Diplomacy & Trade 2011 July - August

01 cover:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:47 PM Page 1

the year of central europe

the results of the hungarian presidency SEE MORE ON PAGE

6.

SEE MORE ON PAGE

dt inside >

the start of the polish presidency

TOM LANTOS INSTITUTE OPENS IN BUDAPEST

country focus

PAGE 4

>

COUNTRY FOCUS: POLAND

>

CHINA AND HUNGARY: A NEW TYPE OF ALLIANCE PAGE 18

>

UNION: START OF A DIALOG

PAGE 19

>

NUCLEAR SAFETY AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS

PAGE 22

>

VISEGRAD- JEWEL OF THE DANUBE

>

THE DIVINE DRINK: THE BEER

PAGES 8-15

PAGE 24-25 PAGE 26

poland

ambassador of poland > THE POLISH AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY, ROMAN KOWALSKI says it is a habit in Poland that each ambassador presents for approval his mission program. “Before coming to Budapest, I indicated many – in my opinion – important issues; the key elements were intensification of cooperation, economy and infrastructure as well as social dimension of our relations, including first of all the involvement of the youngest generation into popularizing the idea of friendship between our nations.” Almost a year after arriving to Hungary, he tells Diplomacy and Trade it is a good moment to take the first look back at his activity as ambassador here. “I am very pleased, because during this extremely important year for Hungary many important events in a natural way supported the realization of my tasks.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8.

chinese pM in hungary

HUF 840, EUR 3

> CHINESE PRIME MINISTER WEN JIABAO PAID a two-day official visit to Hungary in June, the first by a Chinese premier in 24 years. In a written speech delivered at the airport, Wen stressed that Hungary was one of the first countries to forge diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. He also said Hungary, holder of the rotating European Union Presidency in the first half of 2011, had worked strenuously to help develop China-EU ties.

Wen Jiabao’s visit resulted in a dozen agreements between the two countries.

SEE ARTICLE ON PAGE

18

10.

otto habsburg dies > A DESCENDANT – AND LATER THE HEAD – OF THE HABSBURG DYNASTY, Otto von Habsburg (Nov 20, 1912, Reichenau – July 4, 2011, Pocking) was a politician and author of international standing; an advocate and embodiment of European and universal values. He contributed greatly to the improvement of HungarianGerman relations and to Hungary’s accession to the EU. His staunch support for the Hungarian cause and for Hungarian people brought him universal recognition and popularity in Hungary.

02_03 news:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:52 PM Page 1

{ news } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

ANDREW PRINCZ, the founding editor of Diplomacy&Trade died of a heart attack in Quito, Ecuador on June 24th in the 41st year of his life.

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

discovering little known cultures.

In the first issue of Diplomacy&Trade he has written a commentary under the title „Remember the past, look to the future”. The title of his column was related to its place „Last Page” But now in the focus of the sorrowfully unexpected event it has to be reinterpreted. The last page has come far too early.

His favourite quotation posted on Facebook was of Mark Twain:

> 2011 IS THE YEAR OF CENTRAL EUROPE AT THE HELM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Hungary has just handed over the rotating presidency of the EU to Poland that carries on several issues of the Hungarian program. This time, Diplomacy and Trade has Poland in focus. Our articles tell you – among others – about the historic roots of the traditional Hungarian-Polish friendship, trade and cultural relations and, of course, we also deal with Polish EU Presidency.

Let me take the opportunity here to thank the Polish Ambassador to Hungary, H.E. Roman Kowalski for the in-depth interview on the major aspects of bilateral relations and the helpful embassy staff for their cooperation.

On the news front, we cover the end, and achievements, of the Hungarian EU Presidency, the agreements signed during the visit of the Chinese premier and also look at the issue of nuclear safety in the light of the latest developments. In the cultural field, we take you to a special event on the dialogue for the cooperation of diverse people.

This edition of Diplomacy and Trade also features two smaller sections. One describes Visegrad, a picturesque small riverside town north of Budapest; and the other one is about beer, the ‘liquid bread’, the ancient ‘divine drink’ whose history dates back at least 7,000 years.

I would like to take a moment to remember two outstanding individuals who were very close associates and friends of our publishing group and who recently passed away.

Andrew Princz, Hungarian/Canadian (41), was the founding editor of Diplomacy & Trade and later went on to a career as a “cultural navigator” and author. His love of life and people can be found on his website, www.ontheglobe.com George Lang, Hungarian/American (86), was one of the most talented and creative restaurateurs in the world. He made his professional return to Hungary in 1991 to refurbish and reopen the Gundel restaurant and reintroduce Hungarian gastronomy to the world. He was especially helpful in collaborating with our Best of Budapest publication and award gala, giving his expert opinions and home to the gala for many years.

THIS IS THE BARE AND ASTONISHING NEWS. Behind it there is a kind man, a writer, cultural navigator, seeker and finder, generous idealist, lover of the world and life.

Andrew received a Fine Arts Degree at Concordia University.

He moved to Hungary where he founded and edited our magazine, Diplomacy and Trade and wrote and published a book entitled Bridging the Divide, on the influence of the 1956 Hungarian revolution upon the lives of families separated by immigration.

Andrew also produced the guidebooks Frommer's Budapest & the Best of Hungary and Fodor's Cuba. He

Since our next issue is published in September, let me wish all our readers enjoyable summer holidays.

And don’t forget our slogan: monthly in print and daily on the web’: www.dteurope.com

interviewed numerous world leaders and his articles appeared in major newspapers and magazines, including the Wall Street Journal.

After he returned to Montreal, he became a regular contributor of numerous daily newspapers.

On his very last trip in Ecuador he participated on Cultour, the global heritage and travel exhibition in Quito, on a meeting what was about the very essence of what he had been doing in the past few years.

Andrew had explored over sixty-five countries on four continents and specialized in

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

That’s what he did as editor of ontheglobe.com.

Threw off the bowlines.

Sailed away from the harbor. Explored, dreamt, discovered. He had to finish his journey, without being able to complete his journeys.

We have to carry on, remembering Andrew, but looking to the future.

May he rest in peace.

Peter Freed PUBLISHER

Hillary Clinton meets PM Orban

will cost Ft 10 million. City Hall officials say the white

new flag of the Hungarian capital. The Assembly voted

color background symbolizes purity and neutrality while

21 against two (with Socialist Party representatives

the national color triangles originating from the coun-

abstaining) for the new flag this June. The new flag will

try's 1848-49 revolution and war of independence mean

be white and edged with red, white and green triangles,

that Budapest is the capital of Hungary. Opposition

with Budapest's coat of arms in the center.

members of the Municipality Assembly objected to the

When planning the modification, Mayor Tarlos said the

fact that the leadership of the city changed the symbol

change was necessary because "Budapest's current red,

of the capital without the involvement of professional

yellow and blue flag can be easily confused with the

and civil organizations.

PUBLISHER I Peter Freed MANAGING EDITOR I Péter Kerényi EDITOR I Sándor Laczkó CONTRIBUTORS I Réka A. Francisck, Sándor Laczkó, Péter Kerényi, András

Newsstand price: HUF 840, EUR 3 Subscriptions are available for an annual fee of EUR 33 in Hungary, or EUR 90 to all other destinations.

Payment may be made with American Express, MC, Visa, and Eurocard.

Send requests and inquiries to Duax Kft. 1034 Budapest, Bécsi út 60.

Telephone [+36-70] 320-3051 Fax [+36-1] 350-5660 Email editor@dteurope.com Advertising adsales@dteurope.com

Müller/portfolio.hu, Tamás Magyarics, Tamás Katona, Cecilia Björner, Grazyna Maria Bernatowicz, Michal Kosior, István Bedô DESIGN & PRODUCTION I Tamás Külkey PHOTO EDITOR I Dávid Harangozó PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS I András Kovács/EU (COVER), Szilárd Koszticsák/MTI (COVER), Júlia Bedô, Attila Németh, Jura Nanuk, György Kiss, Miklós Marczis, Péter Fáth, Attila Stenzinger, Mihály Kútvölgyi, Pro Visegrád Kft., Dreher Zrt., MTI Photo: Lajos Soós, Szilárd Koszticsák, Péter Trebitsch, Tibor Illyés SALES MANAGER I Mónika Barbay MOBILE: 06 70 3203057 SALES REPRESENTATIVE I Gizella Balogh MOBILE: 06 70 3202865

A SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER for new subscribers SUBSCRIBE TO DIPLOMACY & TRADE NOW and receive a free gift!

With every new and renewed Diplomacy&Trade subscription, you will receive a BEST OF BUDAPEST VIPCARD allowing you significant savings at many fine restaurants, hotels, shops and service providers. You can see the list of participating partners at our website www.bestofbudapest.com.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE I Piroska Trencséni DISTRIBUTION MANAGER I Tibor Ocsenás ADMINISTRATION I Judit Ludányi ASSISTANTS I Rózsa Budai,

Katalin Gazdag

Copyright ©2011 Duax Kft., all rights reserved ISSN 1589-8075 This magazine is produced by Duax Kft. The opinions published in the magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Duax Kft.

1 COPY: EURO 33

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

2

2 0 1 1 J U LY

3 COPIES: EURO 66

5 COPIEs: EURO 99

10 COPIEs: Euro 176

MORE INFO: info@dteurope.com

Jura Nanuk, Attila Nemeth/US Embassy

Romanian national flag." The new flags for the capital

> The Budapest Municipality Assembly has approved the

PHOTOS BY

BUDAPEST CHANGES COLORS

> Following the celebration of the centennial of President Reagan’s birth and the inauguration of the Tom Lantos’s institute, U. S. Hungarian Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was received by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban . “The prime minister and I reaffirmed the strong ties between our countries. We talked about our mutual commitment in Afghanistan, where Hungary’s contributions have been outstanding.

We talked too about the important work that Hungary is doing at home as well as through the presidency of the EU to ensure that the Roma people enjoy the same rights and freedoms as any other Europeans,” Clinton noted.

02_03 news:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:52 PM Page 2

{ news } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

BOSCH MOVES PRODUCTION FROM WALES TO HUNGARY

IBM TURNS 100

Stagnating Business and Deteriorating Consumer Expectations > In June GKI-Erste economic confidence index adjusted for seasonal effects continued to deteriorate. According to the empirical survey conducted by GKI (www.gki.hu) with the support of the EU business expectations remained unchanged after the significant drop recorded in May, whereas consumer expectations have been deteriorating continuously for more than half a year.

In the business sector only industrial expectations improved, but they increased significantly less than the extent of the drop in May. The assessment of the production of the preceding period stagnated, whereas expectations and the evaluation of the stock of orders turned better. Respondents qualified the stocks of own production somewhat smaller than before. In construction the confidence index continued to decrease after the huge drop in May. The evaluation of the production level of the past three months basically remained unchanged but that of orders deteriorated markedly. Business prospects of civil engineering companies were somewhat less adverse in June than those of companies in structural architecture. The confidence index of trade dropped substantially after the slight decrease in the past two months. The assessment of the orders deteriorated the most but sales positions were also considered to be unfavourable. The evaluation of stocks remained unchanged.

Service companies assessed the sales of the subsequent period worse and those of the past period better, whereas opinion on the course of the business turned better compared with May. Intentions of employment had been weakening for three months in industry and construction, but they also turned better in the other sectors. The fear from unemployment of households strengthened, too. Intentions of price increases weakened in all sectors, whereas inflationary expectations of consumers strengthened slightly. The evaluation of the prospects of the Hungarian economy continued to deteriorate in all sectors as well except for industry and among consumers.

The consumer confidence index decreased again. Households assessed their future financial situation, saving capability and the possibility of purchasing high-value durables worse than before.

Source: Surveys of GKI

PHOTOS BY

Courtesy pictures

> INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES, BETTER KNOWN BY ITS ACRONYM ‘IBM’, celebrates its 100 anniversary. On June 18, 1911, the venerable Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company was founded.

The company changed its name in 1924 to International Business Machines. Since its humble beginnings, the ‘Big Blue’ has gone on to be one of the largest and most profitable companies in the United States and helped pave the way for the modern computing industry.

Through a rare blend of ingenuity, persistence and a strict adherence to its core objectives summarized by its motto, "Think," IBM survived not only the Depression and several recessions, but technological shifts and intense competition as well. Throughout its 100-year history, IBM has bet on the introduction of new technology, from time clocks, butcher scales and coffee grinders; to punch-card machines and typewriters; to tape storage, mainframes and personal computers; and, now, to smart social media.

These days, IBM Consulting is still a formidable force, in the business technology consulting market. Although, it lost its innovation in technology, that 100 years have given IBM many things that others cannot match: reputation, experience, network, clout and words of advice that people would value and listen to.

One may wonder what tech companies we see today will look like in a century’s time, or how many of them will last that long, anyway.

> THE END OF JUNE SAW THE END OF PRODUCTION AT THE MISKIN plant of the German automobile components manufacturer Bosch in South Wales as work is transferred to the company's plant Hungary where labor costs are lower.

Robert Bosch GmbH, the world’s largest supplier of automobile components, that opened the Miskin plant in 1991, made a decision in January 2010 to move production from Wales to Hungary where it has manufacturing capacities in four different locations. At that time, Bosch employed at the Miskin plant some 900 people, of which less than 500 remained by now. The factory will be taken over by the engineering company Renishaw from October but there is no information, yet, of how many people they will employ.

As the BBC reported, the world economic crisis resulted in a major drop in the sales of alternators (generator components). The German company carried out a feasibility study and it concluded that it should move work to Hungary where labor costs are roughly two-thirds what they are in Wales. Since the crisis put great pressure on the automobile industry to cut costs, the lower expenses in Hungary were important consideration.

The Bosch Group has been present in Hungary since 1989 and currently employs some 7,000 people in this country. This makes the firm the second largest foreign industrial employer in Hungary.

GKI ECONOMIC RESEARCH

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

3

04 tom lantos :Layout 1 7/12/11 1:52 PM Page 1

{ tom lantos } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

THE SOLEMN INAUGURATION OF TOM LANTOS INSTITUTE BUDAPEST

“We must remember that the veneer of civilization is paper thin. We are its guardians and we can never rest.” - Tom Lantos

> AN ETTE LANTOS ended her speech with the words of a popular Kossuth song in Hungarian

President Reagan and a President Clinton, just to pick one. – told in her speech Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. „ But Tom always believed that regardless of our political party, we were fundamentally on the same side. We were for freedom. We were for democracy. And that through debate, sometimes contested, we would keep working toward what our founders set as the goal, a more perfect union.

Tom was, indeed, a renaissance man. He had a full life that we honor and celebrate. But it would be a disservice to him if we did not look forward to what I am sure he expects from us.

> PR IME MI N ISTER VI KTOR OR BAN pays tribute to Congressman Lantos at the opening of the inauguration event.

through the village can distinguish the roof of his house from that of his neighbors?” And once again, the rabbi shook his head no. And then the rabbi spoke, “The moment when you know that the night has turned to day is when you see the face of a stranger and recognize him as your brother.” A story with a big message, as all of Tom’s stories had; a message not only for leaders but also for citizens.

Norbert Kerenyi: Stories of a Survivor NEW BOOK CONTAINS AN INTERESTING MIXTURE OF TALES FROM CHILDHOOD TO HOLOCAUST, COMMUNISM AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA The writer of Stories of a Survivor, Norbert Kerenyi, was a life-long friend of late Congressman Tom Lantos. They were classmates in secondary school, and members of the same forced working unit of Jewish laborers in 1944. In his book he depicts the dangerous adventures of his childhood and youth in Second World War Hungary under Fascism, the eventful years full of humorous moments in the post-war communist dictatorship, and interesting memories of his career in Canada since 1957, as well as stories about friends and companions throughout his life. Readers of the book get remembrance and amusement, tears and laughter, nostalgia and excitement with ironic, sometimes sarcastic humor. How I look at these things today? – he puts the question in the epilogue of the book. “By these days of my life, experienced as I am, I am convinced that to a

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

4

> SEC R ETARY OF STATE Hillary Clinton reflects on our magazine Diplomacy&Trade at the opening.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

certain extent we have to survive in every moment of our life. However, survival evidently has not the same difficulty in different situations. We have to bring plenty of quick decisions day by day. The thing that makes the difference is the distinction, what is at stake.”

