Hungary is new hot spot on migrant route into EU - Part 2

Report says pro-Trump propaganda came from Hungary
Christian Keszthelyi
Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 09:58

Far-right British activist and millionaire Jim Dowson has reportedly confirmed that his “Patriotic News Agency” and other networks that spread pro-Trump propaganda have their bases in Hungary and Serbia, according to a Monday report by the U.K.ʼs Guardian.

A former financial backer of the British National Party (BNP) and former member of the anti-Muslim movement Britain First, Dowson confirmed he will be deploying his “Patriotic News Agency” and “other networks with their bases in Hungary and Serbia” to support Scottish independence and promote Scottish separatism, which is becoming a hot topic after the Brexit vote last year. The vow represents a U-turn for Dowson, previously a "fanatical defender of the union," in his own words.

Dowson reportedly said he would be directing the pro-independence online media campaign from his bases in Hungary and Serbia as well as in Britain, including from an office in Stirling, The Guardian said.

http://bbj.hu/politics/could-pro-trump-propaganda-originate-from-hungary_130460

No comment from me. LL

He's an odd one, LL. Now, if you were to ask me who is genuinely in the pay of the Kremlin, he'd be pretty high up my list.....

bb1 wrote:He's an odd one, LL. Now, if you were to ask me who is genuinely in the pay of the Kremlin, he'd be pretty high up my list.....

Well, I wouldn't know and, to be truthful as at present I am suffering a RA flareup, I don't give a tinker's whoopsy!! LL

Aw, take care!

Ditto from me too 

EU commissioner calls on Hungary to comply with asylum rules

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's new legislation allowing for the detention of asylum-seekers in shipping containers at border camps took effect Tuesday, with the European Union's commissioner for migration saying that it needs to comply with the bloc's rules.

Dimitris Avramopoulos said that EU and Hungarian experts will meet to discuss the new law, which has been sharply criticized by U.N. agencies and human rights advocates. The new legislation is meant to complement the fences built by Hungary in 2015 and this year on the borders with Serbia and Croatia. The barriers have drastically reduced the number of migrants able to pass through the country on their way to Germany and other destinations in Western Europe.

"We decided to work together through our experts and ensure that EU rules also are complied with," Avramopoulos said after meeting with Hungarian officials. "The European principles have been jointly and unanimously agreed by all member states and should therefore be respected and implemented by everyone, too."

"This implies giving effective access to the asylum procedure while fighting against abuses, but also ensuring a fair review of decisions," the commissioner added. Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said that while there was agreement with the EU about the need to increase European security, there were differences on how to deal with migrants trying to enter countries while avoiding regular border controls.

"Our positions came closer even today and by the summer, we will find a way to express a common position," Pinter said. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based group, said that the commissioner's visit was "long overdue" and noted that other countries in the region, like Poland and Slovenia, were following Hungary's example by adopting similarly restrictive asylum rules.

Hungary's new rules are "designed to make it difficult to seek asylum there, and unpleasant or downright dangerous for those who do," said Lydia Gall, an HRW researcher in Eastern Europe. She said that "Avramopoulos should demand that Hungary change course. He should also be willing to use legal enforcement action if Hungary fails to comply."

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, an advocate for asylum-seekers, said that a temporary order late Monday from the European Court of Human Rights was meant to prevent Hungary from taking eight teenagers and a woman with a high-risk pregnancy from refugee reception centers to the shipping container border camps.

"The rules coming into force today simply deny protection to children, deny protection to refugees and essentially resort to illegal detention," said Marta Pardavi, the Helsinki Committee's co-chair. Gyorgy Bakondi, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's national security adviser, said that 88 asylum-seekers, including 21 unaccompanied minors between the ages of 14 and 18, were now in reception centers around the country and could be taken to either of the two transit zones on the Serbian border, in the towns of Roszke and Tompa.

"We took these legal steps so that no one is able to enter Hungary illegally," Bakondi said. "Our aim is to decrease the security risk markedly present in Europe since 2015. We are protecting not only Hungary's borders, but Europe's as well."

U.N. children's agency UNICEF has also expressed concerns over that fact that unaccompanied minors older than 14 will also be detained in the border camps.

Central Europe leaders reject migrant plan

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Leaders from Central Europe said Tuesday they reject a European Union policy that calls for all member states to receive migrants, protesting suggestions that the level of their compliance could be linked to the availability of EU funds to them.

A meeting in Warsaw of the so-called Visegrad Group brought together Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and her counterparts from Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for talks including EU's migrant policies and a plan of sharing some 160,000 migrants among member states to ease the migrant wave pressure on Greece and Italy.

