Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban toured key European capitals last week.
| Photo Credit: AP

Hungary takes over the European Union’s (EU) rotating presidency on July 1, promising to be an “honest broker” despite widespread concerns over what critics see as an authoritarian, Russia-friendly government.

Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has run the central European country since 2010 aiming to transform it into an “illiberal democracy”, frequently clashes with Brussels over rule-of-law and human rights issues.

He is also the only EU leader who has maintained ties with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine. He has refused to send arms to Kyiv and repeatedly slammed sanctions against Moscow over the war.

Last year, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution highlighting Hungary’s “backsliding” on democratic values, and questioning how it could “credibly” assume the bloc’s six-month presidency.

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“Ready to assume duties and responsibilities”

Budapest insists it is ready to assume “the duties and responsibilities” steering the bloc of 27 countries.

“We will be honest brokers, working loyally with all member states and institutions,” Hungarian EU Affairs Minister Janos Boka said in mid-June as he unveiled the presidency’s programme.

“At the same time, we believe Hungary has a strong mandate to pursue a strong European policy. Our work will reflect this vision of Europe,” he added.

Hungary’s programme slogan? “Make Europe Great Again” — echoing the rallying cry of Mr. Orban’s “good friend” former U.S. President Donald Trump — which already caused a stir in Brussels.

After Hungary last held the EU presidency in 2011, Mr. Orban boasted about handing out “flicks,” “smacks,” and “friendly slaps” to the “excitable tormentors” of the European Parliament.

This time, the nationalist leader (61) is even more combative, having vowed to “occupy Brussels” during the campaign for European elections in early June, banking on a right-wing breakthrough.

But even though far-right parties made gains, Mr. Orban’s Fidesz party currently stands isolated, unable to find a group in the European Parliament that suits it.

On Sunday, Mr. Orban announced he wanted to form his own group, together with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) and the centrist ANO party of ex-Czech premier Andrej Babis. They still need parties from at least four other countries to join them.

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Last week, Mr. Orban failed to derail a deal to return Ursula von der Leyen as head of the powerful European Commission and two others from a centrist alliance taking the other top jobs.

Meanwhile, Ms. von der Leyen put off a courtesy visit to Budapest, originally planned for the Presidency opening. A new date has not been set.

Seven priorities for EU presidency

To garner support for Hungary’s programme, Mr. Orban toured key European capitals last week. Among the country’s seven priorities for its EU presidency are stemming “illegal migration” and bringing the Western Balkans countries “one step closer” to EU membership.

Mr. Orban can use the presidency to set the agenda, but he cannot achieve results without the commission’s support, Daniel Hegedus, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund told AFP.

He also noted that the Hungarian premier has limited opportunity to act as a spoiler, as the outgoing Belgian presidency and EU institutions have rushed to conclude important decisions.

Last week, the European Union adopted a fresh sanction package against Russia and formally launched “historic” accession talks with Ukraine. “Everybody was striving to reduce instability, thus restricting the room for manoeuvre for the Hungarian presidency,” Mr. Hegedus said. “But more “trolling on the communication front” is to be expected,” he added.

Among Hungary’s battles with Brussels, Budapest is looking to unlock billions of euros in EU funds frozen over issues including LGBTQ rights, the treatment of asylum seekers and public procurement.

Starting June 11, obtaining a Schengen visa for travel to Europe will come at a higher cost, as the European Commission has approved a fee increase. The fee for adults will rise from 80 euros to 90 euros, while for children, it will increase from 40 euros to 45 euros. This change affects nationals from various countries, including South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and China, who require the Schengen visa for tourism or family visits spanning up to 90 days in 28 European countries.

The European Union attributes this fee adjustment to rising inflation within its member states. The decision follows the Commission’s routine revision of Schengen visa fees every three years. Additionally, the EU is considering further fee hikes for countries displaying insufficient cooperation on readmission, potentially increasing costs to 135 euros for non-cooperative countries.

Despite the fee increase, the Schengen visa facilitation agreements remain unaffected unless explicitly referenced in the Visa Code. These agreements dictate specific provisions regarding visa fees.

The adjustment in visa fees arrives amidst broader global immigration updates. For instance, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in net migration, prompting the government to implement measures to manage immigration levels, particularly regarding student dependents and overseas workers’ income thresholds.

Meanwhile, Australia commemorates 75 years of welcoming immigrants, with nearly 6 million individuals from 200 countries obtaining Australian citizenship since 1949. The country has also increased its refugee and humanitarian programmes, signalling a commitment to humanitarian assistance and immigration reform.

In Japan, a new Digital Nomad Visa is set to launch, offering six-month visas to eligible individuals earning a specified income, joining several countries worldwide catering to remote workers.

As immigration policies evolve globally, travellers and migrants should remain vigilant against scams and misinformation. Authorities in countries like New Zealand caution against fraudulent job offers and urge individuals to use approved immigration pathways.

In response to the changing immigration landscape, airlines like Turkish Airlines and Etihad Airways are introducing new services and partnerships to enhance passenger experiences, while Japan implements visitor caps at Mount Fuji to preserve its environment from overtourism.