In the years of Fascism it was evidently our life.

Under the communist dictatorship it was the freedom of our life. And here among the peaceful conditions of Canada it is the quality of our life. He looked death in the face as a child, who had to grow up suddenly, and did the same, later as a pathologist, as well. His unique way of looking at all the things he had to face in his life led him to the firm conviction: “In all of us DOES EXIST the ability to survive.

We are almost invincible. We can survive anything, except our death.”

Every story in Stories of a Survivor stands independently. Through the author’s eyes, readers will come to understand the everyday moments of those dark days that he had to survive. One can read a whole chapter of the book on amazon.com, where it can be obtained.

David Harangozo, Peter Fath

Tom Lantos was elected to office in 1980.

He came to the United States as a penniless holocaust survivor from Hungary and rose to become the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and one of the country's leading champions of human rights. The tragic experience of his youth made him an eloquent and ardent champion for the human rights of all people.

After the opening words of Rita Izsak the director of the Tom Lantos institute as a start of the solemn inauguration PM Viktor Orban greeted the guests and the invited guest speakers of the event, among them Anett Lantos, the founder of Tom Lantos foundation, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Laszlo Tokes vice president of the European Parliament.

Diplomacy &Trade commemorates the event with excerpts from the speech of Hillary Clinton who recalled some moments of the late Congressman’s life.

When Tom grew up here in this country that he loved so much, the only debate that mattered was the one between freedom and fascism, and then between freedom and communism. - Tom believed that in our country there were partisan political differences, of course, between Republicans and Democrats or between a

>

Democracy is struggling to be born around the world today. The nations of Central and Eastern Europe have so much to share from their own struggles and triumphs. So, the timing of this institute could not be more opportune. On Europe’s doorstep – across the Middle East and Northern Africa – citizens are demanding what so many others have before.

From the United States in the 18th century, to Chile and Tunisia, South Korea, East Timor, post-Soviet countries over the past 30 years.

What are they demanding? That their voices be heard. That they have the opportunity to fulfill their own God-given potentials with enough freedom to make responsible choices for themselves, their families, and communities, that government become more effective, more responsive, more transparent, more open.And what they are asking demands an answer from all of us... …And you won’t be surprised to hear one of Tom’s famous rabbi stories. Anybody who knew Tom Lantos could not talk to him for more than 20 minutes without hearing a rabbi story, so let me leave you with one of his favorites. It goes like this: A rabbi asks his followers, “How can one know the moment when the night has ended and the dawn has come?” And his students gave various answers. One asked, “Is it when a man walking through the woods can tell whether an approaching animal is a wolf or a dog?”

The rabbi shook his head no. Another student asked, “Could it be when a man walking

PHOTOS BY

"TOM LANTOS WAS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. HE WAS THE EMBODIMENT OF WHAT IT MEANT TO HAVE ONE'S FREEDOM DENIED AND THEN TO FIND IT AND TO INSIST THAT AMERICA STAND FOR SPREADING FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY TO OTHERS." EXCLAIMED FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE

05 news:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:56 PM Page 1

{ news } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

GEORGE LANG WAS THE RE-INVENTOR OF GUNDEL RESTAURANT > George Lang passed away on the fifth of July in his home in New York City at age of 86. He was born in a little country village, Tamasi in western Hungary. After completing his school studies, he went to Budapest to study music.

Being a perfectionist, throughout his life, he had the vision to become one of the best violin players in the world. His encouraging progress was cut short by Word War II when his parents were transported to concentration camp where they perished. He was taken to labor camp from which he escaped. Having no relatives left in Hungary, he decided to leave the country and even Europe. He carefully planned his escape and was transported to Vienna hidden in a coffin.

Soon, he managed his way to New York City where he went on studying music and played in different orchestras.

One night, as he attended a concert by Yasha Heifetz in Central Park and after listening to his rendition of Paganin,i he went home, packed away his violin forever as he knew that he would never even be close to the best.

He started to study as a cook in one of the best places and

SECOND AUDI & KEMPINSKI CORVINUS GOLF CUP

then, he went on to be the Banquet Manager in the

> GRACEFUL ELEGANCE, UNCOMPROMISED QUALITY, FAIR COMPETITION REMAIN THE HALLMARKS OF THE SECOND AUDI & KEMPINSKI CORVINUS GOLF CUP. But it wasn’t only the players who excelled at this prestigious sports and social event. The two organizers, Audi and Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest too won accolades for their share of the work to make the tournament the success it is.

On June 25, we all set out for the Cup, which was held in the Royal Balaton Golf & Yacht Club in picturesque Balatonudvari. The weather report may have sounded inauspicious but the weather actually turned out to be bright and sunny, aside from brief afternoon showers and occasional strong wind.

This year, the Cup offered new diversions.

Many enjoyed massage by the therapists of the Kempinski SPA, who worked with Phytomer products. There were also speedboat excursions and carriage rides. But the undisputed star of the day proved to be the Segway test park: both adults and children just loved their balancing act with these battery-operated mini vehicles.

A returning feature of the Cup is an Audi test drive. Presented in Hungary for the very first time, the Audi Q3 impressed all drivers. In the afternoon, Sauska Winery and Brill Palinka House introduced their special drinks. Meanwhile, children took part in their own activities under professional supervision, allowing their parents to fully appreciate their diversions without concern for the little ones. This reputable event’s food and drink offering was catered by the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, bringing its signature finesse and expertise to the table. Upon arrival, guests started the day with the Kempinski Corvinus’ award-winning breakfast, while for lunch, they enjoyed a similarly splendid buffet of delicacies. Throughout the tournament, Emil Bootsma, General Manager of the Kempinski Corvinus, rode around in a golf cart, serving refreshments himself.

The awards ceremony and dinner were also great fun. It is now a tradition to announce gross and net winners, while this year, special awards were also presented: one for the „longest drive” and another for the „nearest to the pin”. The former, at 308 meters, is a record.

Audi and Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest have offered all registration revenues for the benefit of Gyermekotthonunkban Elo Gyermekeink Jovojeert Alapitvány (For the Future of Children Living in our Children’s Homes).

Waldorf Astoria where he organized hundreds of functions.

In 1975, he rented a space in the Hotel des Artistes. There, he brought to life the Cafe des Artistes, which was for 30 years one of the best restaurants among the tens of thousands of establishments in New York. In the meantime, he set up a restaurant consulting office, hiring the best experts in different fields and was involved in over 400 projects in several countries. Originally, he had not intended to come back to Hungary but when he wrote the Cuisine of Hungary, he came to collect recipes and stated that life is a bit different to that the one he left. In 1991, he encouraged Ronald Lauder to create a partnership to restore the fame of the old Gundel Restaurant. With Lauder’s financial background, he invited the best constructors and craftsmen available. Gundel reopened in 1992 and due to George’s tremendous marketing work, so far not seen in Hungary, gained widespread fame throughout the world. He considered the reconstruction of Gundel as one of his greatest successes, and he was only 67 years old... Although, he did not hide his methods, it was really hard to follow him. The most important things to learn from him along with the hundreds of tricks of the restaurant business were his perfectionism and respect toward the guest. He enjoyed Gundel for fourteen years.

When he died, he left behind his loving family, wife Jenifer, daughter Georgina and son Simon.

REAGAN STATUE UNVEILED

PHOTOS BY

David Harangozo, D&T Archive, Courtesy pictures

> A STATUE OF FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN WAS UNVEILED AT A CEREMONY on June 29 at Szabadsag ter in downtown Budapest as part of a year-long celebration commemorating the 100th birthday of the 40th President. Speakers at the ceremony included - among others - U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The event also included video montages of Reagan’s life and work.

The seven-foot bronze statue was sculpted by Istvan Mate, a renowned Hungarian artist who has over 140 pieces on display throughout Hungary. The statue portrays Reagan in mid-stride with his hands open as if he were taking a walk in the square, which is meant to represent the ease with which he was able to connect with people. The event was one of the celebrations that took place throughout Europe in commemoration of the Reagan Centennial.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

5

06 eu presidency:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:56 PM Page 1

{ eu presidency } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE HUNGARIAN EU PRESIDENCY

AS PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN PREDICTED AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, 2011 has indeed turned out to be one of the most difficult years for the European Union, but Hungary – building on the work of its Trio partners, Spain and Belgium – tried to steer the work of the Council firmly and steadily. Officials at the Hungarian Foreign Ministry say the country’s EU Presidency faced difficult challenges and encountered unforeseeable events, and they claim the Presidency has shown remarkable flexibility in dealing with them in full cooperation with the other institutions.

>

Strong Europe WITH THE IDEA THAT EUROPE IS FACING THE SAME PROBLEMS AS HUNGARY, the EU Presidency presented a program for a “Strong Europe” at the European level, and two plans for a stronger Hungary to restore growth and budgetary health on both levels. During the Hungarian Presidency an agreement was reached on 99% of the Economic Governance package of six legislative proposals and the successful completion of the first ever European Semester. These all help put the European economy back on track. Regarding the Hungarian objective of coming up with a European Roma strategy, Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi proudly stressed recently that the European Council endorsed the Hungarian Presidency’s report on Roma inclusion and the country looks forward to the implementation of the EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020.

> F O R E I G N M I N I ST E R JA N O S M A RTO N Y I , Minister of State for EU Affairs Eniko Gyori and Government Commissioner responsible for Hungary's EU Presidency Ferenc Robak (pictured left to right) at the last working session of the presidency. that both countries implement all provisions of the Schengen acquis. Considering the tension on this issue at the beginning of the Hungarian Presidency, this is an achievement that nobody thought would be feasible.

Energy issues

Croatia talks concluded

> W H AT D E F I N E S H U N G A RY ? : Rubic Cube-shaped bookshelf and antique furniture pieces - some of the pieces that arrived from Justus Lipsius House.

AS MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Hungary is also proud to put Central Europe back on the map by the Hungarian and Polish presidencies. As a result, the European Council has endorsed the EU strategy for the Danube Region and accession negotiations with Croatia have been concluded. Success with Croatia creates a visible momentum for driving enlargement in the whole Western Balkans. In this regard, Hungary paid special importance to chairing the Western Balkans Forum upon the mandate given by the High Representative.

Also, progress has been achieved on accession negotiations with Iceland opening four chapters and already temporarily closing two.

The European Council concluded on the Schengen evaluation for Romania and Bulgaria

KEEPING EUROPE’S ENERGY FLOWING IN THE 21ST CENTURY is a priority for the EU. In this respect, the achievements of the Hungarian Presidency include the adoption of conclusions on the Energy Strategy and Energy Infrastructure priorities (as foreseen and endorsed by the February European Council); the adoption of the Energy Roadmap 2050 and an agreement with the European Parliament on the Regulation on Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) to be confirmed by Coreper. In the efforts of creating a consumer and Business friendly Europe and completion of the Single Market, there was enhanced cooperation on unitary patent (with the general approach agreed today in Council); an agreement on the Consumer Rights Directive; an agreement on the Food information for consumers and conclusions were drawn on the Single Market Act defining the main priorities for action.

Serving the citizens IN THE ISSUE OF “THE EU AT THE SERVICE OF CITIZENS”, conclusions were reached on the

“Looking back at the past, each and every presidency has been forced to react to crises. Hungary prepared for this and created a flexible working structure for the Presidency.”

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

6

2 0 1 1 J U LY

future of Cohesion Policy; there were Presidency conclusions on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and an agreement was concluded by the European Council on revised rules against cyber-crime and on political guidelines on the Regulation on Succession.

Unforeseen developments OFFICIALS WORKING FOR THE HUNGARIAN EU PRESIDENCY emphasize that no matter how well things are planned in advance, there is always that extra element which makes or breaks a presidency. Looking back at the past, each and every presidency has been forced to react to crises. Hungary prepared for this and created a flexible working structure for the Presidency. The unpredictable events did indeed come, stronger and more plentiful than anyone could have expected. The European Union reacted quickly and effectively to the events in the Eurozone, Japan and in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA).

Numbers and partners AS FOR LEGISLATIVE FILES CLOSED DURING THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY: in total, 103 files have been solved, out of these 43 OLP (Office of Legal Policy) legislative files with the European Parliament (20 in 1st reading, 6 in 2nd reading and 1 in 3rd reading) and 60 Council or Presidency conclusions have been adopted. For its EU Presidency, Hungary received a lot of support from the Trio partners, the European Council, the European Commission or the European Parliament.

Foreign Ministry officials says Hungary hopes to have been a competent and pragmatic presidency in cooperation with all other EU Institutions and looks forward to helping the Polish Presidency of the Council in its efforts. <

Lajos Soos/MTI, David Harangozo

BETWEEN JULY 9-17, THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM hosted an exhibition promoting the Hungarian EU Presidency, by displaying the most interesting and equally important objects relating the EU presidency.

These included presents made exclusively for prominent guests Hungary received or visited, and also decoration elements - things that somehow symbolizes and represents Hungary.

Up to 100 different objects arrived to the Museum during the last six months. Some of them came from Brussels, more precisely from the Justus Lipsius House, the place that is always decorated and furnished by the current president country. Hungarian artists, back in January, decided to present a summary of their country's culture while decorating the building. A theme of the famous Rubic cube was used when creating a book shelf. A so-called "musical armchair" also stood on the scene, a masterpiece of Adam Hock.

As soon as one sat down on it, it started playing in the year of the Liszt bicentenarium what else than - a catchy Liszt tune. A great part of the exhibited items were supplied by the Foreign Ministry’s Communication Department for the EU Presidency.

>

Managing Difficult Situations in Working for a Stronger Europe

PHOTO BY

Objects of the Presidency on Display

07 dunaparty:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:57 PM Page 1

{ eu presidency } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Hungarian EU Presidency Ends with a Danube Party ONE OF THE PRIORITIES OF THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY WAS THE DANUBE STRATEGY, AND THIS IS WHY THE GOVERNMENT CHOSE THE RIVER DANUBE AS THE VENUE FOR THE CELEBRATIONS. events,” she added. The twelve sites along the Danube – from ’the Bay’ to Szechenyi Square – hosted events for the public, providing entertainment and delight. Monika Balatoni, creative director at the Hungarofest Office, said that over the past six months, hundreds of cultural programs and supporting events have taken place in Hungary and across Europe, which hundreds of thousands of people have enjoyed access to. She added that a number of cultural events were being offered to the public to mark the end of this six-month term. “The goal was to address

THE END OF THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EU was marked by a colorful three-day series of events, between June 24-26. “The six-month presidency has been a good opportunity to show ourselves and our colorful culture,” government spokesperson Anna Nagy said. She added that the presidency had been a great opportunity to improve our knowledge of ‘Brusselian’: in other words, to get to know the decision-making mechanisms at close quarters.

“It had also been an excellent opportunity to bring the European Union closer to the public. Not only have we been able to learn more about the EU, but we have also been able to showcase our country and our diverse culture.” With reference to the Danube Party, the spokesperson said that one of the priorities of the Hungarian presidency was the Danube Strategy, and this is why they have chosen the River Danube as the venue for the celebrations. “This river, which flows through so many countries, symbolizes our interdependence, so it will be a worthy backdrop for the

PHOTOS BY

Courtesy pictures

>

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

7

people of all ages, from children to the older generation,” she added. Accordingly, during the three-day program, the Hungarian Canoe Federation staged a dragon boat competition and water show, while Magyar Telekom organized its long-established T-Mobile Connection concert, this year as part of the Danube Party, featuring pop star Kesha. The ‘brightness of Budapest’ provided by the final of Visualpower Paint up, a competition unique in the world, offered spectacular sights outside the headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. <

08 country focus:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:58 PM Page 1

Poland at the Helm

Common Past

The priorities of the Polish EU Presidency: continuation of the Hungarian Presidency, page 10 new challenges and progress

Analysis of the cooperation of the two nations and two societies from historical page 11 perspective

Polish Trade

Polish Institute

Polish Amber

The strength of the Polish economy translates into trade surpluses with Hungary and the region page

It contributes to the vibrant cultural life of Budapest, organizing up to 130 different programs each year page 13

One of the best selling Polish exports, the object of admiration, astonishment and curiosity since page 15 ancient times

12

Enhancing the Traditional Friendship INTERVIEW WITH THE AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND

AMBASSADOR KOWALSKI IS OF THE > VIEW THAT THE “EUROPEAN UNION PRESIDENCY has become the natural platform for the extremely active relations of our countries.” Economic relations are developing very well and “in the area of social relations, we witness a renaissance of very direct contacts between cities, regions, civil organizations and what is especially important to me a renaissance of interest towards Poland and the tradition of PolishHungarian friendship between the youngest generation.” As an example, he mentions that almost 10,000 art works arrived from 500 Hungarian schools for a recent drawing competition for children

FACTS COMPARED AREA country comparison to the world: POPULATION country comparison to the world: POPULATION GROWTH RATE country comparison to the world BIRTH RATE country comparison to the world LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH country comparison to the world NET MIGRATION RATE country comparison to the world GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) country comparison to the world UNEMPLOYMENT RATE country comparison to the world TELEPHONES - MOBILE CELLULAR country comparison to the world AIRPORTS country comparison to the world Source: World Factbook

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

8

2 0 1 1 J U LY

HUNGARY

93,028 sq km 109 9,992,339 (July 2010 est.)

