Hungarians expect Brussels to set aside political debates
NEWS
Europeans reject Big Tech’s arbitrary censorship
The main topic of public debate is the role, policy-making function and manipulative potential of social media. The fact that Twitter banned President Donald Trump’s accounts permanently – while in addition Facebook and Instagram blocked the accounts belonging to the former POTUS for two weeks – stirred a great storm within public discourse. But Apple, Google and Amazon became subject to public scrutiny also after they made the mobile app for a social site called Parler, popular in U.S. conservative circles, inaccessible. The significance of the issue was shown by the fact that, among others, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire have also expressed concerns about Big Tech’s overpower. A recent film, The Social Dilemma, examines the negative effects of social networking sites on the human psyche and social relationships in general.
Judit Varga: The rule of law cannot be protected by means that violate the rule of law
The rule of law cannot be protected by means that violate the rule of law – said Judit Varga, Minister of Justice, at the online conference of Századvég Foundation on Tuesday, referring to the EU’s actions against Hungary.
Hungary resists climate change extremes
In recent years, the role of climate change issue in European politics and public discourse has grown significantly. Excessive sensitization and political polarization are directing an increasing mass of people towards two extremes – the denial of climate change and the fear of the consequences of the phenomenon. This week, the European Council is going to discuss to raise the Community’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target, making the issue extremely topical. Based on its Project Europe research, Századvég examined the attitudes of people in the 27 Member States of the European Union and the United Kingdom towards climate change. Based on the results, Hungarians are the least susceptible to extremism among the examined countries.
Europeans would stop population decline with the encouragement to have children and not by the resettlement of migrants
Although the institution of the family has been a pillar of European societies for a millennium, today, the radical left is increasingly seeking to question the importance of family and having children by promoting mass migration and the idea of open society. To this end, Commissioner for Home Affairs in Brussels Ylva Johansson said that in her view, there is a need for an immigrant workforce, as European society ages. The analysis based on the research of Project Europe conducted by Századvég examined how Europeans (EU + UK) view the importance of family and establishing a family, the solution of the problems caused by population decline and public support for having children. The survey shows that, despite the efforts of Brussels and the radical left, the vast majority of European citizens are still committed to the institution of the family and do not consider migration to be a solution to demographic difficulties.
How to recover from corona without choking the planet
With the start of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government of Hungary has made it clear that both human lives and jobs must be protected and that the country's viability must be maintained, subject to compliance with certain protection measures. Accordingly, the control strategy focuses on the compliance with general hygienic, distancing and mask wearing rules. Századvég has examined the Hungarian population’s perception of the spread of the pandemic and the related protection measures.
Three-quarters of European citizens consider the rights to security and protection of life more important than freedoms
In recent years, security and order and the conflict between human rights and political freedoms, such as mass migration and terrorism, have often been an issue. The global viral outbreak in 2020 has also highlighted the partial contradiction between freedoms and the legitimate aspects of security. The analysis based on the research of Project Europe conducted by Századvég examines how citizens in the 27 Member States of the European Union and the United Kingdom view the issue of order and freedoms, and how they see the situation of legal certainty and equality of rights in their own country.
Europeans expect realistic climate objectives and a fair agreement from the leaders of the European Union
The European Council will hold its last meeting on 10 and 11 December. At the event, the heads of government will decide on the Commission’s proposal to raise the 2030 climate protection target. Changing the current 40 percent emission reduction target to 55 percent may cause significant additional costs for most countries, and thus their citizens, so a heated debate is expected at the meeting. Based on the results of the Project Europe research, Századvég analysed the views of the citizens of the 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom on the main dilemmas to be considered in the decision.
The majority of Europe believe in a strong nation-state cooperation and not in increasing Brussels’ influence
Recently, Europe has been facing challenges that have not been seen for a long time. Regarding the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the associated economic difficulties and the management of increasing migratory pressures, European citizens can rightly claim Brussels’ effective involvement and rapid EU-level decision-making that will provide meaningful assistance to the Member States. The analysis, based on the research of Project Europe conducted by Századvég, focuses on the 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom, showing that although European citizens are committed to the European Union as a community and a cooperation scheme, they disapprove of the activity of Brussels’ bureaucracy that is leading the European Union. The survey also covered the assessment of member state sovereignty, European and national identities, and of NGOs and lobbying organizations engaging in political pressure.
Brussels has turned its back on the most infected countries
The coronavirus pandemic has posed challenges seen long ago to both the national governments of Europe and the European Union. Thus, it is not surprising that in recent months, public life on the continent has been determined by debates about slowing the spread of the pandemic and addressing its negative consequences. In view of the health and economic challenges posed by the coronavirus, Századvég conducted a representative poll of 30,000 people in 30 countries on the continent between 7 September and 15 October. The survey examined population attitudes towards the spread of the pandemic and the pandemic management performance of the European Union and individual countries.
Hungarians refuse Brussels’ attaching conditions to economic aid during the pandemic
In a health and economic emergency caused by the coronavirus, the decision-making bodies in Brussels, overriding the agreement reached at the extraordinary meeting of the European Council in July, have agreed to set up a mechanism that would require that EU payments to Member States are subject to political and ideological conditions, including the share of the fund aiming to repair the economic damage caused by the pandemic. There is a danger that, through the planned mechanism, Brussels will make the disbursement of EU funds legally due to Member States conditional on the fulfilment of criteria that deeply divide European societies and are on the political agenda of the radical left, such as unrestricted migration, the quota system and the uncritical acceptance of LGBTQ requirements. In view of this, Hungary and Poland exercised a political veto on the proposal. Századvég Foundation examined the Hungarian population’s position on the subject.
Hungarians think Trump will win the american presidential election
Based on a unique study conducted in parallel in the United States and Hungary, the Lounge Group reported to MTI that Hungarians think the incumbent president, Donald Trump will win the U.S. presidential election held on 3rd November. The original article was published on the site of Mandiner on 27 October 2020.
IT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF HUNGARIANS TO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN ACCORDING TO THE MAJORITY FAMILY VALUE
It has been a global phenomenon for years that the radical left is working intensively to reshape public thinking and to push the majority family model and parenting principles into the background in order to promote the LGBTQ and trans lifestyles. In parallel, gender clinics in the United States and some Western European countries already provide hormone treatments for children, and an NGO called Transgender Europe, funded by the Open Society Foundations, is campaigning for the abolition of age restrictions on the legal recognition of transgender people. In light of these developments, it is worth exploring in depth the constitutional issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, including relevant international conventions.
HUNGARY CAN CURB THE PANDEMIC AGAIN, BUT THE FIGHT HAS NOT ENDED YET
With the start of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government of Hungary has made it clear that both human lives and jobs must be protected and that the country's viability must be maintained, subject to compliance with certain protection measures. Accordingly, the control strategy focuses on the compliance with general hygienic, distancing and mask wearing rules. Századvég has examined the Hungarian population’s perception of the spread of the pandemic and the related protection measures.
IT IS NOT THE VACCINE WE SHOULD BE AFRAID OF, BUT THE VIRUS – FACTS ABOUT THE VACCINE FOR CORONAVIRUS
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, most of us have learnt about the concepts of virology, epidemiology and internal medicine, as well as antibody, viral reproduction rate and cytokine storm. The general public is exchanging views on mortality rates, the viability of SARS-CoV-2, and the effectiveness of control methods. However, there is an area which nobody dares to enter except for experts. The framework for scientific literature is not large enough to make the background of the developments truly transparent and understandable to most of us. This is the field of drug development and vaccine development.