The European Commission has issued a set aft of guidelines for digital giants to tackle risks to elections including disinformation. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

The EU called on Facebook, TikTok and other tech titans on March 26 to crack down on deepfakes and other AI-generated content by using clear labels ahead of Europe-wide polls in June.

The recommendation is part of a raft of guidelines published under a landmark content law by the European Commission for digital giants to tackle risks to elections including disinformation. The EU executive body has unleashed a string of measures to clamp down on big tech, especially regarding content moderation.

Its biggest tool is the Digital Services Act (DSA) under which the bloc has designated 22 digital platforms as “very large” including Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and X.

There has been feverish excitement over artificial intelligence since OpenAI’s ChatGPT arrived on the scene in late 2022, but the EU’s concerns over the technology’s harms have grown in parallel.

Brussels especially fears the impact of Russian “manipulation” and “disinformation” on elections taking place in the bloc’s 27 member states on June 6-9.

In the new guidelines, the Commission said the largest platforms “should assess and mitigate specific risks linked to AI, for example by clearly labelling content generated by AI (such as deepfakes)”.

It recommended that big platforms promote official information on elections and “reduce the monetisation and virality of content that threatens the integrity of electoral processes” to diminish any risks.

“With today’s guidelines we are making full use of all the tools offered by the DSA to ensure platforms comply with their obligations and are not misused to manipulate our elections, while safeguarding freedom of expression,” said the EU’s top tech enforcer, Thierry Breton.

While the guidelines are not legally binding, platforms must explain what other “equally effective” measures they are taking to limit the risks if they do not adhere to them.

The EU can ask for more information and if regulators do not believe there is full compliance, they can hit the firms with probes that could lead to hefty fines.

‘Trusted’ information

Under the new guidelines, the Commission also said political advertising “should be clearly labelled as such” before a tougher law on the issue comes into force in 2025. It also urges platforms to have mechanisms “to reduce the impact of incidents that could have a significant effect on the election outcome or turnout”. The EU will conduct “stress-tests” with relevant platforms in late April, it said.

X has already been under investigation since December over content moderation.

It pressed Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and four other platforms to provide more information on how they are countering AI risks to polls on March 14.

In the past few weeks, several of the companies including Meta have outlined their plans.

TikTok has announced more of the measures it was taking including push notifications from April that will direct users to find more “trusted and authoritative” information about the June vote.

TikTok has around 142 million monthly active users in the EU — and is increasingly used as a source of political information among young people.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von Der Leyen, right, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides shake hands after a press conference at the Joint Search and Rescue Coordination center in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Friday March 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed hopes Friday that a humanitarian aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza will open this weekend, amid fears of famine in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

“We are very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Sunday,” Ms. von der Leyen said following a visit to the Cypriot port of Larnaca with Cyprus’s President Nikos Christodoulides.

Her announcement came after U.S. President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union address on Thursday, said the U.S. military would establish a temporary port off Gaza’s coast to bring in aid.

Senior U.S. administration officials said the effort announced by Biden builds upon the maritime aid corridor proposed by Cyprus — the closest European Union member to Gaza.

Ms. Von der Leyen described the situation in Gaza as “dire… and we face a humanitarian catastrophe”.

She said “an initial pilot operation” would be launched on Friday, and the United Arab Emirates had helped activate the corridor “by securing the first of many shipments of goods to the people of Gaza”.

The European Commission issued a joint statement with Cyprus, the UAE, United States and United Kingdom “endorsing the activation” of the maritime aid corridor to Gaza.

“The delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to Gaza by sea will be complex, and our nations will continue to assess and adjust our efforts to ensure we deliver aid as effectively as possible,” the statement said.

“This maritime corridor can — and must — be part of a sustained effort to increase the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial commodities into Gaza through all possible routes.”

The statement added that Cyprus “will soon convene senior officials to discuss how we can accelerate this maritime channel”.

Israel welcomes opening

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron, in a post on social media platform X, said his country, the United States and partners “will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza”.

But he added: “We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it.”

Mr. Christodoulides said the sea corridor aimed to “scale up” aid by complementing other routes and airdrops.

A senior United States administration official said the Cyprus initiative “provides a platform at the port of Larnaca for the transloading of assistance and screening by Israeli officials of Gaza-bound goods”.

A ship could take roughly 10 hours to reach Gaza from Larnaca, about 370 kilometres 370 (230 miles) away.

Israel welcomed the planned opening of the Cyprus-Gaza maritime corridor.

“The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after a security check according to Israeli standards,” foreign ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The European Union’s (EU) leading political umbrella group, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), is set to back European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on March 7 for a second term running the bloc’s powerful executive.

A former German Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen steered the European Commission over the last five years through the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a related energy crunch in Europe.

The first woman ever to hold the influential job, she saw Britain out of the bloc, put into law more ambitious climate and environment policies, and oversaw new joint EU spending on energy, health and post-pandemic economic recovery.

If reappointed by leaders of the EU’s 27 member countries, she will have another term charting the bloc’s policies on everything from big tech and state aid to Chinese investment screening and sanctions against Russia.

