Intensive programme brings new insights for UK members about Hungary
I was proud to lead the first bilateral delegation to Hungary in 10 years, from the 25-27 November 2024, especially in light of our Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, meeting with Prime Minister Orban at the European Political Community summit in Budapest just a couple of weeks earlier.
The delegation was small but very experienced with former BGIPU Chair and current Treasurer the Rt Hon Dame Karen Bradley MP, Baroness Anelay, Kate Osborne MP and most ably supported by BGIPU’s Joe Perry.
We had a busy schedule of 3 packed days which started with a visit to the British Embassy to meet with the UK Ambassador Paul Fox who superbly set the scene giving us all the background and information we would need to navigate the next 3 days.
We discussed in some depth with the Ambassador topics we expected to raise such as women’s rights, LGBT rights and ethnic minority groups rights as well as even more sensitively Russia’s war against Ukraine and Hungary’s position on the war and their relationship with Ukraine and Russia. This proved invaluable for us during the meetings that followed over the 3 days.
Our first meeting was with Dr Marta Matrai, Deputy Speaker. It was a very formal but convivial meeting which continued over lunch. Topics covered included the EU/UK relationship post Brexit, illegal migration, inflationary pressures since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and women’s and LGBT rights which undoubtedly proved the most difficult areas of the discussion. Dr Matrai then took us through the 5 priorities for the Hungarian presidency of the EU.
Following this we held meetings with members of the Committee on Nationalities as well as the Committees on Culture and Justice, before meeting with Laszlo Sebian-Petrovszki MP who chairs the “For a Diverse Hungary” pro-LGBT rights group in the Hungarian Parliament. Our conversation with Laszlo covered the situation with LGBT rights in Hungary and what it is like for him as one of Hungary’s only openly LGBT MPs.
Our second day began at the Ukrainian Embassy where we met with the Charge d’Affaires to discuss relations between Hungary and Ukraine and Hungary’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as the situation of Ukrainian refugees in Hungary. We then returned to the Parliament to meet with the UK Friendship Group, where we discussed UK-Hungary relations and the strong ties that many Hungarians have to the UK, as well as the UK’s relations with the EU more widely, and Hungary’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Over lunch with the Hungarian IPU Group and the Foreign Affairs Committee, the discussion focused on Hungary’s relations with Ukraine and its position on Russia’s war against Ukraine. It was an open and frank discussion and gave us an insight into some of the reasoning behind Hungary’s position on the war and relations with Ukraine and Russia in general, which significantly differ from the UK position. We ended the day by meeting with the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, with a focus on the Hungary’s notable push to develop EVs.
On day 3 we had a full day of meetings organised by and hosted at the British Embassy for which we were extremely grateful to the Ambassador and his team. We met with a large number of charities, NGOs and other civil society organisations working on women’s rights, LGBT rights and Roma rights as well with as a group of independent journalists to discuss Hungary’s media landscape and the difficulties they face. We also had a very interesting meeting on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking with charities and groups working in this area.
Our programme ended with a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Centre where we learned about the almost annihilation of the Jewish population in Hungary from pre WW2 numbers of 1 million within the former Hungarian borders to only around 50k – 150k (fully Jewish – grandparent Jewish) today. We were also told how welcoming Hungary is to Jews as a country to live in and as a holiday destination and that there is very little antisemitism and there has been no reported rise in antisemitism since the massacre on 7th October in Israel, which was very good to hear.
We went directly to the airport from the Memorial Centre reflecting on what had been a very full, fascinating, and extremely informative delegation that we were all so grateful to have been given the opportunity to take part in.
Huge thanks to the Hungarian Parliament and British Ambassador Paul Fox and his team for helping to put such an excellent agenda together as well as to the FCDO team in London both for their in-person briefings prior to the delegation and their debrief afterwards which I hope they found useful also.
Lastly special thanks to the wonderful Joe Perry for his patience and expertise in ensuring this all happened seamlessly without a glitch.
UK Delegation in the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest
UK delegation meet the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Hungary, Dr Marta Matrai
UK delegation meets Chair of the "For a Diverse Hungary" parliamentary group, László Sebián-Petrovszki MP