83 -0.156% (2010 est.)

212 9.7 births/1,000 population 200 74.57 years 93 1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population 48 $18,600 63 10.7% (2010 est.)

117 12,224,000 54 43 100

POLAND

312,685 sq km 69 38,444,588 (2011 est).

34 0,062% (2011 est.)

202 10,01 births/1,000 population 193 76.05 years 77 -0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population 135 $18,800 65 11,8% 126 44,553,000 28 129 47

David Harangozo

BY SAN DOR L ACZKO

about Poland and Polish-Hungarian relations. The Ambassador believes political relations are exceptional. “There were more and less active periods in our cooperation, sometimes we used to have different evaluation of events and processes, but during difficult moments of our history, we could always count on each other. Let me just mention the exceptional experience of the horrible time of war (in WWII), which disclosed a beautiful card of real friendship in the relations of our nations when the Polish-Hungarian border became a passage for life for tens of thousands of Polish refugees who found help and peaceful haven in Hungary. We tried to compensate that in 1956 by organizing blood transports to Budapest, for example. Such events form an exceptional base on which one can build a lot and I think that we have done so

both sides. They are ready to provide assistance in identifying business partners in Poland or providing advice and information on doing business in Poland.”

As for cultural relations, the ambassador is happy to note that “there is a significant interest in Hungary towards Polish contemporary art, music (mainly jazz music), literature, and history. It is significant, that Hungary was the first country where Andrzej Wajda’s “Katyn” film was screened in cinemas outside Poland.” Recently, successful Polish-Hungarian film coproductions incl uded ‘Essential Killing’ by Jerzy Skolimowski and ‘1’ by Pater Sparrow.

The celebration of Chopin Year 2010 in Hungary was a big success. As Chopin and Liszt were friends, most Chopin Year events in Hungary recalled relation between these two geniuses. The Hungarian National Museum currently hosts a large historical exhibition about Hungarian-Polish relations.

During the Polish Presidency in autumn, Poland will be the guest of honor of Design Week Budapest, with a large exhibition of Polish design in the Museum of Applied Arts (October). Poland will also be the guest of honor of the JazzForum Budapest (September), with several renowned Polish jazz musicians arriving. <

PHOTO BY

C O U N T I N U E D F R O M F R O N T PA G E >

together, not only in bilateral dimension, but also for the region and for Europe.” He adds that these relations are important for Hungary, too. This was highlighted by the first foreign trip of the current Hungarian prime minister was to the Polish capital.

On the economic front, the Ambassador says Polish-Hungarian relations have been developing very well recently. Last year’s data show that “despite problems in the Hungarian economy (and of course, the world economic crisis), we have been witnessing a dynamic recovery in our mutual trade level.”

The growth of the Polish economy has been among the highest in Europe recently and projections also predict a steady development. The latest figures available indicate that Polish companies invested EUR 220.5 million in Hungary by the end of 2009.

The most important Polish investors operate in the areas of food industry, production of wound dressing materials, information technology and clothing retail sector.

“However, we have noticed a decreasing interest in investing in Hungary by Polish companies recently due to the difficult economic situation,” Ambassador Kowalski points out. “The Polish Embassy’s staff in Budapest is always keen on facilitating contacts between business communities on

09 lengyel borok:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:59 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Visegrad Four FROM POLISH PERSPECTIVE B Y G R A Z Y N A M A R I A B E R N AT O W I C Z POLISH UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE

COOPERATION WITHIN THE VISEGRAD GROUP, WHICH BEGAN 20 YEARS AGO AND IS CURRENTLY THRIVING, is a perfect example of states with the same historical experiences and similar challenges on the European and global stage, forging genuine ties and pursuing common interests. Alongside our successful systemic transformation, the reversal of geopolitical ramifications, and NATO and EU accession, V4 cooperation is a key factor which reinforces our international position, all the while stimulating socio-economic growth – both domestically and in the region as a whole.

Over the last few years, this cooperation has reached an unparallel level of intensity, increasingly providing a platform for addressing current EU and international issues. We have come to regard it as a natural element of our conscious endeavours in the political, social and cultural spheres, and in planning business ventures, just like we have come to consider ourselves part of the Western world of values and human rights standards.

We share many interests in the area of foreign and security policy on account of our geographical location. Visegrad Group countries have adopted a similar approach to transatlantic relations, eastern policy, NATO and EU enlargement, and increasingly so with regard to the current European agenda, as demonstrated by their joint activities.

Our interests are common, but they are not homogenous. However, they are very much concurrent and as such distinguish our relations vis-à-vis other EU Visegrad 4 Member States and countries in the region. The international community takes careful note of the fact that our countries adopt joint positions on issues like counteracting climate change, energy security, or the defence of the existing cohesion policy principles, to name a few. They also make us stronger and help us promote and pursue our region’s interests.

Cooperation with numerous partners in different parts of the world proves that the V4 is an important forum for the advancement of political aims and that it is indeed capable of building coalitions. The Visegrad Group’s growing development potential is an additional asset. By pursuing initiatives aimed at overcoming nationalisms and promoting the idea of European solidarity, the Group has become instrumental in embodying the idea of a new, united Europe.

The Visegrad Group’s progressing integration has led it to become a nucleus of Central Europe and a reference point for our partners in the region who aspire to European and Euro-Atlantic structures and continue to grapple with transformation-related problems.

Central European countries, with fresh experience in rebuilding their democracies, are particularly well-positioned to share their know-how with partners who have just embarked on a similar transformation path. That is why we are so willing to support societies in Europe’s eastern and southern neighbourhood in their efforts to build democratic systems. U.S. President Barack Obama, during his meeting with 20 Central European heads of state held in Warsaw on May 27th, wanted to know how our knowledge could be used to strengthen democracy around the world.

The setting up of the International Visegrad Fund, which has boosted our cooperation, is a very valuable achievement. Over the past ten years, the Fund has become increasingly active in supporting social and cultural relations, and most recently also foreign policy efforts.

Today there is no viable alternative to Visegrad Group cooperation, which must be intensified in all areas, particularly with regard to the economy, culture, science, education, youth exchange and tourism. Such are the hopes and expectations of our societies. Our common success also represents an important contribution to greater European integration and the building of a strong European Union. <

PHOTO BY

Courtesy picture

>

Polish Presidency will Serve Hungarian Wines SOME OF THE WINES PRESENTED DURING THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY’S TERM will be served in the events of the upcoming Polish EU Presidency as well.

But before the two countries’ foreign ministries sign the relevant agreement, the wines will be carefully selected once more, so that Hungarian wines matching Polish dishes best can be served in the gala dinners. “Primarily, Tokaji Aszu, Szamorodni and Bull’s Blood received much appreciation,” Helga Gal, the sommelier of the Hungarian Presidency said, revealing a few details about the result of the latest official selection. The Poles could first taste the

>

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

9

carefully selected beverages, as guests in the Hungarian Presidency’s events. This gave the idea that Poland could also serve these wines in its events, after taking over the Presidency in July. The latest evaluation of these beverages took place on May 14 in a cultural event, held near Warsaw, also attended by Jerzy Buzek, the Polish President of the European Parliament. According to Gal, in the recent decades, only a few marketing events have offered such opportunities for Hungarian wines, as the Hungarian Presidency’s term and this cooperation scheme. <

10 POLAND eu:Layout 1 7/12/11 1:59 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

For an Integrated, Secure and Open Europe POLISH PRESIDENCY IN THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Secure Europe THE GOAL OF A SECURE EUROPE IS TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE EXTERNAL DIMENSION of the EU’s energy policy, a common security and defense policy and food security.

The objectives in this area include strengthening the energy security of the European Union through reviewing the previously applied policy mechanisms in the field of EU energy external relations – all this in the context of their evaluation and modernization. Also, an impetus should be given for the development of the comprehensive EU external energy policy (where the EU acts as a single voice). In the external dimension of the EU’s energy policy, the main issue to be discussed is the coherent use of existing and new mechanisms and instruments (coordination and solidarity mechanisms).

> FOREIGN MINISTERS HANDSHAKE: Radoslav Sikorski and Janos Martonyi

PRIORITI ES OF TH E POLISH PRESI DENCY European integration as a source of growth Secure Europe Europe benefiting from openness As for the common security and defense policy (CSDP), the objectives are (1) strengthening the EU’s capability to plan and conduct crisis management operations; (2) strengthening civilian and military operational capabilities; (3) developing EU-NATO cooperation; and (4) developing CSDP cooperation with the Eastern neighborhood.

Regarding food security, the objectives outline an advanced discussion on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The reformed CAP should use EU funds to good effect, maintain its market orientation, and account for public goods including food security and the multi-functional development

HUNGARIAN-POLISH FRIENDSHIP IN THE HAGUE

of agriculture and rural areas. The EU should also strive for building consensus on the reform of direct payments and support for rural areas, as well as on agricultural product quality policy.

Open Europe THE POLISH EU PRESIDENCY BELIEVES A EUROPEAN UNION that wishes to benefit from openness should focus on enlargement, neighborhood policy and common commercial policy. The objectives of enlargement include making progress in implementing the EU enlargement strategy; promoting the principle of conditionality – an obligation of the

aspirant countries to meet all criteria established in the EU accession process; appropriate quality of the enlargement process understood as a factor in strengthening the cohesion of the European Union; and focus on relations with the Western Balkans, supporting the European aspirations of this region.

In concrete issues, the Polish Presidency wishes to finalize the accession process with Croatia; open and close as many negotiation chapters as possible with Iceland; keep accession negotiations with Turkey on track; and support the process of European integration of Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYROM (Macedonia), Albania and Kosovo.

In neighborhood policy, the most important issues are implementing an extended offer for EU neighbors, boosting Eastern Partnership (EaP) and assisting in reforms in the Southern Neighborhood. The most important gathering during the Polish Presidency is expected to be the 2nd Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw at the end of September but the Foreign Ministers will also hold their annual EaP meeting in Brussels in December. With its partners, the EU should strengthen sectoral cooperation (i.e. transport, agriculture, customs, migrations, education, culture, security) as well as launch local and regional cooperation. Other important events on partnership issues include the High Level Conference for Countries of the Southern Neighborhood (in Warsaw, early December) to promote EU political engagement in the region and three-day seminars in Cairo, Egypt (November) and Tunis , Tunisia (September).

On the international scene, the Polish Presidency wishes to see the EU to continue as an important partner. In order to maintain its influence, the EU should speak with one clear voice on all international fora such as the G-20, IMF and the World Bank. The Presidency promises to do its best to work out with all relevant institutions a common and comprehensive voice of Europe for these fora (like the G-20 summit in November).

A single European voice will be particularly important to make progress on the 17th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa (in November-December). <

E-STAR ACQUISITION ON POLISH MARKET

A Polish-Hungarian outdoor sculpture exhibition opened at The Hague, in and around Binnenhof, the

In May, 2011, Hungarian energy service company E-Star Alternative signed an agreement to acquire the Polish EETEK Group for EUR 21

complex that is home to the Dutch parliament. The exhibition attempts to convey Hungarian-Polish

million. The acquisition enables E-Star to get access to energy generation capacities of the companies Mielec and Gorlice as well as to

friendship as well as the harmonious transition between the two Presidencies (Hungary is followed by

control the electricity trading services of Euroenergetyka. EETEK Group has a diversified alternative energy portfolio, including wind, solar,

Poland from 1 July as the head of the EU Council). As reported by the Hungarian Embassy in the

biogas, heat and electricity production with projects in six countries. E-Star promised to create significant value with restructuring and

Netherlands, the exhibition features a selection of the works (seven pieces each) of a Hungarian and a

slimming EETEK's diverse operations, divesting projects that do not fit into current strategy and keeping mainly heating projects in

Polish sculptor (Boldizsar Szmrecsanyi and Robert Sobocinski, respectively) until July 17. The exhibition was

Poland and Hungary. The acquisition "fits perfectly into E-Star's strategy", the company said. E-Star enters Poland and gets access to a

opened by Hungarian Ambassador Gyula Sumeghy and Polish Ambassador Janusz Stanczyk in the

blue chip clientele in the industrial segment while setting strong feet in the residential heating business. E-Star gains 258 MWt heat

company of the Mayor of The Hague, Jozias van Aartsen. The exhibition is the closing event of the

generation capacity in Poland as well as 13.5 MWt heat capacity in Hungary. With the acquisition of the subsidiary Euroenergetyka, E-Star

Hungarian cultural program series held in the Netherlands during the Hungarian EU Presidency in the

will establish its presence on the Polish electricity trading market. The acquisition will raise the number of E-Star employees by 340,

first half of 2011. <

including 260 in Poland and 80 in Hungary. Early June, the trading of E-Star shares began at the Warsaw Stock Exchange. <

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

10

2 0 1 1 J U LY

David Harangozo

POLAND BELIEVES THAT THE EU NEEDS CLOSER ECONOMIC INTEGRATION and increased focus on growth to face future challenges Without closer integration and further reforms, longterm growth may halve, the program says.

European integration, as the source of growth, is to be achieved through the Single Market andMulti-Annual Financial Framework negotiations.

The Polish Presidency believes that the Single Market is the biggest asset of the EU, however, its growth potential is not entirely utilized. The lack of transparent and simple rules places a serious barrier for entrepreneurs and citizens.

A significant problem to be resolved centers on 60% of cross-border on-line transactions that are not carried out, mainly due to the legal constraints. The development of the digital market is important as it could generate 4% of the GDP by 2020. These and other related issues are to be discussed at the Single Market Forum in Krakow in October.

As for the Multi-Annual Financial Framework, the next seven-year (2014-2020) budget of the EU, negotiations will be conducted on the basis of the European Commission's proposal.

The Polish program stresses that this EU budget plays a major role in achieving the Europe 2020 goals and that European resources should be used to strengthen the fundamentals of the Single Market.

Investments in key assets of a competitive economy such as modern infrastructure and human capital are needed.

THE PROGRAM OF THE POLISH EU PRESIDENCY LOOKS AT EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AS A SOURCE OF GROWTH, WISHES TO WORK FOR A SECURE EUROPE AND SEE EUROPE BENEFITING FROM OPENNESS.

PHOTO BY

Growing Europe

11 katona:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:02 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Hungary and Poland: Common Past, Common Values HUNGARIAN-POLISH COOPERATION FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE B Y TA M A S K AT O N A HISTORIAN AND FORMER HUNGARIAN AMBASSADOR TO POLAND

NIETZSCHE ONCE SAID, THAT YOUR FRIEND IS NEVER THE NEIGHBOR, but the neighbor of the neighbor. Looking back upon the history of mankind that seems true, but we know, that there are always exceptions regarding academic sentences. Even Hungary is aware of such an exception. We have had a common frontier with Poland for more than nine hundred years, and the two states (and what is more, the two nations, the two societies) are befriended for more than thousand years. The birth of the two states coincided, as the two nations formed their independent kingdoms around the year 1000, accepting the western type of Christianity (and with that a European way of thinking). We could easily add the kingdom of Bohemia to the aforementioned two: it was also born around 1000. Thus, the “Visegrad quadrangle” cooperation of Poland, Hungary, Czech Lands and Slovakia has deep historical roots, as well.

