An opposition daily welcomes Croatia’s EU membership as a stabilizing factor in the Balkans, while a liberal commentator warns that Croatia may prove unable to defend its producers from German and Austrian competitors. READ MORE
The Bratislava-based Hungarian daily warns that the relatively high abortion figures in the southern districts of Slovakia may indicate a deep moral crisis among ethnic Hungarians. READ MORE
A leading liberal expert describes the vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as “a victory for Orbán, albeit a tiny one”. READ MORE
A left-wing commentator finds it ironic that in the pan-European institution the Hungarian government should have been saved from humiliation by Moscow. According to his pro-government counterpart, the match ended in a draw, but the tug of war continues. READ MORE
An independent conservative commentator condemns the organiser of an informal left-liberal meeting for expelling two critical journalists and suggests that the left-liberal élite represented there is doomed to failure. Népszabadság believes, however that such people are the only team who stand a chance of defeating the governing right wing at the next elections. READ MORE
Right-wing columnists continue to express disdain for far-right MPs who occupied the Speaker’s rostrum and repeatedly chanted the word “traitors,” while Parliament was voting on the new Land Act on Friday 21 June. A left-wing commentator calls for an immediate tax on leased arable land. READ MORE
Left-wing columnists fear further austerity measures. A pro-government pundit notes that although the excessive deficit procedure has been lifted, the government should not expect an end to criticism from the EU. A conservative commentator, on the other hand, hopes that Fidesz will call a truce with the EU. READ MORE
Commenting on the noisy occupation of the Speaker’s rostrum staged by right-wing radical MPs in Parliament, a pro-government columnist compares Jobbik to the Jacobins who plunged Paris into a spiral of terror during their rule. A centrist analyst predicts a series of similar spectacular acts as the elections get closer. READ MORE
Left-wing pundits contend that the government is trying to downplay external criticism by labeling its adversaries as biased left-wing partisans. They also hint that as a result of the looming elections in the EU and Hungary, the debates between the country and the EU institutions will probably intensify. READ MORE