The EU recently warned of financial consequences to those who do not comply. Central European leaders said they reject the relocation plan and will not yield under the financial pressure, which they called an attempt at blackmail.

Austria's chancellor says he will push in Brussels for at least temporary exempt status from an EU-wide plan to distribute refugees.

The plan adopted in September 2015 foresaw sharing 160,000 asylum seekers from front-line states Greece and Italy around the EU over two years. But it has resulted in only a fraction being relocated.

Austria's quota is 1,953 but it, along with others, has yet to participate in the scheme. Chancellor Christian Kern said Tuesday that Austria should be exempt because it has fulfilled its obligations by handling those who slipped over its borders undetected.

But European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said "no country can unilaterally withdraw from a legally binding decision," and that Austria is "expected to fulfill its legal obligation."

The European Union's commissioner for migration is calling on Hungary to comply with the bloc's rules on dealing with asylum seekers.

New legislation entering into force in Hungary on Tuesday allows the detention of all asylum seekers in border container camps. It has been sharply criticized by UN agencies and human rights advocates.

EU Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos met with Hungarian officials and said experts would discuss the new asylum rules to ensure "that EU rules also are complied with."

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, an advocate for asylum seekers, said that a temporary order late Monday from the European Court of Human Rights prevents Hungary from taking eight teenagers and a woman with a high-risk pregnancy from refugee reception centers to the border container camps.

Good for them - why should the rest of Europe have to clean up Merkel's mess?

Countries have gone to war for less?

It beats me why Merkel is still so admired, Lily. Her attempts to expand the EU ever-eastwards played a large role, helped on by Washington, in the destruction of Ukraine. She's behaved like a tyrant to Greece, and wrapped the whole thing up by wrecking the EU itself.

I suspect that, if she hadn't invited hordes of military age young men into Europe, Brits would have carried on grumbling and groaning about the EU, but wouldn't actually have voted Leave. Instead, many people were utterly horrified by those endless columns of young men marching into European nations - all on Merkel's say-so.

Hungarian leader lashes out at George Soros-founded school

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The future of a Budapest-based university founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros depends on an agreement between the Hungarian and U.S. governments, Hungary's prime minister said Friday.

Viktor Orban, who considers the Hungarian-born Soros an ideological rival, said that Central European University, founded in 1991, is "cheating" with its unfair advantage over Hungarian universities because its diplomas are accepted in both Hungary and the U.S.

"This is not fair to Hungarian universities," Orban said on state radio. "There is competition among universities and it is inexplicable why we should put our own universities at a disadvantage ... while securing an unfair advantage for the foreign university."

CEU rector Michael Ignatieff has vowed to keep the university open despite a draft bill amending the law on higher education presented to parliament on Tuesday, which sets some new conditions on foreign universities operating in Hungary and is seen as directly targeting CEU.

Among the 28 foreign universities in Hungary, only CEU would fail to meet a requirement to also have a campus in its home country. "It makes no difference if someone is a billionaire in Hungary ... this university also has to respect the laws," Orban said. "Hungary is a country which always supports learning but does not tolerate cheating."

CEU rejected the prime minister's allegations. "Contrary to the prime minister's statement, there is no current Hungarian law that requires universities to have operations in their home countries in order to award degrees in Hungary," CEU said in a statement. "We have been lawful partners in Hungarian higher education for 25 years and any statement to the contrary is false."

Asked whether CEU would be in Hungary in six months or a year, Orban replied that "it depends on negotiations and an agreement between the American and Hungarian governments." Ignatieff, who is traveling Sunday to the U.S. to make CEU's case to lawmakers and the media, has said that any such agreement would have to be with the state of New York, where CEU is also accredited.

CEU officials "remain concerned that the government does not yet fully realize the implications of the proposed legislation," Ignatieff said Thursday in a message to CEU alumni and after meeting with Education Secretary Laszlo Palkovics. "It remains unclear why the government feels this legislation is necessary given their acknowledgement of CEU's contributions to Hungarian academic life."

Some Hungarian academics and university organizations have also expressed their support for CEU and their desire for the institution to remain in Hungary. "CEU is a very significant scholarly center," said Laszlo Lovasz, president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. "It is good that it operates in Budapest."

The U.S. embassy in Budapest said it was "very concerned" about the planned legislation, saying CEU "enjoys strong bipartisan support in the U.S. government." The government's efforts to stifle CEU come amid Orban's criticism of some of the non-governmental organizations supported by Soros' Open Society Foundations.

The stridently anti-immigration prime minister, an early supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump and whose "illiberal state" ideal is modeled on Russia and Turkey, has called groups like corruption watchdog Transparency International and human rights advocate the Hungarian Helsinki Committee "foreign agents" working against Hungarian interests, for example because they offer legal representation to asylum-seekers.