(Present-day Slovakia was part of Hungary before 1918.) The Visegrad cooperation began in 1335, when the Hungarian king succeeded in persuading his Polish and Czech colleagues to end their hostilities, to conclude peace and work together. In the 14th century, King Louis of Hungary became the ruler of Poland, as well. In the 15th, King W∏adys∏aw of Poland was the head of state of Hungary simultaneously. In the 16th, the Hungarian ruling Prince of Transylvania, Stephen Bathory was elected by the Polish Diet to serve as king. In these centuries, both countries fought to save Europe from barbaric invasion from south and east: against Turks and Russians.

After the Turkish wars, economic ties were

>

> R E C A L L I N G A P I E C E O F T H E CO M M O N PA ST : Veterans at the plaque of remembrance in Budapest’s Millenaris Park remembering the anti-Soviet demonstrations of Poznan in June 1956.

strengthened. One example might be enough.

During some periods of the 18th century, more than twelve thousand hectoliters of Tokay wine was sent to Poland. Hungarian foreign trade almost collapsed when Russia, Prussia and Austria ended the sovereignty of Poland and partitioned her territory. During the anti-Russian freedom fight of the Poles in 1830, Hungarian Parliament discussed openly the situation in Poland, and the absolute majority of Hungarian counties solemnly asked King-Emperor Francis to intervene in Saint Petersburg for keeping up the Polish constitution and to grant freedom to the so-called Russian Poland, the part of historical Poland, which fell to Russia, but according to the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, was to be governed in constitutional form. Both Hungary and Russian Poland were constitutional states, but Russia and Austria were not. King Francis did not intervene, and Russian Poland became a simple Russian province. There is a memorial tablet on the Staszic Palace (the Palace of the Polish Academy of Sciences) in Warsaw to commemorate this

Hungarian initiative. During the anti-Austrian freedom fight of Hungary in 1848-1849, more than 4,000 Polish youngsters crossed the heavily guarded passes of the Carpathians, the traditional Polish-Hungarian frontier, joined the Hungarian army, forming an independent Polish Legion, and fought bravely until the last day. The inscription on their flag was “Za wolnosc nasza i wasza” (For freedom, ours and yours).

In 1920, Hungary, losing two thirds of her territory after World War I, beaten and poor, nevertheless, sent over her ammunition reserve to Warsaw to help Poland in her fight against Soviet troops. In 1939, after the German-Soviet occupation of the country, more than 100,000 Polish soldiers and civilians crossed the then still existing common frontier and found refuge in Hungary. For a while, the only Polish secondary school in Europe was that in Balatonboglar (at Lake Balaton), led by the Catholic priest, Bela Varga (who came to be the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament after 1945). The “Refugee’s Paradise” is still vividly remembered in Poland. We find in Warsaw streets named after Hungarians: Bela Varga, Prime Minister Count Pal Teleki, Minister of Interior Ferenc Keresztes-Fischer and Minister Jozsef Antall. The anti-Soviet demonstrations of 1956 began in June, in Poznan, Poland. In October 1956, the starting point of the Hungarian revolution and freedom fight was a pro-Poland solidarity meeting.

During and after the fight, we got enormous quantities of human blood from Poland for our blessed. The most important shipment came from the Club of the Friends of Hungary in Tarnow, Southern Poland. The Club was founded in 1956 – and is still working, primarily, in the field of cultural relations.

This reminds us, that the relations of the two

countries have to be more than sheer sympathetic nostalgia. The work done in the Visegrad Three (1990), later Four (1993) clearly shows how important cooperation had been on our tiresome way towards the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Today, the Czech Republic, surrounded by Germans and Austrians is somewhat less interested in the Visegrad process as before, but the other three countries on the eastern border of the Union still have very much in common. We have to serve our common interests; we have to create bridges towards our neighbors, who still are outside the European Union: Ukraine, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia. Poland with her size, with her forty million inhabitants, ought to be the leading force of this important work.

When serving in Poland as Ambassador, I always had the feeling that this friendly country is ready and capable of doing it. This can not be considered as showing off and playing the big country. Poland is a big country, an important partner even for countries bigger than her – a fact already understood by Slovakia. We have to do the same – making use of the historical and cultural ties, of the natural feelings of bilateral sympathy, of all the common interests. The situation that after Hungary, Poland takes over the presidency of the Union offers a really good new starting point. The two moderate right-wing governments have not only common interests, but they share common values, as well. Hungarian foreign policy has to realize the importance of Poland and the possibilities – hidden and visible – in our further cooperation. A cooperation based on common interests, common values and the Hungarian-Polish solidarity firmly rooted in the two nations, in the two societies. <

LOT wins the title “Friend of the Presidency”

PHOTO BY

David Harangozo

WARSAW, JULY 1, 2011 – LOT POLISH AIRLINES HAS CONCLUDED A COOPERATION WITH THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF TAKING BY POLAND THE PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. THE POLISH CARRIER WON THE TITLE OF “FRIEND OF THE PRESIDENCY”.

STARTING ON JULY 1 , 2011, FOR 6 MONTHS, LOT Polish Airlines shall bear the name of “Friend of the Presidency” and be included in the “Friends of the Presidency Club”. Within that period, LOT will perform a series of promotion activities helping the Polish presidency in order to strengthen the

positive image of Poland in Europe and around the world. “LOT tries to benefit from any chance to promote Poland in the world,” says Marcin Pirog, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines.

“We are honored that as the only national carrier we have the opportunity to once again support our country, especially within such important time of the Presidency,” he adds. Within the scope of the membership in

the “Friends of the Presidency Club”, special announcements referring to the information devoted to the Presidency will be voiced on board of LOT planes. Moreover, the newest plane of LOT Polish Airlines, Embraer 195 with registration number SP-LNB, that joined the Polish carrier fleet on June 24th this year, will promote - during the following year - Poland bearing special colors of the Polish Tourist Organization. Except for that, uniforms, both of the on-board personnel and ground handling as well as sales agents will be decorated with brooches with the Polish Presidency logo specially designed for that occasion. Moreover, ground handling points and the interior of the LOT Polish Airlines planes will be identified with pennants and information panels with the Presidency logo.

LOT will promote the leadership of Poland in the Council of the European Union also through the communication on social network Facebook, via the web site www.lot.com and by means of publications in the on-board magazine “Kaleidoscope”.

www.lot.com

LOT Polish Airlines is one of the oldest airlines in the world. It has been connecting Poland with the rest of the world since 1929. Now, planes in LOT colors fly to over 50 destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North America. Many of LOT's pilots are among the European and World Champions in several types of aviation sports. Since 2003, LOT is a member of Star Alliance whose network currently offers 21,000 flights every day to 1,160 airports in 181 countries all over the world.

In 2012, LOT will take delivery of the most modern aircraft – the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

11

12 POLAND trade:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:02 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Polish Trade with Hungary and the Region THE STRENGTH OF THE POLISH ECONOMY TRANSLATES INTO TRADE SURPLUSES 16th. During the last two years, the structure of trade commodities, especially when Polish exports are taken into account, has changed significantly, pushing the share of machinery and equipment export levels to a high of 42%, which was accompanied by a stable (over 14%) share of agri-food products. In Polish imports from Hungary, machinery and equipment products have dominated(more than 1/3 of the supplies value), followed by a sizeable share of chemical products, plastics, metals and vehicles.

In the broader, regional dimension of Polish economic cooperation, it is worth looking at the importance of Poland’s partners in the Visegrád Four group. It turns out the joint turnover of Poland’s trade with Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 2010 was over EUR 21 bn (with a trade surplus of EUR 3.5 bn for Poland). Interestingly enough, this is four times more than Poland’s turnover resulting from trade with the USA, and twice as much as the country’s trade exchange with China or Great Britain! It is also half of Poland’s turnover from transactions with its major trading partner, Germany. However, Polish experts say it should not be forgotten that the foundations of the development of this economic cooperation are exclusively traditional and historic in nature, built up over the years and due to geographical proximity.

ACCORDING TO POLISH DATA, THE TURNOVER OF BILATERAL TRADE IN 2010 CAME TO EUR 5.5 BILLION AS COMPARED TO EUR 4.6 BN IN 2009, PUTTING HUNGARY IN 14TH PLACE AMONG POLAND’S TRADE PARTNERS.

FURTHERMORE, THE BALANCE FOR POLAND CAME TO A RECORD HIGH OF MORE THAN EUR 1 BN (EUR 0.6 BN IN 2009).

This year, an even higher level is expected, mostly due to the extremely high dynamics of Polish exports, which recently reached the level of over 23%. The value of Polish exports to Hungary amounted to EUR 3.3 bn (compared to EUR 2.6 bn in 2009) putting Hungary in 9th place on the global scale among Poland’s partners, while the value of Polish imports from Hungary came to EUR 2.3 bn (compared to 2 bn EUR in 2009) placing Hungary as the

>

> VI EW FROM WARSAW: The joint turnover of Poland’s trade with Visegrad Group partners Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 2010 was over EUR 21billion.

lie back, relax leave the rest to us

SM

Our 13 multifunctional meeting and conference rooms represent an ideal venue for meetings, conferences, exhibitions, banquets or any other customised event, for up to 350 persons. They feature the latest technical equipment, including state-of- the art audio and video conferencing and high speed wireless internet access.

PHOTO BY

Ramada Plaza Budapest H-1036 Budapest, Árpád fejedelem útja 94.

Phone +36 1 436 4100, Fax +36 1 436 4156 info@ramadaplazabudapest.com• www.ramadaplazabudapest.com

Courtesy of Polish Embassy

Situated on the Danube bank the Ramada Plaza Budapest invites you to sleep in comfort, dine in style, work in peace and relax in luxury. It provides 310 rooms with free and unlimited internet access including 34 Executive Rooms, 160 newly refurbished Deluxe Rooms with cutting edge amenities and 8 state-of-the-art Suites.

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

12

2 0 1 1 J U LY

13 POLAND culture:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:03 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Pole, Hungarian, Two Good Brothers...

THE POLISH INSTITUTE IN BUDAPEST IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST POLISH INSTITUTES AND ONE OF THE OLDEST FOREIGN INSTITUTES IN HUNGARY POLAND AND HUNGARY

BY REKA A. FRANCISCK

ON OCT 21, 1934 AN AGREEMENT ON CULTURAL cooperation between Poland and Hungary was signed in Warsaw on the occasion of a visit paid by the Hungarian Prime Minister.

Four years after its signature, a Polish Language lecturer at the Peter Pazmany Royal University in Budapest was appointed as the Director of the Polish Institute. The Institute commenced its activity in Jan 1939. In its current head office, the Institute has run its activity since 1964.

“POLE, HUNGARIAN, TWO GOOD BROTHERS, BOTH WITH THE SABER, and with the glass, both are brave, both are men of action, let God bless them!” The short form of the popular proverbial rhyme, known in both countries, about the historical friendship of the Polish and the Hungarian people could be a motto of the Polish Institute in Budapest.

“Good relations between the two nations date back to the 14th century with Hungary and Poland being linked by personal union multiple times,” agrees Arkadiusz Bernas, director of the Budapest Polish Institute. The emotional link has not been broken even during extreme political conditions. “During WWII, Hungary received more than 100,000 Polish refugees after the German invasion and even established schools for Polish children,” the director, who’s been leading the institution since 2009, notes. “Before WWII, the Institute’s main field of activity included promotion of the Polish science, culture and language. After “that September 1,” the Institute was allocated new tasks,” Bernas explains, adding that the Institute assisted in preparing refugees for university exams. “Some 500 people graduated this way.

>

most influential composers of the Romanticism, Fryderyk Chopin, included travelling exhibitions, concerts, book presentations, public art projects and renovating-unveiling the Chopin monument in Godollo. “Very few people knew that one of the most interesting Chopin-memoirs was, in fact, written by Ferenc Liszt, himself.

Key events

Loopholes SCARCITY OR LACK OF PUBLICATIONS (due to censorship) in Poland was a driving force behind publishing major works of the Polish literature in Hungary. Books of Mickiewicz, Slowacki, Zeromski, Wyspianski and other writers were published in the institute’s ‘Polish Library’ series comprising over 80 volumes. The institute became an unofficial editorial office. During Communism, the institute served, again, as a

MILOSZ NIGHT

PHOTO BY

David Harangozo

The Polish Institute celebrates the 100th birthday anniversary of Czeslaw Milosz, Nobelwinning poet. A selection of his poems were performed recently by Hungarian actors at Radio Bartok, in addition to the presentation of one of his books.

loophole for representatives of the Polish and Hungarian literature, culture and art.”

Centrally located on the corner of Andrassy and Nagymezo streets, with exhibition windows facing the “Budapest Broadway”, the institute contributes to the vibrant cultural life of Budapest, organizing up to 130 different programs each year. “Our aim is to provide up- to-date information about Polish culture, science, education and cultural events,” Bernas says. He points out that the institution intends to work with Hungarian partners and organize programs, participating in the most

“We also attempt to bring the most unique, sometimes provoking contemporary arts and artists to Budapest. Performances that divide even the Polish audience.” domestic program series, such as the Budapest Spring Festival, Budapest Autumn Festival, Sziget Fesztival, Mediawave, Liszt Year and, of course, the closing Hungarian and opening Polish EU presidency ceremonies. “We believe that the Hungarian authorities and agencies know best the Hungarian audience’s interests,” the director explains. “We also attempt to bring the most unique, sometimes provoking contemporary arts and artists to Budapest, performances that divide even the Polish audience,” he continues. The most recent exhibition of Emese Benczur, entitled ‘Don’t just look, see,’ showcased at the institution’s Platan Gallery is one great example. “Art is and should be a binary exchange between the artist and the audience,” the director states. His strategy surely works, as over 30,000 people pass the institute’s doorway annually, and even more participate in those programs organized in 2 0 1 1 J U LY

cooperation with other cultural organizations, all over Hungary. Bernas says he is extremely proud of last year’s large scale Chopin Year.

The bicentennial programs, commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of one of the

> DON’T JUST LOOK, SEE! A piece of the recently organized, unique, sight-specific exhibition of Emese Benczur , presented by the Polish Institute Budapest at Platan Gallery.

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

13

AT AN AUCTION, WE HAVE MANAGED to dig up an original version of this long-forgotten book, printed in 1873, and reprinted it. As this year Hungary celebrates the author, I guess this was a win-win project.” Grasping the opportunities offered by its location, the institution even involved the Andrassy Street to the Chopin Year 2010 project, transforming a crosswalk into a keyboard.

Currently, the Polish Institute is busy running a great number of cultural programs in connection with the EU presidency handover.

“We are organizing a Polish-Hungarian linguistic round table discussion at Europa Pont, we are also involved in the ‘Art on the Lake’ project, we are to bring the contemporary folk group Dagadana to the Danube Party or Oszibarack (the word translates to peach in Hungarian, however, this electro band has no relation whatsoever to Hungary, they just loved the name) to the VOLT Festival and Zoldpardon.

The library of the Polish Institute Budapest features 15,000 books and a huge collection of films, also offering a rich Polish video collection, partly fictions, partly documents about culture, tourism, economy, politics, art events, monographic films, etc. “For a few years now, we're continuously enriching our CDcollection,” the director says. “In our activity, the photo set-ups made by the best Polish artists in over 100 topics, as history, geography, ethnography, politics or culture, are extremely useful.” According to Bernas, these materials are mostly used by Polish department university students. “Uniquely in Europe, there are three universities in Hungary (in Budapest, Piliscsaba and Debrecen) that run Polish language departments. Vice-versa, independent Hungarian language departments run at three Polish universities, including Krakow, Warsaw and Poznan.” >

14 POLAND halina:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:04 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Very Good to be a Pole in Hungary THE ‘LOVE MIGRATION’ GENERATION HELPS CHERISH POLISH TRADITIONS IN HUNGARY

STOLEN SIGN RESTORED OVER NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP The infamous metal sign hanging over the gates of what was a death camp in Oswiecim (Auschwitz) was completely restored in May 2011 after it was vandalized by thieves in 2009. The sign, bearing the Nazi slogan "Arbeit

came a wave in the 1970s that the President calls ‘love migration’ and she says most of the Polish minority living in Hungary now are made up of these one-time boyfriends and girlfriends. “They are the ones who carry on Polish culture, the Polish spirit in this country,” she adds.

