monday
Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Saturday that movement restrictions on Budapest residents would be lifted next week. Orban said the Hungarian capital region has made sufficient progress in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Among other things, Budapest residents will be able to leave their homes again from Monday onwards without having to provide a good reason. Shops of all kinds will also be allowed to stay open longer, and restaurants with outdoor seating will be free to receive guests once again. The rest of Hungary has enjoyed the same freedoms for almost two weeks. However, social distance rules and compulsory face masks continue to apply throughout the country. The number of infections in Hungary, and especially in Budapest, has fallen sharply. By Saturday, 3,473 peopl...
German foreign minister: EU veto ‘hostage’-taking on foreign policy must end
Germany’s foreign minister said on Monday the European Union should abolish the right of individual member states to veto foreign policy measures as the 27-nation bloc could not allow itself to be “held hostage”. His comments, which came days after a more junior official criticised Hungary by name, reflect growing frustration in Berlin at the way in which EU member countries can prevent the bloc from acting in matters on which almost all members agree. “We can’t let ourselves be held hostage by the people who hobble European foreign policy with their vetoes,” Heiko Maas told a conference of Germany’s ambassadors in Berlin. “If you do that then sooner or later you are risking the cohesion of Europe. The veto has to go, even if that means we can be outvoted.” His remarks amount to a highly u...