Currently seen as a clear favourite for the job, Ms. Von der Leyen would begin a new term as Europe looks to strengthen its defence and security while Russia wages war on its borders and Donald Trump eyes a return to the White House.

Ms. Von der Leyen is the only candidate in the EPP vote on Thursday, which marks a stepping stone towards what seems like her likely reappointment.

EPP delegates cast votes from 08.15 GMT with results due from 10.15. Ms. Von der Leyen needs an absolute majority to win, something the head of the EPP said on Wednesday was bound to happen. “We stand behind Ursula von der Leyen,” said Manfred Weber.

“Europe is tested in this moment of time. We are facing a lot of challenges,” he said. “We vote against extremists and please vote for the serious centre, the biggest party,” the European People’s Party.”

Despite a rise in far-right and populist parties in the bloc, the EPP has kept a clear lead among other political groups ahead of the June European Parliament election, according to opinion polls.

The biggest hurdle for Ms. von der Leyen to win a second term might be clearing a vote in the new European Parliament, where eurosceptics are expected to win more seats. That might force the Commission head to seek votes beyond the broad traditional political centre, possibly at the price of specific policies.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, left, and Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni, right, address the media during a joint press conference following a visit of the island of Lampedusa in Italy, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is struggling with a surge in migrant arrivals, and promised a 10-point EU action plan to help Italy deal with the situation.

Nearly 1,26,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, almost double the figure by the same date in 2022. The small island of Lampedusa has recently seen a sharp rise in the number of people arriving by boat, with more than 7,000 landing this week, more than the island’s permanent population.

Ms. Von der Leyen was accompanied by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the car carrying them to Lampedusa’s migrant reception centre was briefly blocked by locals protesting over the burden facing the island.

“We’re working on it … we are doing our best,” Ms. Meloni told the protesters.

Following the visit to the centre, Ms. von der Leyen, who is expected to run for a second term when her mandate expires next year, set out a 10-point “action plan” to relieve pressure on Italy, where most migrants arrive from North Africa’s shores by boat.

“Irregular migration is a European challenge and it needs a European response, we are in this together,” she said at a joint news conference with Ms. Meloni. “You can count on the EU,” she added in Italian.

The plan includes using the EU’s external borders agency Frontex to identify migrants arriving in Italy and repatriate those not eligible for asylum.

Frontex would also step up sea and aerial surveillance of migrant boats and help crack down on people-smugglers, Ms. von der Leyen said, adding that she had already spoken to several EU leaders about the plan and was confident of their support.

She promised to speed up the supply of equipment to the coastguard of Tunisia, currently the main departure point for sea migrants, and accelerate the transfer of funds to Tunis under a deal struck in July aimed at curbing migration.

Ms. Von der Leyen also vowed to increase access to legal channels for the migrants, saying “the better we are with legal migration the stricter we can be with irregular migration,” while committing to a sustained battle against traffickers.

The surge in migrant crossings is a major political headache for Ms. Meloni, who took office in October last year and has made fighting illegal immigration a cornerstone of her rise to power.

She reiterated on Sunday that the right approach is to prevent people leaving for Europe, not redistributing migrants around the bloc.

On Monday her Cabinet will meet to approve tough measures, including building new detention and repatriation centres and extending the maximum time migrants can be held for.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary was hit with a pie in the face by environmental protesters in Brussels on Thursday. According to the BBC, the airline chief was preparing to speak outside European Union headquarters when two female protesters dressed in black smeared him with two cream pies. 

A video going viral online captured the exact moment of the incident. “Stop the pollution,” shouted one of the women just before she smashed Mr O’Leary in the face. “Welcome in Belgium,” said another while hitting the airline chief in the back of the head with another pie. 

Watch the video below: 

“stop the pollution” is what the environmental activist shouted after she hit Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary with a pie during a press conference in Brussels. pic.twitter.com/nbHva1sA30

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) September 7, 2023

At the end of the video, while both of the women were seen walking away after the attack, Mr O’Leary appeared unfazed. “Well done,” he responded before wiping cream from his face and continuing with the planned press briefing. 

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Following the incident, Ryanair’s official account jokingly wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Mr O’Leary had received a “warm welcome in Brussels”. “Passengers so happy with our routes and petition that they’re celebrating with cake,” the post read. 

Warm welcome in Brussels today to celebrate RYR’s 7 new routes for Winter 23. Passengers so happy with our routes and petition that they’re celebrating with cake. We’ve got tasty low fares! pic.twitter.com/MpT6ssSX6a

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 7, 2023

“Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price,” the airline wrote in a subsequent post. 

Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price pic.twitter.com/8jruYI3ZxE

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 7, 2023

According to the BBC, Mr O’Leary was set to speak to the media about a petition he was presenting to Ursula Von Der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. “My only complaint was that the cream was artificial and not tasty,” the airline chief later joked at a news conference.

Meanwhile, according to The Guardian, the activists’ pie protest came as Ryanair pilots in Belgium announced a new strike on September 14 and 15 – their fourth stoppage in two months – over pay and working conditions. Mr O’Leary was outside EU headquarters reportedly with 1.5 million signatures demanding that flights be allowed to cross French airspace during air traffic control strikes there.