Dr. Halina Csucs, who is also the chairman of the Jozef Bem Polish Cultural Club, a civil organization that dates back 53 years, is pleased to note that more and more people in Hungary wish to learn the Polish language.

Interest is shown in other fields, as well. “In connection with the Hungarian EU Presidency, we worked with a lot of young people. On the theme of the Year of Polish-Hungarian Togetherness, a drawing competition had been announced and we received as many as 9,370 drawings!”

The Polish Minority Self Government has excellent relations with the authorities in Poland as well as the Polish Embassy in Budapest. “If we didn’t have the financial support of the Polish Senate, we would have to shut down our operations,” Halina Csucs points out. Still, she adds, the Hungarian government also supports minority self governments as much as it can afford in the current economic situation. >

KUBICA ACCIDENT DASHES HUNGARIAN F-1 HOPES A record-high audience, 251,000 people altogether watched the warm-up, the qualification

macht frei", or "Work sets you free", was seen by hundreds

stage and the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix car race,

of thousands of Holocaust victims as they entered the

itself during the three days of events at the Hungaroring

Nazi concentration camp. Conservation workers said they

Circuit, just east of Budapest. That was back in 2008 and

had worked for nearly a year and a half photographing,

one of the factors pushing high the number of spectators

analyzing and finally welding back together the pieces of

was the participation of Polish driver Robert Kubica,

BATHORY EXPRESS

the badly damaged sign. The sign was stolen in December

attracting an estimated number of 20,000 Poles. Early this

A historical Polish minibus visited 5 Hungarian and 10 Polish cities in May this year, promoting the centuries old Polish-

2009 by what was described as “foreign trophy hunters.”

year, the organizers of the Hungarian Grand Prix looked

Hungarian friendship. The 3,239-km long journey started on May 6 and ran for a month. The starting point was the

Polish police recovered the sign several days after the

forward to another large wave of Polish spectators boosting

Polish city of Nysa the birthplace of the iconic minibus. The Niza passed through 15 cities and reached Warsaw after a

theft, when a citizen responded to a reward offer and

the numbers but a serious rally car accident in Italy early

month’s journey. Arriving to the Polish capital, organizers presented an exhibition using the collected relics. The title of

reported on suspicious moves by neighbors. The five

February dashed their hopes. 26-year-old Kubica barely but

the project was drawn partly from the organizer Cracovia Express Foundation (Hungarian Center in Krakow) and partly

thieves were arrested after the almost 5-meter-long metal

survived, hitting the wall of a church and he is likely

from the international fast train of the 1960s and ‘70s. Thousands of Hungarians went to visit theater festivals in

sign had been found cut into three pieces in a house. One

tomaking his return to Formula One racing in 2012 only.

Krakow, art exhibitions in Gdansk or jazz concerts in Warsaw. The initiative aimed to evoke memories and enliven the

of them, former Swedish neo-Nazi Anders Hogstrom, was

Incidentally, it was at the Hungarian Grand Prix that Kubica

centuries old friendship between the two nations and create and alternative way of opportunities for social activity.

sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for his

debuted in the Formula One race in 2006. 1997 world

LECH WALESA HONORARY CITIZEN IN BUDAPEST

part in the theft. A court in Cracow sentenced two of his

champion Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was deemed unfit

Polish accomplices to 28 and 30 months behind bars.

to race after his accident at the previous race and the BMW

Budapest has fourteen new honorary citizens including former Polish President Lech Walesa.

Sauber team chose their test driver Robert Kubica to replace

67-year-old Walesa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, who could not be present at the

him at the Hungaroring. Thus, Kubica became Poland’s first

honorary citizenship ceremony will receive the recognition award at a later date. He is honored for

Formula One driver and his third place at the Italian Grand

his achievements in the democratic transition process in East Central Europe.

Prix that year meant he was the first Polish driver to appear

Lech Walesa gained fame as a trade union activist working in a shipyard in Gdansk. He was

on a F1 podium. Even that performance was topped in 2008

persecuted and even arrested several times by the Communist authorities. He was the co-founder

when he won his first – and so far, only – Grand Prix title in

of the Solidarity trade union movement. He was instrumental in Solidarity becoming a governing

Canada. Last year, he moved to the Renault team and

force after the 1989 elections. Walesa himself was elected the President of Poland in 1990,

finished in the top 3 three times. In Kubica’s absence, the

presiding over the political, economic and social transition of the country. In addition to Walesa,

organizers of the 2011 Hungarian F1 Grand Prix count on the

the honorary citizen list also includes Hungarian athletes and, pentathlete Olympic champion

fans of German drivers like defending world champion

Andras Balczo, writer Istvan Csukas, Olympic champion swimmer Krisztina Egerszegi, actor Karoly Eperjes, National

Sebastian Vettel who is also the leader in this year’s ranking

Oncology Institute director Miklos Kasler, Budapest Medical University Vice President Maria Kopp, pop singer Kati Kovacs,

or the legendary Michael Schumacher. Last year, some

former President Ferenc Madl, architect Imre Makovecz, heart surgeon Lajos Papp, American singer Elvis Presley,

200,000 spectators visited the Hungaroring. This year’s

musician Ferenc Santa, demographer-sociologist Arpad Skrabski, sculptor Tibor Szervatiusz and actress Agi Szirtes.

target is to repeat that. meeting that target.

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

14

2 0 1 1 J U LY

Courtesy pictures

sure I don’t know all the Poles in this country!”

She estimates that there are 10-12,000 Poles living in Hungary, “not counting the new migration attracted by multinational companies.” On this note, she remarks with bitterness that “nowadays, it is much easier to find a job in Hungary with proper knowledge of the English and Polish language than having any sort of professional education.

People trained as physicians or engineers should work in their respective jobs instead of being siphoned to call centers.”

The first wave of Poles to this country occurred in the 18th century when an entire village moved from Poland to northern Hungary. In the 1920s, lots of Poles arrived in search of jobs and most of them settled in what is now Budapest’s 10th district, Kobanya. A community house and a church were built for them and now, the Polish Minority Self Government is headquartered there, as well.

There, you can also find a Polish museum, a Polish kindergarten, a Polish school (recently renovated) and even two Polish cemetery parcels, a military and a civilian. The next big wave was of those escaping from the Nazi German occupation of Poland in 1939. Many of these people put up in refugee camps decided to stay in Hungary after World War II. Then

PHOTOS BY

THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLISH MINORITY SELF GOVERNMENT, DR HALINA CSUCS has been living in Hungary for 40 years. “Most of us have learned Hungarian but however good our Hungarian skills can be, there is still an accent that people notice.

When they ask about it and we say we are Polish that guarantees success at least in 50%,” she explains to Diplomacy and Trade this nuance of being a Pole in Hungary. “The different festivities we organize are attended by many of our Hungarian friends who come for the lively and pleasant atmosphere,” she adds. Having been involved with minority issues for some 20 years, she stresses that “it is very good to be a Pole in Hungary! It is not a slogan or an empty phrase.”

Dr. Halina Csucs was first elected as President of the Polish Minority Self Government in Hungary in 2009 when her predecessor left to pursue a diplomatic career. Then, she was confirmed in this position after the national minority elections in 2010. When asked of how many Poles live in Hungary, the President says the National Census that takes place in Hungary this fall “may decide the fate of the Polish Self Government.” At the latest census in 2001, “we were barely 3,000 – but I myself know that many people personally, and I’m

>

15 borostyan:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:04 PM Page 1

{ polish focus } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

FROM ANCIENT FORESTS TO THE DESKS OF ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN

In a Traditional Way – Polish Amber

BY MIC HAL KOSIOR

IN THE FIRST CENTURY, AN AMBERFINDING EXPEDITION WAS ORGANIZED at the order of Emperor Nero. The longest and most dangerous trade expeditions began in the sixties of the first century and reached up to the Baltic Sea on land. The venture was a complete success as a result of which, large quantities of this precious mineral was delivered to the Roman Empire on the so-called Amber Road. The route began on the Baltic Sea coast, near present-day Gdansk. It crossed the Barbaricum areas along the Vistula river, then through Silesia, the Moravian Gate, today's Lower Austria (Carnuntum), the now Hungarian town of Sopron and then, Slovenia to eventually arrive to Aquileiaban (Italy), the main trade center of amber stone.

However, to examine the beginning of the development of amber 40 million years, we should go back to the early continent named by scientists as Fennoskandia. The Eocene epoch was different from today's times, not only in the completely different layout of the land but also in its climate.

>

TODAY, IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SELLING POLISH EXPORTS, AND EARLIER, IT WAS THE TARGET OF THE ROMAN LEGIONS AND THE EXPEDITION OF GREEK MERCHANTS. THALES OF MILETUS CALLED IT ELEKTRON, AND SINCE ANCIENT TIMES, IT HAS TRIGGERED THE ADMIRATION, ASTONISHMENT AND CURIOSITY OF RESEARCHERS. FROM THE BEGINNING, IT HAS BEEN USED AS AN ORNAMENT, AN AMULET AND MEDICINE.

> BALTIC AMB ER STON E: The colors of the natural amber include clear lemon yellow, cognac and cherry tinted ones as well as the milk shades and mixed colors.

Long and distant journey THE HOT, TROPICAL EOCENE WOODLANDS WERE COVERED BY LARGE FORESTS OF AMBERPRODUCING TREES. The Nordic Gold originates from these trees named by convention as amber-producing pine trees (Pinus succinifera).

The amber resin flowed from the north in great rivers, called with the mythical name Eridan by the scientists of our times, to the areas of what is the present basin of the Baltic Sea, consolidating in its southern parts. It is from these places that lumps of fossilized resin are washed off by waves and cast to the sandy beaches of the southern Baltic Sea. This is how the old and fossilized resin becomes a treasure of information of ancient times for today's scientists. In certain pieces of amber, you can find inclusions, sometimes clearly visible to the naked eye, in the form of insects, arachnids or crop residue. Less likely to encounter are larger animals such as the lizard exhibited in the Amber Museum in Gdansk. Nevertheless, the most frequent are small animal inclusions, which can only be observed under the microscope.

It took the pieces of amber stones a long and

PHOTOS BY

Courtesy pictures

AMBER CHESS THIS ONE OF A KIND MUSEUM QUALITY CHESS SET This was designed by a master Polish artist. Using top quality Baltic Amber, it took the craftsman five years to finish the set. Pieces up to 3.5” in height are carved to perfection with intricate aesthetics and detail conveying their medieval time period. Protect and store this masterpiece in its own custom made leather storage box.

This truly unique set with its rich history is on par with the most prestigious and valuable chess collections.

distant journey until they arrived to the artists and craftsmen, but it was this time that has created the beauty and diversity that only professional hands are able to expose and highlight with gold or a silver socket. Gdansk and the surrounding area have been the main venues of amber processing since historic times. Pagan statuettes, neck ornaments, solar amulets, Christian crosses, were created here.

The Amber Room is also the work of the masters of Gdansk, as are many large boxes made in the 16th and 18th centuries in the socalled golden age of the Gdansk amber crafts.

According to analyses by the Free Competition Economic Research Institute, there are over a thousand companies, employing approximately 10,000 people in the manufacture of jewelry decorated with amber in northern Poland today. It constitutes a scattered but major sector of the economy of the South Baltic Coast region.

It is the tradition and the desire to differentiate from competitors that drive each company and each artist to try to produce their own unique creations. Dominating are modern patterns, the large silver, nicely polished surfaces, as are the recently fashionable satin and draped fabrics, as well. The amber stones have long ceased to exist only as small round eyes recessed exclusively in precious metal casing. Nowadays, many companies offer a special fantasydesigned jewelry for discerning visitors, as well.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

> A C LASSICAL COLLECTION PI EC E: In northern Poland, there are over a thousand companies, employing some 10,000 people in the manufacture of jewelry decorated with amber.

Among the many natural colors that occur in Baltic amber stones, we can find a clear lemon yellow, cognac and cherry tinted ones as well as the milk shades and mixed colors of the natural amber. In the workshops of the artists, these are often paired with coral, pearls and more often with diamond, which gives more light and shine to the amber stone. The dealers have an increased interest in traditionally polished chains of delustred amber, whose especially dark version is usually included as an interesting element of compositions.

Emphasize the beauty THE INDIVIDUAL DESIGNERS OF JEWELRY OFTEN FORM AMBER JEWELRY MAINLY FROM NON-TRANSPARENT, NATURAL-SHAPED STONES. What is more, they expressly expose the natural surface, called trunk, of the amber

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

15

stone and the mysterious interior of the amber containing plant inclusions and plant dirt.

However, their works also include beautifully polished, transparent amber stones, whose depth and natural colorations are fascinating.

Each piece of the Northern Gold requires a separate study and machining, which provides the best way to emphasize its beauty. The Polish amber is a brand known worldwide, the two words "Polish amber" have been certifying the value for years and informing the customers that the amber stone has been produced with extreme fastidiousness in a center of centuries-old traditions, that is, with the craft’s outstanding expertise.

It is worth mentioning that it is for 19 years now that the world's largest amber and amber jewelry fair, ‘Amberif’ is held in Gdansk. Nearly 500 companies and artists show on this occasion their latest patterns and ideas concerning this beautiful stone, while dealers and lovers of the amber come here from every continent of the world. From Gdaƒsk, the beautiful jewelry reach the galleries of all countries in the world. The trade fair is accompanied by several competitions, both avant-garde and handicraft in nature, culminating in the Amber Fashion Show and Gala, during which the co-designed fashion costumes and unique pieces of amber jewelry are presented.

Roman historian Pliny Maior wrote about the amber stone the following in his book Naturalis Historiae: "It represents such a value among the luxury items that a human figure made of an arbitrary small amber is significantly more expensive than men (slaves) in the prime of their strengthn." So, in those days amber was particularly valuable. Today, amber stone jewelry increasingly worn by the biggest stars, young women, and it is an increasingly fashionable accessory for men's wear, as well. <

16-17 society:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:05 PM Page 1

{ society } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Queen’s Day > THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY, GREG DOREY hosted a reception at his residence in Budapest to mark the Queen's birthday and celebrate the strength of the relationship between the UK and Hungary. In anticipation of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Ambassador's Residence was decorated with images and posters to illustrate the Olympic themes. A number of Hungarian sports champions attended the event, too.

Afternoon with Arab Spouses > THE WIVES OF ARAB A M B A S S A D O R S and Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Budapest hosted a lunch in honor of Mrs Katalin MakraySchmitt, Wife of the President of the Republic of Hungary at the Residence of the Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps.

Australian Farewell Party > D E PA RT I N G AU ST R A L I A N A M B A S S A D O R A L E X B R O O K I N G who has served in Hungarz since 2007 welcomed prominent guests at his Budapest residence. The Ambassador and his wife said goodbye to Budapest during a stylish garden party.

Statue of Miroslav Krleza

Swedish Mid-summer Party > M I D S O M M A R DA G E N ( M I D - S U M M E R DAY ) is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden and the Swedish Embassy celebrated it accordingly. Ambassador Cecilia Bjorner, dressed in traditional costume, welcomed guests in the garden of her residence.

> T I B O R N AV R A C S I C S , D E P U T Y P R I M E M I N I ST E R and Minister of Public Administration and Justice, along with Croatian Ambassador Ivan Bandic, mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandic and mayor of Budapest IstvanTarlos, payed tribute to Croatian writer Miroslav Krleza by unveiling his statue at Ludovika Square.

Canada Day Celebration > T H E C A N A D I A N A M B A S S A D O R TO H U N G A RY, TA M A R A G U T TM A N , hosted a BBQ party in the garden of the Residence to celebrate her country’s national day. A gorgeous buffet was prepared for the special occasion. Music was delivered by`Random Chocolates.`

The Challenge of the Cravat

PHOTOS BY

David Harangozo, Courtesy pictures

> H U N G A RY A N D C R OAT I A T I E S U P : As the closing event of Croatian Cultural Months during Hungarian EU Presidency, the Croatian Embassy of Hungary organized an exhibition entitled ‘Cravat as Croatian contribution to Global Culture.’

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

16

2 0 1 1 J U LY

16-17 society:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:05 PM Page 2

{ society } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Belgian Residence > B E LG I A N A M B A S S A D O R P I E R R E L A B O U V E R I E invited guests to the newly renovated Budapest residence of the Belgian Embassy.

