HUNGARY: PM Orban's Bank Tax Fuels Dearth of Bank Credit...And Loans.

BLOOMBERG

The central bank reports that corporate loans have dropped 17.3% since peaking in March 2009, the biggest slump among the EU’s eastern economies.

The credit crunch grew even more after the government levied a $633 million special tax on lenders that will last through at least 2012.

“Lending conditions in Hungary are still becoming stricter, which goes against global trends,”said the Magyar Nemzeti Bank. It’s “a very bad sign regarding any future turnaround.”

CROATIA: Can Get Ready For The EU...In 2013...Maybe.

BLOOMBERG

   After 6 years of negotiations, EC president José Manuel Barroso (above) says Croatia could join the EU by July 2013.
   Barroso, EU President Herman van Rompuy and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban have lobbied for Croatia.
   However, Britain and the Netherlands have long balked at allowing Croatia's admission.
   But Croatia also balked at locating war crimes suspects for trial at The Hague.
   And it argued for years with Slovenia...over Adriatic Sea boundaries.

HUNGARY: Gov. Buys 21% Of Mol Oil For $2.65 Bn Usd.

MOSCOW TIMES

     The Hungarian government has bought a 21.2% stake in MOL Nyrt Oil...from Russian concern Surgutneftegaz...for  E1.88 billion/$2.65 billion usd.
    The funds will come from IMF loans obtained in 2008.
    An analyst quoted in the WSJ calls the purchase by the cash strapped nation..."bizarre" ...since Mol Nyrt gets all its oil from Russia.
    PM Viktor Orban (above) apparently feared a "creeping takeover" of the country's largest refiner by a Russian oil producer.

HUNGARY: Despite Protests, Parliament Approves New "More Democratic" Constitution; C.Bank Benchmark Rate Unchanged.

AP/K.C.STAR/

    There were street protests Friday and two of three opposition parties walked out Monday...but the Parliament still voted for a new "more democratic" constitution.
     The opposition accuses the governing Fidesz party of imposing a right-wing ideology in the new document.
     For the third month, Hungary’s central bank left its benchmark rate unchanged at 6 percent.

TO SEE: :56 Euronews English Video Report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3zpOWrXEpg&feature=player_embedded 

HUNGARY/ ROMANIA/ AUSTRIA: A Row In Brussels Over Nostalgic, Nationalistic Rug.

BBC/

     A huge carpet installed in the EU's Brussels home to mark Hungary's 6-month presidency is being called overly nationalistic nostalgia.
     The carpet features an "historical timeline" with a 1848 map of Greater Hungary, when Budapest ruled over large swathes of its neighbors.
    And it is pissing off some of those neighbors.
   An Austrian diplomat called it Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's "intention to overcome the Treaty of Trianon."
    A Romanian lawmaker said that "the importance given to 'Greater Hungary' is not the most inspired symbol for the Hungarian EU presidency".

FOR 1:43 ENGLISH VIDEO REPORT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMRQcMsqb0M&feature=player_embedded#!

HUNGARY: After "Frank" Meet With Barroso, PM Orban Back-Tracks, Sort Of, On Media Law.

NYTIMES/ S. CASTLE /

   After a "call to Jesus" discussion with EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, PM Viktor Orban says his government MAY change the controversial new media law IF required by the EU.
    Under the newly enacted law, a watchdog has the power to impose huge fines for violating "public interest, public morals or order".
    Barroso had warned that "freedom of the press is a sacred principle" for the EU.
    At a joint news conference with Barroso,  Orban admitted it was a ''sensitive issue."
   Orban claims that the main elements of the law exist in other EU nations and that there was no reason for the commission to suggest changes in Hungary if it did not ask other countries to amend their statutes.
   Orban has also admitted that he might have miscalculated by pushing the law before Hungary took over the EU lead.

HUNGARY: PM Orban Slams France And Germany Over Media Law Criticisms.

GUARDIAN/

  After assuming the 6-month presidency of the EU, PM Viktor Orban says he will not suffer any criticism over a recent media law from other EU governments.
     "Not one single state, France included, has the right to criticize and ask Hungary to do something,"Orban said. "I would like to request the French government to return to the level of reality and rational discussion."
    After German minister Werner Hoyer said Orban should be disqualified from discussing media issues because of the new law, the Hungarian ambassador went to Chancellor Angela Merkel. They claim the German government is now backing off.
"I am very happy the Germans have come back to reality," Orban said. "I expect the French to do the same."

FOR  IAN TRAYNOR'S CRITICAL ORBAN MINI PROFILE, SEE:
 "He is accused of being a closet Bonapartist bent on destroying or bypassing the checks and balances of democratic politics. Since his rightwing Fidesz party won a two-thirds majority in a general election seven months ago, Orbán has been a prime minister in a hurry, orchestrating a whirlwind of laws, decrees, and proposals that opponents describe as a funeral of Hungarian democracy and liberty, but which his supporters hail as a sorely needed "revolution".  
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/06/hungary-democratic-dictator-europe

HUNGARY/ CROATIA : 02 Jan. UPDATE: Critics Wary As Orban Assumes 6-Month EU Presidency.

LINK CHANGE/ BLOOMBERG/ Zoltan Simon /

  “The government needs to act now to correct the blot on the country’s international reputation,” said prominent German business leader Tamas Vahl.
    "Any news that makes investors question their faith in the rule of law in Hungary is dangerous.”
    Hungary has assumed the EU's six-month rotating presidency  and says it will use it to propose member enlargement, to focus on the Roma people and strengthen the bloc’s ability to respond to the economic malaise.
       But the passing of PM Viktor Orban's (pictured) recent law over media control is upsetting many EU members.
    “You can’t in the role of the EU presidency shake someone’s hand and turn around and tweak some of the most fundamental rights,” claimed Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. “This is about the essence of EU values, the freedom of opinion and expression.”
 

      
     

HUNGARY: 23 Dec UPDATE: Fidesz Party Says Controversial Media Law Could Be Amended; Central Bank Raises Interest Rate For 2nd Straight Month, Defying PM Orban.

LINK CHANGE/ BBC/
 
    A senior member of the governing party says a controversial new media law could be amended if the law was applied "in a wrong way, or there are problems" parliament would change. Janos Lazar said the Fidesz party's aim was to "improve" the Hungarian media, and "not to wage a war" against it.
  There were peaceful protests by several hundred people after parliament passed the law that greatly expanded private media monitoring and imposes hefty penalties.
   The ruling Fidesz party had claimed the law will ensure more balanced reporting but the opposition argued that the law only cements Fidesz's "media monopoly."
    News portal index.hu placed mock polls at the end of some of its stories, asking readers: "under the new media law, how much would you fine us for this article?"
   With a two-thirds majority in parliament, the government has stripped the Constitutional Court of most of its powers to rule on tax and state budget issues; amended the Constitution to fit its lawmaking plans; and disbanded the Budget Council, an independent body set earlier up to monitor budget developments.

ALSO:   Despite PM Viktor Orban's desires, the central bank is front loading interest-rate increases to fight inflation before Orban can "take over" monetary policy in his dispute with bank chief Andres Simor.
      The Magyar Nemzeti Bank yesterday raised the benchmark two-week deposit rate to 5.75 percent from 5.5 percent.
       The bankers defied Orban’s call for lower borrowing costs to support pro-growth government measures, which they said were “unsustainable.”
FOR DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-20/hungary-central-ban-may-frontload-rate-increases-before-orban-takes-over-.html