Hungary once again managed to hit the headlines in Central-Europe for numerous good reasons.

This week Hungarians across the country honoured the martyrs and freedom fighters who bravely fought against the rule of the Soviet Union in 1956. Naturally, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also commemorated those, who gave their lives during the uprising. In his speech, he said: “I have no doubt that the youth of today’s Pest would stand strong just as their grandparents did in 1956”.

Those words resonated with many of our international allies, including Matteo Salvini, the former Italian Deputy Prime Minister of Italy. According to Salvini, the Italians of today are still extremely grateful for the Hungarians of 1956. He underlined the fact that “culturally the Hungarians and the Italians are extremely close to each other, and that is why we have the same mind set regarding migration, the protection of our boarders and families, and of course the dangers and threats which derive for George Soros and the European Union.”

Speaking of the EU, it is worth to mention, that Hungarians were able to welcome some good news from Brussels. According to reports, the European Parliament’s plenary rejected a draft resolution on stepping up search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. The original draft resolution, which was accepted on Monday by the EP’s civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE) committee, called for a permanent and sustainable solution and for setting up a distribution mechanism – also known as a quote – for migrants rescued at sea. However, fortunately the EP plenary held in Strasbourg on Thursday rejected the proposal.

Last, Péter Szijjártó Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade once again reiterated the Hungarian government’s stance on migration in a speech he gave in the capital of the Republic of Albania, at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe forum. According to Szijjártó, “EU enlargement, and particularly the integration of the Western Balkans, is in Hungary’s national security, national strategic and national economic interests”. He also highlighted the fact that if the countries of the Western Balkans are not integrated, it may be more difficult to rely on them with relation to stopping a new wave of migration.