The President and the Ambassadors > H U N G A R I A N P R E S I D E N T PA L S C H M I T Treceived two new ambassadors, Horacio Alberto Nogues Zubizarreta,Paraguay and Thembayena Annastasia Dlamini, Swaziland.

The President also awarded two departing ambassadors, Alex Brooking, Australia and Dorothee Janetzke Wenzel, Germany with the Hungarian Middle Cross of Merits.

Slovenian National Day > T H E E M B A S SY O F T H E R E P U B L I C O F S L OV E N I A held a festive reception in Buda Castle's Museum of Military History on the occassion of the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's independence. The reception, hosted by Ambassador Darja Bavdaz Kuret was attended by nearly 400 guests.

Independence Day > A M E R I C A ' S 2 3 5 T H B I RT H DAY: Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis hosted the traditonal July 4 Independence Day reception at the Tancsics Mihaly Compound in the Buda Castle. Guests included Hollywood producer Andy Vajna, former finance minister Peter Oszko, Graphisoft founder Gabor Bojar and Hungarian President Pal Schmitt (pictured clockwise).

Ephraim Kishon Plaquette Tajik President

> A M E M O R I A L P L A Q U E T T E to commemorate Hungarian-born Israeli author Ephraim Kishon was inaugurated in Budapest by Ambassador Aliza Bin Noun and Istvan Tarlos, Mayor of Budapest. Rina and Rafi Kishon, children of the author were also present at the event.

> O F F I C I A L V I S I T: During his two day stay in Budapest, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon held talks with Hungarian President Pal Schmitt in the Sandor Palace. The two sides signed agricultural, health and foreign affairs cooperation agreement as well as an Olympic committee cooperation agreement.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

17

18 portfolio:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:06 PM Page 1

{ economic analysis } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

China and Hungary: a New Type of Alliance CHINA GIVES HUNGARY A BOX OF A DOZEN AGREEMENTS AT PREMIER’S VISIT

“This is only the beginning” Orban pointed out that his Chinese counterpart told him during his visit to Shanghai last autumn that he should be brave enough to think big. "When you invited me to Shanghai and we had a chance to have a talk there, you encouraged me to work out great, large-scale plans. I believe the past year attests that we are capable of conceiving such plans and the staff of the Chinese government has – with a fantastic job – turned these ideas into co-operation. But this is only the beginning.

The big things are yet to come, so we are looking forward to pleasant and fruitful years," Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said when

CHINA GIVES HUNGARY A BOX OF A DOZEN AGREEMENTS AT PREMIER’S VISIT • A EUR 1.1 billion financial co-operation agreement was signed between the Bank of China and Hungarian chemicals company BorsodChem, majority-owned by China's Wanhua Industrial Group.

• A strategic agreement was signed on setting up a supply center for Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei.

• A co-operation agreement was signed on plans to establish a plant in the Hungarian town of Szolnok with an annual capacity to produce 60,000 tons of citric acid.

• An agreement was signed on setting up a European production base for CANYI New Lighting.

• A strategic co-operation will start between air transport company HNA Group and the Hungarian Capital Company Co. Ltd. • An agreement on the establishment of a bilateral business council signed by Wan Jifei, the President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and Sandor Demjan, President of the National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers.

- Co-operation in matters of air- and water-transport; - Co-operation between the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Hungarian Ministry of National Development; - On the development of the Hungarian railway system; - On the mutual establishment of cultural centers; - On the establishment of the Chinese East-Central European logistical and commercial platform; - On the setting up of a Central European Hungarian-Chinese Commercial Logistic and Development Co-operation Zone.

he was walking on the bank of the River Danube with Orban, he realized "friendship is more important than business." He noted that "the Danube flows the same way it did 24 years ago when we first visited Hungary. While there have been great changes since then, the friendship between the two countries remained the same," and invited Viktor Orban to visit him in China next year. Then, he turned to more specific subjects, saying China will support the development of the Hungarian economy by buying a "certain amount of Hungarian government bonds." He added that the Chinese Development Bank will provide Hungary with a EUR 1 billion loan. This loan will be used for projects between Chinese and Hungarian companies and is meant to boost investment in both directions, according to a statement by China's foreign ministry citing Wen. The Hungarian news portal index.hu said the loan will be provided to Hungarian companies seeking investment in China.

Orban said Hungary aims to double the volume of bilateral trade with China to USD 20 billion by 2015. Regarding China’s offer to buy Hungarian bonds, the Hungarian premier said this move was extremely important for Hungary. "We can finance ourselves from the financial markets, but it will mean a huge security for us if China buys Hungarian government bonds. For my part, I see the country’s financing solved for the medium term and I say: we have received a historic help from China, because we need this security so that we can go all the way on the path of economic reorganization that we have set forth on," he added.

Financing those in need Hungary will not be the first where China invests in government securities. It has already bought debt elsewhere in the European Union, such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Slovakia.

Answering a question, Wen could not say how many jobs they can create in Hungary, but he hopes that a lot. He said "Hungary has good economic fundamentals, favorable geographic

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

18

2 0 1 1 J U LY

> WEN J IABAO ARRIVES FOR A CEREMON IAL P E R F O R M A N C E AT T H E E LT E C O N F U C I U S I N ST I T U T E : The two countries wish to establish long-term cooperation for the benefit of future generations.

position and an appropriately skilled labor force." He also reminded that capital-strong Chinese companies have invested in the country over the past few years.

Before going to the United Kingdom and Germany, Wen said the EU needs to lean on its own strength if it wants to overcome the current problems. "I have faith in the progress of the European economy. Europe is strong in knowledge and within this Germany is strong in production, Great Britain in the financial sector and Central Europe is ahead of advantageous market opportunities. China is a long-term investor on the debt market and we have bought not an insignificant amount of euro-denominated bonds over the past years therefore we will consistently support Europe and the euro, and we are willing to manage the challenges together with the European party."

Respecting each other’s policies The Hungarian Prime Minister said they respect each other’s policies. "Hungary is a gateway for the EU; the question is whether there is anyone that wishes to use it. Today’s talks with the Prime Minister convinced me that China does want to use this gateway," Orban said. He added that even if he takes the specifics there are already a lot to talk about, such as an agreement on a USD 1 billion investment in the chemical industry and that China wants to create its logistics transport platform within Central Europe." He stressed that "we wish China to continue its policy by which it achieved fantastic successes in the past decades. And I’ll say it again: we Hungarians tip our hat to the achievement by which hundreds of millions of people were lifted up and ensured a future. It is not just that we have forged an advantageous alliance, but that we are proud of this alliance." <

Peter Trebitsch/MTI, Szilard Koszticsak/MTI

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN AND HIS CHINESE COUNTERPART WEN JIABAO SIGNED a dozen bilateral agreements on the last weekend of June, during the official two-day visit of the Chinese Premier to Budapest. The deals include a EUR 1 billion loan, the purchase of Hungarian debt, economic, military, cultural co-operation and the setting-up of a regional logistics center.

The Hungarian PM labeled China’s steps as "historic help". He has never before praised a foreign country this high, saying Hungary is proud to be China’s ally.

Orban said that while Hungary is member of a well-operating system of Euro-Atlantic relations, it needs new types of alliances and allies so that its renewal can be successful. "In order to be able to realize a complete economic turnaround in Hungary, we have closed today’s talks by making the People’s Republic of China and Hungary allies. This

>

requires strong foundations but these have already existed between the two countries.

The past 60 years and the fact that we think alike about the future have only reinforced these," Orban said. "Both countries reject the notion that you can prosper without work and this conviction will provide the basis of our cooperation in the future," he added.

PHOTOS BY

BY ANDRAS MULLER /PORTFOLIO.HU

19 union:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:07 PM Page 1

{ culture } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

> SYMB OL OF TH E EVENT: Award-winning journalist Alinda Veiszer with the ‘Magic Triangle’ of civilian, state and private sphere cooperation involving three countries in this event.

“UNION” DIALOG FOR THE COOPERATION OF DIVERSE PEOPLE HEART-WARMING SPEECHES BY AN UNUSUAL ASSEMBLAGE OF PERSONALITIES, A DOCUMENTARY FILM SHOWING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNORTHODOX VIEWS OF AN EMINENT SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST AND AN INTERACTIVE PANEL DISCUSSION ON CONTROVERSIES OF INCLUSION ATTRACTED AN ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD IN BUDAPEST ON JUNE 20, 2011. > SU PPORTI NG TH E CAUSE: The Cultural Attache of the American Embassy, John O. Ballian speaking on the importance of the dialog.

A RARE CONSTELLATION: the Hungarian > Government, the local Embassy of the United States and the local office of the Xinhua News Agency of the People’s Republic of China were represented. The rare event was jointly organized by Hungary’s Office of the Commissioner for Educational Rights and an NGO, Visual World Foundation.

Opening the gathering Minister of National Resources Miklos Rethelyi said in Hungary young people living with disabilities are highly exposed at school as they often suffer from exclusion. “Hungarian society has a long way to go to become inclusive and tolerant. The Government of Hungary considers it as its priority to ensure the dignity of those living with disabilities.” John O. Balian, Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the United States states: “Equality for all cannot be the goal of some. If it is to prevail, it must be the goal of everyone. The United States will continue to stand by those who are victims of hatred and intolerance. And we will continue to stand with all Hungarians who are committed to the

> ROU N DTAB LE DISCUSSION on the acceptance of diverse people in society.

> PROFESSORS FROM TH E TWO COASTS: Lia Epperson from the American University, Washington College of Law

PHOTOS BY

Julia Bedo, Attila Stenzinger, David Harangozo

and Aniko Imre from the University of Southern California (pictured on the left) flew over to attend the event. Pictured on the right is Botond Ekler-Szabo, a student of the Hungarian-Chinese School who participated in the film screned at the event. He didn’t think he would soon be in the company of the Chinese Premier visiting Hungary. (see photo on page 18)

> AT TH E FI LM PR EMI ER E: The producer of the movie ‘Putting together the jigsaw pieces - with Elliot Aronson’, Zsuzsanna Kozak (in the middle). struggle for equality.” Greeting a breathless audience in impeccable Hungarian, Yang Yongquian, Director of the Hungarian Office of Xinhua News Agency, welcomed the idea of inviting a media personality to participate in a conference rather than just to cover it. He stressed that today television, the news agencies and social networks need to be recognized as indispensable partners wherever a real social change is to be achieved.

The Hungarian Commissioner for Educational Rights, Lajos Aary-Tamas, said the event was meant to launch a countrywide dialogue on the removal of barriers to the inclusion of people who are often considered to be different from “normal”, whether they live with disabilities, suffer from some exotic disease, have above-average IQ, or just happen to be born outside Hungary. A documentary, entitled Putting Together the Jigsaw 2 0 1 1 J U LY

Pieces––with Elliot Aronson, directed by Kata Nagy, produced by Zsuzsanna Kozak and sponsored by the US Embassy, followed. The pivotal idea of the film is the so-called “jigsaw technique”, which was originally developed by Aronson to reduce racial conflicts among schoolchildren in the US. It is a cooperative learning approach that encourages tolerance among students. Spectators could hardly believe their eyes to see that at one of Budapest’s eminently inclusive secondary schools students with disabilities could seamlessly join gym lessons and dance parties of their healthy peers. Another segment of the documentary features a Budapest bilingual Hungarian-Chinese school, where Hungarian, Chinese, Mongolian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Russian and Sudanese children study in an ideal atmosphere of mutual acceptance.

The subsequent panel discussion provided a forum for experts in various fields, who shared a common vision: Hungary just cannot afford not to embrace those who differ from what is regarded as “normal”. <

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

19

> TH E OMBU DSMAN’S TOAST: The Commissioner for Educational Rights Lajos Tamas Aary, one of the initiators, says “today was only a start.”

VISUAL WORLD ESTABLISHED IN 2004 AND LED BY ZSUZSANNA KOZAK, one of the (two) initiators of the event, the Visual World Foundation is an NGO that functions as a channel between the media and schools. Its activities include film production, media literacy education, trainings and special events to promote tolerance. It seeks to bring closer people that differ in a number of ways by a creative and democratic use of the media. “I firmly believe in nonviolent communication and using soft methods of arts and education to build channels between diverse social groups,” says Ms. Kozak. She found inspiration for the final concept and the title of the event “Union” by the moving speech of Barack Obama “A more perfect Union”, delivered by thenSenator Barack Obama on March 18, 2008, before an audience at the national Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

It was screened for her, when she had been participating in International Visitor Leadership Program in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.

20 magyarics:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:08 PM Page 1

{ political analysis } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Nuclear Safety: Closures and Stress Tests SAFETY AND POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT

MANKIND WAS AGAIN SERVED A WARNING SIGNAL IN MARCH 2011 when an earthquake and a tsunami hit parts of Japan. Some 12,000 died because of the catastrophe and another 10,000 or so are still missing – most probably also killed. On top of the double hits, at least two of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reactors were destroyed, as well; the accident is said to have emitted a large amount of radioactive material into the air. The disaster of the Fukushima plant can only be compared to that of the Chernobyl nuclear station in 1986; others such as the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania are dwarfed by its magnitude.

The scale of the disaster sent shivers down the spines of the people all over the world for at least two reasons: First, the concern about the radioactive cloud, which was drifting over a large area in and around Japan. Second, the Japanese nuclear power plants had a reputation of being extremely carefully designed – and still, one of them almost fell

>

apart as a result of the natural disasters. People in faraway lands started to have doubts about the safety of nuclear power stations, which are believed to have inferior design and safety

extremely safe and modern, was built ”on a geological time bomb” according to a geologist who had been employed to give advice of the site of the construction – an advice eventually disregarded.

The German government’s reaction bordered on panic. Though, Angela Merkel’s CDU had committed itself to prolong the life of most of the 17 nuclear plants in Germany, the ruling coalition made a U-turn in this question. The Chancellor announced that eight nuclear reactors would immediately be shut; another six would be phased out by 2021, and only three would be kept online into 2022 as a source of reserve power. Other EU countries think that the German administration has overreacted to the situation – mostly for political reasons as the Greens and the Social Democrats are openly committed to abandoning nuclear energy in the near future, while the public at large has been traditionally anti-nuclear since the mid-1970s. It was especially the French, who produce 75 percent of their electricity in nuclear power plants, but also the British as well, who asked some pertinent questions regarding the replacement of nuclear – clean – energy. Nuclear power constitutes some 23 percent of Germany’s energy mix and to produce enough energy from alternative, renewable resources such as solar, wind or biomass will be a tall order for Berlin.

(Currently, these energy sources make up only 16.9 percent of the total energy consumption.)

The concern about Germany’s energy supply points beyond Germany itself; the country is the EU’s power house and driving engine; and if economic growth slows down, practically each country in the Union will feel its adverse effects.

The EU also responded quickly to the challenge.

Brussels does not seem to be in a hurry to encourage the member states to give up their nuclear power plants – one-third of the electricity in Europe is produced by nuclear reactors, and nuclear energy makes up 15 percent of the total energy consumed.

Therefore, Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, after a meeting with the national representatives, announced that the nuclear power stations will be put under”stress tests”.

These will be voluntary and Mr Oettinger did not go into details as to the consequences plants not successfully passing the tests would have – perhaps he counts on the power of public opinion in case problems are detected at the plants. Special attention might be paid to Britain’s gas-cooled Magnox reactors, Russian-

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

20

2 0 1 1 J U LY

The Paks power plant in Hungary is said to be very safe and it also plays an important role in the Hungarian energy mix: it produces some 40 percent of the electricity. The government is considering adding a new bloc to the existing ones – and, thus, doubling the performance of the nuclear station. The key question is, on the one hand, costs: it is clear that the government will not be able to finance it alone; and, on the other, is selecting the manufacturer. A GermanRussian consortium, the French Areva, American Westinghouse or even the Finns might be interested in the project. The choice will not only be based on technological or financial considerations, but it will be as much a strategic and political one as well. <

D&T Archive

DIRECTOR OF HUNGARIAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

made units in Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, as well as old boiling-water reactors in Germany, Spain, Sweden and Finland. There are two potential problems in forcing these or other plants to be shut. One is the question of how the countries concerned would be able to meet the environmental standards if they were to turn again to, for instance, coal. The other issue is political: it is especially the Central and East European states that would like to diversify their energy mix and nuclear power is regarded to be playing a role in this endeavor.