Good to see Soros coming under pressure publicly. He managed to hide in the shadows, while wreaking havoc, for far too long.

bb1 wrote:Good to see Soros coming under pressure publicly. He managed to hide in the shadows, while wreaking havoc, for far too long.

I find it a bit ironic that, in 1989, Orbán received a scholarship from the Soros Foundation to study political science at Pembroke College, Oxford. LL

IMO, Soros wasn't really showing his true colours then, LL. Remember, it was only when he trashed the UK economy, and hundreds of thousands of people's pensions and mortgages, that he came out of the shadows:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2773265/Billionaire-who-broke-the-Bank-of-England.html

Even then, he managed to stay pretty much in the financial sections of newspapers. The revelations of his constant sh*t-stirring in the governance of sovereign nations are fairly recent.

Orbán: “Soros university cheating”

The future of the “Soros university” depends on US-Hungarian intergovernmental talks, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview to public radio. A recent investigation by the Education Office revealed that the operation of several foreign universities, including Hungarian-born US financier “George Soros’s university”, fell foul of regulations, Orbán claimed, referring to the Central European University (CEU). “Even if someone is a billionaire, they cannot be above the law in Hungary … cheating is cheating, no matter who does it,” Orbán added.

The CEU “enjoys an unfair advantage” over Hungarian universities because it can award both a Hungarian degree and an American one despite “admitting that it does not operate abroad”, which is against Hungarian regulations, he insisted. In response to the question about whether the CEU would be able to operate in Hungary in the future, Orbán said this would depend on US-Hungarian talks and an agreement. No discussions have taken place with the US government on the issue, he added. In line with the bill, an intergovernmental agreement would be necessary for any foreign university to operate in Hungary, he said.

Large rally in Hungary for imperiled Soros-founded school

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Hungary's capital on Sunday to protest planned legal changes that are seen as targeting a Budapest university founded by billionaire Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros.

Participants walk during the rally, organized by the Freedom for Education movement, called CEU Now, Who's Next – Protest For The Free Education, in downtown Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 2, 2017

Many Hungarian and international scholars and institutions have expressed support for Central European University. The school, founded by Soros in 1991, enrolls over 1,400 students from 108 countries.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban considers Soros an ideological foe whose "open society" ideal contrasts with his own efforts to turn Hungary into an "illiberal state." Sunday's march started at Budapest's Corvinus University.

Corvinus professor Daniel Deak says the proposed changes to Hungary's higher education law could force CEU to close and was "a shot coming from the Hungarian government against all Hungarian universities."

Do they think Soros parts with all that money for the good of his health? Because he is a philanthropist with a heart of gold?

Hungary approves stricter terms for Soros-founded university.

The bill modifies rules regulating the 28 foreign universities in Hungary. Central European University said parts of the bill directly target it, and could force it to close. Orban, a former Soros scholarship recipient, has been increasingly critical of the Hungarian-born philanthropist, accusing him of wanting to influence Hungarian politics.

He said last week that CEU was "cheating" because it did not have a campus in its country of origin and because it issued diplomas recognized both in Hungary and the United States, giving it an undue advantage over local institutions. The CEU is accredited in New York state but does not have a U.S. campus.

The U.S. State Department as well as hundreds of academics and universities have expressed support for CEU, founded in 1991. It currently enrolls 1,400 students from 108 countries. Zoltan Balog, whose ministry oversees education, appeared to link CEU to the non-governmental organizations supported by Soros in Hungary. Speaking at the start of the debate in parliament, he described them as "faux-civic, agent organizations" seeking to hinder the democratically-elected Hungarian government.

"We are committed to preventing this activity with every legal means," Balog said. Leaders at CEU have vowed to keep the university open. "If the bill passes, it would mark the first time that a member of the European Union dared to legislate an attack on the academic freedom of a university," CEU rector Michael Ignatieff said in an opinion article in The New York Times on Sunday. "It would also mark the first time that an American ally, a member of NATO, openly attacked an American institution on its soil."

Ignatieff added that the bill aimed to "send a chill through Hungarian higher education and eliminate one of the few remaining institutions in Hungary that can stand up to the government." The draft bill requires the governments of the U.S. and Hungary to agree on new terms for the university's operations within the next few months. If a deal doesn't materialize, CEU would be banned from enrolling new students after Jan. 1, 2018 and would have to conclude its educational activities by 2021.

Balog said Hungary's government was ready to negotiate with the U.S. government on an agreement about the university.