Unfortunately, they are the ones with the least technologically advanced Russian designs – some even Chernobyl-type plants. Moreover, as Jose Manuel Barroso declared at the G8 meeting in Deauville, ”we want nuclear stress tests to go beyond Europe.” If the European Commission or any other EU institution does not have the authority to impose its will on the member states, the question arises: how the EU wishes to act in this vital economic, security, and political question ’out-of-area’?

However, there are other real and direct dangers of an operating power plant besides natural catastrophes and defective designs. Power plants may be ideal targets for terrorists bent on creating havoc in Western countries. The German pilots’ association in a simulation demonstrated that even amateur pilots with little experience might be able to crash a plane into a power station. A form of defense would be shooting down a plane which is suspected of being used for such a kamikaze mission; however, a Constitutional Court decision in 2002 declared a proposed law permitting the destruction of passenger planes by the Luftwaffe unconstitutional. Second, as the cyber-attack on the Iranian nuclear program demonstrated, the digitalized more modern nuclear power plants are potential targets of hackers or government sponsored cyber-war experts.

PHOTOS BY

standards than the ones in Japan. Then, it turned out – as attention was focusing on the different types – that even Germany’s Neckarwestheim power plant in BadenWurttemberg, which is supposed to be

B Y T A M A S M A G YA R I C S

21 innovacio:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:08 PM Page 1

{ innovation } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Revolution in Wind Energy THE NEW GENERATION HUNGARIAN WIND TURBINE IS READY TO PRODUCE CHEAPER ENERGY THAN EVER BEFORE feed energy into the electricity grid. The new VATT is capable of storing locally and off-grid operation is also available. The main unit of the VATT works practically without maintenance. All the parts of the main equipment, the soul of the VATT, are on the ground, so, they are easy to handle or repair. No large space and service roads are required.

While people living near traditional wind turbines often complain about the noise, the VATT is quiet, the sound level is less than one decibel, even during high wind speed. That means the noise of the storm is louder than the unit's sound. The top unit of the VATT is a visible module, so it is

PHOTO BY

Courtesy picture

THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS LONG BEEN MAKING ATTEMPTS TO ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR FOSSIL FUELS and recently more and more officials and non-governmental organizations call for the closing of nuclear power stations, as well. Because of the continuous price increase of the fossil fuels, renewable energy is a real alternative. The production price of the latter is decreasing due new generation of technologies. One of the elements that mankind has an unlimited access to is wind.

Over thousands of years, there have been various attempts to harness its energy. The latest is a Hungarian new generation invention, the Vertical Axis Turbine Tower (VATT). The inventor, Dr Viktor Gyorgyi says the construction of a one-megawatt turbine costs around HUF 600 million (appr. EUR 2.25 million), thus, the investment can be recovered in less than five years, considering the current energy prices.

Experts say that the Hungarian electric industry has not produced an invention of such importance since the power transformer was patented in 1885. While the traditional horizontal axis types wind turbines only operate – efficiently or at all – between certain wind speeds (4m/sec90km/h) and cannot easily be turned into wind direction, the VATT runs at wind speed of 0.4 m/s (lively breeze) upwards. It is operating with winds coming from any direction, without the need to rotate. The cut-in wind speed is ten times less than that of the horizontal axis types wind turbines, and there is no need to turn it off even during high storms.

The cost of electricity production with the VATT is almost half of that of the horizontal axis types wind turbines. In addition, the traditional tower’s capacity is limited and cannot reasonably be further developed.

However, with this new invention, one can easily build 5-20 MW standalone power stations. Their power capacity fits to special requirements, due to the tailor-made system. The VATT is safe both during the installation and the continuous operation that is designed for 40 or more years (running day and night).

With the traditional horizontal wind turbine system, the issue of energy storage is not resolved; you need staff to operate a grid-tie inverter to

> THE NEW WIND TURBINE: The inventor, Professor Viktor Gyorgyi, with the picture of the VATT tower built in Felcsut, southwest of Budapest.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

21

not dangerous for the birds, and fits better into its surroundings. There are three different sized units of the VATT already working in Hungary in test operation.

International interest for it is increasing from electric works and private companies, as well. Recently, the invention was also publicized at the recent Budapest workshop of the European Wind Energy Association.

Professor Gyorgyi says mass production will start as adequate financial resources become available, including the best ways to draw EU funds, to bring to reality one of the keys to energy independence, the usage of locally produced energy. <

22 diplomacyandlife:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:09 PM Page 1

{ diplomacy and life } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

WITTY

LEAKS IN OUR SERIES, DIPLOMATS GIVE THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE EXPERIENCES OF THEIR “EXCURSIONS” TO HUNGARIAN CULTURE, ART, GASTRONOMY AND LANDSCAPE.

Cecilia Bjorner:

In the Homeland of Music

BY CECI LIA BJORN ER, AMBASSADOR OF SWEDEN

From Budapest to Laos TRAVEL TO TEACH KAI-PETER BROOKING, THE SON OF THE OUTGOING AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY IS GOING TO VOLUNTEER WITH THE “TRAVEL TO TEACH” PROGRAM IN LAOS, A COUNTRY KAI-PETER AND A FRIEND OF HIS DEEMED WAS IN MOST NEED OF ASSISTANCE, DUE TO ITS LOW AVERAGE POPULATION LITERACY RATING AND POOR ECONOMIC STATUS. KAI-PETER BROOKING I will be staying in Luang Prabang for a total of four weeks. I am unsure at the moment whether I will be tempted to stay longer, or whether I will decide to travel to another country to continue my volunteering experiences.

QUESTION Why do you think that volunteering is and can be especially rewarding?

ANSWER I think the most rewarding aspect of volunteer work may only come at the end of the trip, when your positive impact upon the society is fully evident. Though teaching English may not leave behind a physically

QUESTION Does the American International School in Budapest regularly produce graduates who are open for such assignments?

ANSWER I think so, yes. AISB encourages extra-curricular activities by requiring a certain amount of “CAS” (creativity, action, service) points to graduate. Students are encouraged to think independently with an international perspective. They also force you to put yourself in unfamiliar circumstances. For example, I quickly attained enough creativity and action points through my enthusiastic involvement in theater and sports, respectively. To achieve enough service points, for example, I went on trips to orphanages to entertain the children, and helped to repair a flood-damaged building for mentally handicapped people in Miskolc.

QUESTION What are your plans for the future after this mission?

ANSWER After Luang Prabang, Laos, I plan to return to Sydney, Australia and get myself ready for university there. I am still unsure what I will be studying in university, so my distant future remains very uncertain.

QUESTION Why would you suggest volunteering to anyone of your age?

ANSWER I think volunteering in countries like Laos can prove to be a cultural eye-opener to people who have never traveled to that part of the world before. Helping less fortunate people in such countries reminds us how drastically different one’s life could have been. And different cultures and people always have something valuable to teach us, so I’m expecting this teaching/learning experience in Laos to be a two-way street, with me benefitting from the local people’s knowledge and understanding of life. Such volunteering experiences could also prove useful in a recently graduated student’s Curriculum Vitae. Since I have been living in Budapest for four years and have not mastered the language, I was unable to get a part-time job here and gain any work experience to add to my Curriculum Vitae.

Most teenagers in Australia would have been engaged in some form of part-time job already, and would have been exposed to the job market before. By volunteering, I get the chance to add an interesting element to my CV as well as experience something completely different from my usual lifestyle. <

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

22

2 0 1 1 J U LY

David Harangozo

EARLIER, I USED TO FIND THE MUSIC OF LISZT A BIT TOO PERFECT AND EQUILIBRISTIC, but after a concert conducted by Ricardo Muti at the fantastic Hungarian Spring Festival a couple of years ago, I was completely thrilled and started to listen to Liszt in a new way. I visited the composer’s home in Sopron and his apartment here in Budapest and by now, I came to love his work, especially his piano music.

During my stay in Hungary, I also visited Bartok’s home here in Budapest.

It always gives me a deepened understanding and joy to see where these interesting artists lived at some point in their lives and Hungary has put good effort into keeping their famous countrymen’s homes as museums.

On the musical front, I still find Bartok being a challenge. I have, however, had the great pleasure to enjoy Ivan Fischer conduct pieces of Bartok on several occasions allowing me to experience so much of his interesting music out of which some really touches deeply. I am especially found of the music based on folk music from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and I have even visited some of the villages in Transylvania where Bartok is said to have been inspired by the beautiful voices of the village women.

Ligeti is strangely the composer I first and easiest took to my heart. I visited the award ceremony in Stockholm when Ligeti received the Polar Price and immediately grew attached to his modern and beautiful music.

To listen live to the Hungarian special treasure of Gypsy music was also a dream of mine – one that, of course, has come true. I am spoiled by having gotten to know some of these extremely talented artists and I have had the privilege to come to their various concerts, performances and even private jammings.

Not only Brahms was spellbound by these extraordinarily talented musicians, but also Kodaly, one of the other world-known composers of Hungary, who has produced fantastic music. I have had many nice music encounters with Kodaly but more needs to be explored – so, I have reasons to come back to this country so rich on musical talent and history. <

>

observable impact upon the students, the knowledge of having contributed to their education and ability to connect with the international community is rewarding nevertheless.

PHOTOS BY

One of my reasons for putting Hungary at the top of my priority list for postings five years ago was the possibility to dive into the treasures of music that this country is endowed with. I was both excited and curious to live in the homeland of Ligeti, Bartok, Liszt and others and I have certainly not been disappointed.

QUESTION What are your expectations?

ANSWER To be honest I have little experience with that part of the world and its culture and what to expect from the local peoples. I am also somewhat nervous about teaching students that are my own age or older (apparently students range from the age of 16 to 22). As far as I know, I am expected to spend two hours every day at the local Library, tutoring students and helping them with a variety of activities. In the evenings, I am required to prepare and deliver a two hour English lesson and provide one hour of reading tuition. I might have a hard time as a teacher with authority. Teaching a class will be quite an experience for me as an ex-student. I will also have to be wary of the social differences between Australian and Laotian etiquette.

23 sport:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:13 PM Page 1

{ sport } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

TO PL AC E ADS PLEASE CONTACT: info@budapestweek.com • adsales@budapestweek.com

ROBERTA VINCI WINS POLI-FARBE BUDAPEST GRAND PRIX

classifieds

real estate

PRICE: HUF 29,9 million

12TH DISTRICT. ISTENHEGYI STREET APARTMENT FOR SALE. First floor, 68 square meter includes living room, 2 bedrooms, air-conditioning and 9 sqm terrace with a lovely panorama view. A beautiful common garden and private parking place. The flat was renovated 3 years ago.

For information please contact the owner at 06 209 447112

> WORLD NO. 25 ITALIAN ROBERTA VINCI, the top seed, defeated Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 at the USD 220,000 Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix International women’s tennis tournament at the Romai Tennis

150-SQUARE-METER THREEROOM FLAT WITH AMERICANSTYLE KITCHEN, panoramic view and garden connection is for sale.

Located in a five-flat apartmenthouse built in 2002 on Szabadsag-hegy, the flat is of new condition, comes with a 62-sqm terrace, one garage and one carport.

Academy in the Hungarian capital in scorching heat at the first week-end of July.

In the decisive set, the 20-year-old Romanian, who has never won a WTA title before, had a 4-2 advantage but Vinci turned the set around by winning three games in a row. Begu served to stay in the match but the 28-year-old Italian broke her service game to win her third WTA title this season - all on different surfaces. This time, her prize money was USD 37,000.

“I began the match well. From the second set, I really felt tired and the heat also made things difficult but I’m from Palermo, Sicily and more used to such conditions than my opponent,” Vinci said after the match.

The Budapest Grand Prix trophy was presented to her by tournament director Jeno Marky, assisted by his three daughters. The Budapest tournament is one of the few WTA events where the right of organization and the venue of

PRICE: HUF 79 million.

Individual payment terms

the tournament are owned by the same person or company.

Although, the Budapest Grand Prix title was won in the previous two years by a Hungarian, Agnes Szavay, the best Hungarians could not be present this year due to injury. 2010 Wimbledon junior doubles champion Timea Babos had the best result, making it to the second round where she lost to would-be winner Roberta Vinci.

LA ESTANCIA POLO PICNIC 2011.

Media | Data | Analysis | Events | Trader

PHOTOS BY

Tibor Illyes/MTI, Gyorgy Kiss, Miklos Marczis

The first port of call for up-to-date information on the Hungarian economy, politics and the markets. > FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, LA ESTANCIA POLO CLUB has organized high quality social and sporting events and helped the wonderful polo sport take root here in Hungary. Our members have played polo around the world and that also served the purpose of promoting Hungary as one of the leading polo nations in Central and Eastern Europe. Organizing high class polo events was and is only possible due to support from sponsors. The family-like atmosphere of the club is what members and visitors are looking for in today’s often superficial world. More than 250 high profile guests enjoyed watching the fast and dynamic sport of polo while sampling all that the picnic, prepared by Marriott Hotel and an original Argentine asador (BBQ master), had to offer in the beautiful countryside surrounding Budapest.

Celebrities’ bicycle polo (with TV stars), Mercedes Oldtimer Club presentation and the well-known ladies hat competition guaranteed the guests' entertainment, between polo matches. Italy’s ambassador, Signor Campagnola drew the first ball into the polo field, opening the tournament with

players of seven different nationalities.

Mercedes Benz Pappas Auto polo team with Piero Dillier, Philipp and Uwe Zimmermann playing for them. Second place was earned by the Caprice team, with the participation of Michael Goldberg, Peter Grundberg and Gyorgy Dvoracsek. Third place went to Team Uniqa with Renate Seidler, Michael Husted and Gabor Ronai. The Polo Picnic is a new format which attracts many national and international visitors and continues the tradition of being a highlight of the summer calendar of the society of Budapest.

2 0 1 1 J U LY

Portfolio.hu/en offers: Macroeconomic news and in-depth analyses Equity news, quotes and stats Real estate news Interviews with key decision makers in every sector Conferences and other events in various fields News on politics, energy, tax issues Forex and fixed income news and analyses And a lot more!

www.portfolio.hu/en

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

23

24-25 visegrad:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:14 PM Page 1

{ culture } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

Chivalrous Summer in Visegrad JOUSTING TOURNAMENTS, ROYAL FEASTS AND LOTS OF ROMANCE LOCATED IN THE DANUBE BEND, ONLY A 30-MINUTE DRIVE FROM BUDAPEST, VISEGRAD IS A POPULAR DESTINATION FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS. WHILE THE SIZE OF THE POPULATION IS LESS THAN 1,700 PEOPLE, THE AREA HOSTS 300,000 VISITORS A YEAR. ages, in addition to fiery Hungarian wines, cool Czech beers or the Polish honey brandy. The Royal Wine Court invites all for merry tasting and drinking. To help choose the best for the guests, wine makers from their famous vineyards will be on hand.”

FOR THOSE WHO SEEK A LIVING RECREATION OF KNIGHTLY COMBAT AT ARMS, Visegrad is the right place to visit. The annual Royal Palace Tournament is one of the largest knight tournaments to be found in Hungary. Organized by the city of Visegrad and the Saint George Knightly Order, the four-daylong fest is held every year in July, attracting up to 42,000 visitors. In the open air theater of the Lower Castle, aside from battling knights in the ad-hoc stadium, the fest also provides, a Medieval Market Fair with costumed performers and purveyors of medieval food, goods and crafts, presenting a recreation of life in the Middle Ages at a real medieval castle setting – without the smell.

“Over two hundred knights and men-at-arms from the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and the Carpathian Highlands, along with the Hungarian Royal Knights of Saint George, enter the contests every year,” organizers say.

“Archers start the show by showering their adversaries with their accurate and deadly arrows. Royal falconers, beautifully dressed court ladies, crossbow men, flag throwers and magicians entertain the kings, their nobles and the distinguished audiences.” Other programs feature several competitions, such as the live chess or the medieval ball game. There’s a medieval harbor set on the Danube bank with sloops and galleys, and on board feasts. In the Royal Palace, a medieval puppet exhibition and fair is organized while on the park stage and at the King Matthias statue, comedies, medieval dance and concerts entertain the guests. The medieval market takes place on the main street and in front of the royal palace. Here, visitors can learn about and also try the skills of blacksmiths, bakers and glass blowers. At the Salamon Tower, the court stage offers historic music concerts, love trials, a troubadour contest, comedies and dance performances.