Watchdog report: 'Breakdown of democracy' in Poland, Hungary

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — U.S.-based pro-democracy group Freedom House said Tuesday that a "spectacular breakdown of democracy" has been taking place in Poland and Hungary, two countries that stood as models of democratic change after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

The watchdog organization's report said that Hungary now has the lowest democracy score in the Central European region and that Poland's score is falling. It cited an attack by populist leaders in both countries on constitutional courts and the system of checks and balances, as well as the transformation of public media into "propaganda arms."

"The spectacular breakdown of democracy in these countries should serve as a warning about the fragility of the institutions that are necessary for liberal democracy, especially in settings where political norms have shallow roots and where populists are able to tap into broad social disaffection," the report said.

The downward spiral, according the report, began with the election in 2010 of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz party, who re-wrote the constitution, took over the courts, eroded critical media, attacked civic society and stoked anti-migrant feelings.

Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, under the leadership of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has taken similar steps since assuming power in 2015, eroding the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal and turning public media into a tool of propaganda for the party.

"Despite their apparent maturation, the media, the judiciary, and institutions of democratic representation in Poland and Hungary have turned out to be quite vulnerable," the report said. Freedom House made the assessment in its yearly "Nations in Transit" report, which assesses the state of democracy in 29 formerly communist countries from Central Europe and the Balkans to Central Asia.

It found backsliding on democracy across much of this region but also noted Ukraine, Romania, and Kosovo had made some "modest gains" thanks to reforms. The group also argued that the state of democracy in the region was influenced by Britain's vote to leave the European Union and the election of President Donald Trump in the United States, saying both developments "have emboldened anti-democratic populists."

"A critical mass of leaders in the region openly reject the idea of liberal democracy," said Nate Schenkkan, project director of Nations in Transit. "Populism increasingly is combining with crude ethnic nationalism in a way that threatens peace in Europe."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House

Freedom House is a U.S.-based[4] 501(c)(3) U.S. Government funded non-governmental organization (NGO) that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights.[5] Freedom House was founded in October 1941. Wendell Willkie and Eleanor Roosevelt served as its first honorary chairpersons. It describes itself as a "clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world". The organization was 66–85% funded by grants from the US government from 2006–15.[6][7][8]

Hopefully, Trump will stop US-funded NGOs from sh*t-stirring in other countries - they are, IMO, a damned nuisance, and only ever cause trouble.

They've also brought genuine US charities into disrepute, because so many NGOs are nothing more than CIA fronts.

The U.S. representative stated that alleged links between Freedom House and the CIA were "simply not true."

Aye, right.

Hungarian Free Press: Attack against CEU may endanger Hungarian universities in Romania.

Romania’s former prime minister, Victor Ponta, expressed his enthusiasm for planned legislation in Hungary, which endangers the future of Central European University in Budapest. Mr. Ponta, a Member of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, indicated that he intends to propose a similar law, in order to restrict the activities of foreign universities on Romanian soil.

This may serve as a wake-up call for Hungarians who are supportive of the Orbán government and its hate campaign against George Soros, as two Transylvanian universities that would find their operations in jeopardy are both funded by Hungary. These include Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania based in three Transylvanian cities and the Partium Christian University, located in Nagyvárad (Oradea).

EU rift with Hungary deepens over Orban actions

BRUSSELS (AP) — The rift between the European Union and member state Hungary is widening, with the EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker criticizing two recent issues that are seen as pushing Budapest away from EU values.

Juncker said Thursday he objects to an education bill that critics say targets a university founded by billionaire American philanthropist George Soros. It was pushed by lawmakers from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party.

On top of that, he criticized the Hungarian government's new National Consultation that has the motto "Let's Stop Brussels." Juncker said that "after reading this biased questionnaire, I would like to better understand Mr. Orban's intentions," adding the criticism of EU headquarters ran counter to Orban's reinforced support for the EU at a summit in Rome two weeks ago.

I find it terrifying that Juncker and co just cannot see why they're destroying the EU with their edicts, LL. If you're defending Soros, of all people - you're the Bad Guys.

I do believe that Juncker is a bad guy.  

European Parliament election, 2014

The European Council officially proposed Juncker to Parliament as candidate for the Presidency on 27 June, together with a strategic agenda setting out policy priorities for the upcoming Commission mandate period.[49]

For the first time the nomination was not by consensus, but the European Council voted 26-2 to propose Juncker for the position. Voting against were British PM David Cameron (Conservative Party / ECR) and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán (Fidesz / EPP), both of whom had frequently opposed Juncker during the election process.

Prior to the vote, various media had reported the heads of government of Sweden, Netherlands and Germany were also having similar concerns regarding either the candidate himself, or the way the nomination process was conducted. This was however never confirmed by the politicians in question.

The above re Cameron and Orban explains why Juncker launches his non-stop vitriol against the UK and Hungary. LL