According to the organizers, one of the highlights of the fest is the Torch Procession, an evening parade through the main street of Visegrad to the Royal Palace. There’s a great emphasis on gastronomy. “Each day, you can choose to feast with kings, nobles or knights and taste the traditional dishes of the middle

>

Castle Days

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

24

2 0 1 1 J U LY

PHOTOS BY

courtyard, which, during the heydays of the castle, was flowing with red and white wine.

Salamon Tower got its name after a false story.

In fact, King Salamon was never kept in this tower, but on the Sibrik Hill. On the other hand, Transylvanian prince Vlad Tepes, better known as 'Dracula', was held captive here between 1462 and 1474. The 31-meter high tower with its 3.5-8 m thick walls was the country’s strongest construction at the time. It served as part of the protection system to control the route crossing at its foot and continuing on the Danube embankment. Today, the Salamon Tower is a museum and exhibition hall. So is the Citadel that was originally built as a castle refuge for the Dominican nuns of Rabbit Island, among them Princess Margaret. A replica of the Hungarian Crown is on display here. <

Hungarian National Tourism Office/Mihaly Kutvolgyi, Pro Visegred Kft.,

The “sister edition” of the June fest is the Medieval Castle Days, this year to be held August 13-14. The series of programs will focus and revive the Castle’s Golden age, the 14th century era of the Hungarian knight-king, Louis the Great. Those who can’t make it this summer are encouraged to visit the castle “any time of the year.” Even during the winter period, tournaments are performed within the castle walls, only the outdoor location changes for the Salamon Tower’s chambers. The castle alone is worth a visit. The most popular sights are the Citadel, the Salamon Tower and of course, the Royal Palace complex, including the Matthias Palace, the Chapel and the southern Beatrice Palace. There’s a fountain in the Gala

24-25 visegrad:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:14 PM Page 2

{ culture } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

About Visegrad

PHOTO BY

Pro Visegred Kft.

> VISEGRAD IS LOCATED 43 KMS NORTH OF BUDAPEST. It can be easily accessed by car but for those who look for a unique experience, we suggest a boat trip on the Danube. The town was always in the center of attention during history due to its favorable amenities and strategic location. The earliest traces of a human presence in the area dates back to the New Stone Age, and ever since, the town and its surroundings have been populated continuously. After the Celts, Romans settled here. You can still see the ruins of Roman watchtowers along the Danube. The first Latin language document mentioned the Visegrad fortress and its county in 1009. (The word Visegrad means ‘tall fortress’.) The first king of Hungary, Istvan I, established a stewardship here and raised the archdeacon’s church, the foundations of which still stand on Castle Hill. King Bela IV built the current fortress system in the 1250s. King Karoly Robert started the construction of the Royal Palace on the main street of the town close to the Danube Bank around 1320. Within a couple of years, Visegrad was turned into royal headquarters and became the favorite residing place of the King. The famous Royal Summit of Central-European kings took place here in 1335.

They signed an agreement, which secured the economic independence of the affected countries from Vienna and from the Western merchants. In 1370, Louis the Great was welcoming the delegation of the Polish Orders in the castle, who offered him the Polish crown. In 1440, a real thriller took place in the castle, when the mother of the tragic-fated King Laszlo V had the crown stolen for his son, which was later mortgaged together with the town of Sopron by his uncle, the German Emperor Frederic III. King Matthias managed to regain the crown, by paying an extraordinary 80, 000 golden coins for it. It was under the reign of King Matyas (Matthias Rex) that the

next period of glory came for Visegrad. He erected magnificent buildings in the fortress and renovated the palace in Renaissance style. Matthias's renaissance court was often visited by the prominent figures of the era, who were studying science, philosophy and literature, supporting arts and innovations. Visitors arriving from faraway countries described Visegrad as "Paradise on Earth". The riverside palace was destroyed during Turkish occupation and later dismantled by locals for building material. For a while, nobody mentioned the palace, as if it would have been buried underground.

The heavy rainfalls washed down the soil of the steep mountainside and completely covered the remnants. Though archaeologists were looking for these in the 19th century, it wasn’t until 1934 when architect Janos Schulek (son of Frigyes Schulek, who designed the Fisherman’s Bastion and the Matthias Church in Buda castle) managed to dig out a chapel. Excavations have been taking place here continuously since then. With the arrival of steamboat traffic on the Danube in the early 19th century, Visegrad quickly became a popular location for outdoor activities. Its current settlement structure developed at that time. The area along the Danube bank was given a new lease of life and a large enclosed sports bay was developed near the Lepence Lido. The Royal Palace’s historical walls witnessed the first modern-day summit meeting of the heads of state or government of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland in 1991. (In autumn 2006, again Visegrad hosted the meeting of the Prime Ministers of these – now four – ’Visegrad countries` celebrating the 15 years of success of their cooperation.)

Join the ‘Best Club’ and enjoy the benefits all year long!

The Best of Budapest Card is a premium loyalty card established by Budapest Week Publishing to provide valuable benefits to its cardholder members.

The Best of Budapest Loyalty Card offers discounts (5-20%) at many restaurants,hotels, shops and service providers in Hungary.

Order a BEST OF BUDAPEST CARD for your family members, friends or business partners!

2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

25

To apply for the Card and to find the Best of Budapest Card partners please visit our website

www.bestofbudapest.com

26-27 sor:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:16 PM Page 1

{ culture } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

The Divine Drink WHAT’S COMMON IN THE MONKS AND A HONEYMOON? DID YOU KNOW THAT QUEEN ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND HAD A HABIT OF DRINKING STRONG ALE FOR BREAKFAST? FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE DRINK THAT IS THE WORLD’S THIRD MOST POPULAR DRINK, AFTER WATER AND TEA. Monastery breweries in Europe

TAKEN IN MODERATION, BEER IS ACTUALLY VERY HEALTHY. R H It's full of vitamins and E E T B AL E minerals which are good for &H nerve production, it helps you concentrate, increase your blood circulation, and stimulate the metabolism. The hops, low alcohol content and carbonation help relax the body. A glass of beer has less calories than the equivalent amount of whole milk or apple juice, and much less than the empty calories contained in harder libations. Alcohol raises the levels of HDL (good cholesterol) thus benefiting the heart and circulatory system. In the past, physicians and holistic practitioners have used beer liberally in their cures, too. One important reason is that due to the brewing process, beer was actually safer to drink than the water or milk (which was usually preserved as

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

26

2 0 1 1 J U LY

BEER TRADITIONS 4,000 YEARS AGO IN BABYLON it was an accepted practice that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-inlaw with all the mead or beer he could drink. In ancient Babylon, the calendar was lunar-based – based on the cycle of the moon. The month following any wedding was called the "honey month" which evolved into "honeymoon".

i t

With the invention of the steam engine in 1765, industrialization of beer became a reality.

Further innovations in the brewing process came about with the introduction of the thermometer and hydrometer in the 19th century, which allowed brew masters to increase efficiency and attenuation. Prior to the late 18th century and the discovery of the

t

Innovations

Zt C

how one ate it. He had also not learned to drink beer. The whore opened her mouth and spoke to Enkidu: 'Eat the bread now, O Enkidu, as it belongs to life. Drink also beer, as it is the custom of the land'..." The Finnish epic Kalevala, collected in written form in the 19th century but based on oral traditions many centuries old, devotes more lines to the origin of beer and brewing than it does to the origin of mankind. There is a specific hieroglyph for "brewer" in Egypt indicating the importance of beer in the Egyptian culture. It is believed that the Egyptians taught the Greeks how to brew beer, who then taught the Romans, who in turn taught those “savage tribes” in Europe. The Romans called their brew "cerevisia," after Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, and vis, Latin for "strength." Beer was important to early Romans, but during Republican times, wine displaced beer as the preferred alcoholic beverage. Beer became a drink considered fit only for barbarians.

As almost any substance containing certain sugars that can undergo spontaneous fermentation due to wild yeasts in the air, beerlike beverages were probably invented independently on different continents. Nearly every culture developed their own version using different grains. Africans used millet, maize and cassava. The Chinese used wheat.

The Japanese used rice. The Egyptians used barley. Desperate early American colonists with a shortage of barley and hops in the new world made beer from corn, molasses, wheat bran, pumpkins, and even persimmons. Agave was used in Mexico and sweet potatoes in Brazil.

D h

> TH E WOR D ‘beer’ comes from the Latin word ‘bibere’ meaning ‘to drink.’

Courtesy pictures

OFTEN REFERRED TO AS LIQUID BREAD, BEER IS AS OLD AS THE CIVILIZATION. It is possible that mankind took a sip from this brew of fermented grain sooner than from wine. Historians even speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain & water before learning to make bread. Back in 1868, James Death put forward a theory in ‘The Beer of the Bible’ that manna from heaven was in fact a bread-based, porridge-like beer called wusa. The modern anthropologist Alan Eames believes that "beer was the driving force that led nomadic mankind into village life. It was this appetite for beermaking material that led to crop cultivation, permanent settlement and agriculture."

Chemical tests of ancient pottery jars reveal that beer was already produced 7,000 years ago in what is today Iran. The Sumerians in Mesopotamia called it ‘Divine Drink’ and offered it to their gods. The Babylonians derived from that of the Sumerians and consequently developed the art of brewing beer. There is a 4,000-year-old clay tablet that depicts master brewers as highly respected members of society.

In 2100 B.C.E., Hammurabi, the 6th King of Babylonia, decreed the first written laws, and he included a daily beer ration based on the individual’s established social standing. During this time, beer was never sold, it was used for trade. In Israel, beer was produced as early as the days of King Saul and King David. One of the first great works of world literature, the Gilgamesh Epic, define the evolution from primitive man to "cultured man", by differentiating between man with and without beer: "... Enkidu knew not, what bread was nor

R BEEORY T S I H

Up until the 14th century, beer was made at home. In those days, as most household tasks, beer production was the job of women. A good beer qualified the woman of the house as well as a good bread or meal. Nonetheless, little by little, it became the job of men, as enough beer had to be provided for the monasteries, abbeys and episcopacies. Monastery beer production was a real teamwork. The monks checked the quality of their product almost daily, and always discussed how they could make brew of even higher quality. As a result of this, by the 15th century, monks collected an immense amount of expertise in the art of brewing. They could brew several types of beer specialties in such quantities that they could provide enough for the surrounding area, also. The monasteries lived with the opportunity, and they opened beer houses near their breweries. Herbs were often employed in beer prior to hops. Brewers used balsam, hay, dandelion, mint, wormwood seeds, horehound juice, and even crab claws and oyster shells for flavorings. Most beers until relatively recent times were what are now called ‘ales.’ Lagers were discovered by accident in the 16th century after beer was stored in cool caverns for long periods; they have since largely outpaced ales in terms of volume.

PHOTOS BY

BY REKA A. FRANCISCK

thermometer, malt was primarily dried over fires made from wood, charcoal, or straw, and after 1600, from coke. In general, none of these early malts would have been well shielded from the smoke involved in the kilning process, and consequently, early beers would have had a smoky component to their flavors. The hydrometer transformed how beer was brewed. Before its introduction, beers were brewed from single malt: brown beers from brown malt, amber beers from amber malt, pale beers from pale malt. Using the hydrometer, brewers could calculate the yield from different malts. They observed that pale malt, though more expensive, yielded far more fermentable material than cheaper malts. Once this was known, brewers switched to using mostly pale malt for all beers supplemented with a small quantity of highly-colored malt to achieve the correct color for darker beers. The invention of the drum roaster in 1817 by Daniel Wheeler allowed for the creation of very dark, roasted malts, contributing to the flavor of porters and stouts. The discovery of yeast's role in fermentation in 1857 by Louis Pasteur gave brewers methods to prevent the souring of beer by undesirable microorganisms. In 1953, New Zealander Morton W. Coutts developed the technique of continuous fermentation.

Coutts patented his process which involves beer flowing through sealed tanks, fermenting under pressure, and never coming into contact with the atmosphere, even when bottled. His process is used by Guinness. Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of several multinational companies, and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. Advances in refrigeration, international and transcontinental shipping, marketing and commerce have resulted in an international marketplace, where the consumer has literally hundreds of choices between various styles of local, regional, national and foreign beers.

26-27 sor:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:16 PM Page 2

{ culture } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

cheese). An old folk remedy to rid the face of freckles was to wash the face with warm beer.

Cooking with Beer Belgium is famous for its Carbonnade a la Flamande, a thick stew of beer, bacon, onions, and brown sugar. Many home cooks prefer their shellfish and hot dogs steamed in beer.

Beer also has wonderful tenderizing properties, making it an excellent choice for a marinade for tougher cuts of meat. Baked goods using beer have a more moist texture and a longer shelf life. Used in a glaze or baste, beer adds wonderful flavor to poultry and ham. In batter coatings for fried foods, the yeast in the beer acts as a mild leavening agent, causing the batter to puff up, as well as adding a distinctive enhancing flavor.

MANY BELIEVE THAT HUNGARIANS ARE ANCIENT WINE-DRINKERS, but in truth, our ancestors too, might have known about beer sooner than wine. During our couple of hundred years of migration, we probably grew crops that ripen in a few months rather than vine for which takes years to produce quality fruit. They put the grain ground on stones in leather bags, which they filled with water, and thoroughly shook up. After this, they put „ fire stones” into the bottles to raise the temperature of the stuff inside, and finally added the hop to it. They heated it until it boiled, and in the meantime they shook the huge bag several times. After it started boiling, they placed it into water or sprinkled it in order to cool it down. When this was all done, they let it ferment. This ancient brewing process and the use of hop are described in a text of a Volgan-Bolgar oath from the 10th century:” We will stay in peace as long as the stone flows and the hop sinks.” The first written source mentioning beer in Hungarian is kept in the archive of the High Abbacy of Pannonhalma.

This text from 1152 contains the last will of Lady Gyongy, in which she requires that a „beer burial feast” be held.

The guilds started developing from the 14th century in Hungary. Brewers, however, only started their own guilds a couple hundred years later, in the 16th century, since it was

PHOTOS BY

Dreher Zrt., Courtesy pictures

R IN Y BEENGAR HU

every citizen’s right to brew beer for their own family. Mastery of the art became important when demesne and city breweries finally got the right to sell their products. Citizens who made a living out of producing beer joined together to make guilds, and introduced an obligatory examination which any student of the craft had to take before the guild leadership after two years of studying and three years of wandering. The industrial law of 1840 made brewing, selling and importing free – in return for certain taxes –, and so paved the

way for the development of industrial beer production. This law led to the development of the Brewing Rules of Pest, which took effect from 1843. These rules gave basis for an industrial practice based on free competition.

The city of Pest gave back the ancient Hungarian right to brew, and thus paved the way for the development of industrial sized beer production. In 1844, Peter Schmidt built the first free brewery in Pest, and started storing his beer in Kobanya, near Pest. As a result of the quarrying that went on in that village for centuries, massive underground caverns and tunnels developed, which were excellent for maturating beer. It was at this time that well-boring was invented, and people started finding top quality water under the rocks at Kobanya. The water and system of deep cellars offered a fine opportunity for brewing beer. This was taken advantage of by some brave and creative entrepreneurs and investors, who built the first industrial brewery in Kobanya (it was considered industrial because it used power tools, namely steam machines). This brewery, the one founded in 1854 on Jaszberenyi Street was the first Hungarian beer factory. It still produces today, as the plants of Dreher Breweries Ltd. Around the middle of the 19th century, breweries were built one after another in Kobanya.

Hungarian beer market does not look so good at the moment, according to Laszlo Benedek, Sales Director of Heineken Hungaria Sorgyarak Zrt. “In the past 3 years, sales dropped by 25 %,” he says. “In the catering sector, the more elegant a restaurant is, the less beer is consumed. At the same time, there are still people who can’t afford beer and choose low quality wine to make spitzer instead.” Still, Hungarian beer drinkers consumed 1.2 billion bottles of beer in a year. (20 years ago that was 2 billion.) 97% of this volume was produced in Hungary. Hungarian women tend to drink less beer than men. According to Benedek, Soproni is today’s most successful domestic brand.

“Hungarians, for some reason, prefer beer in can,” he continues. “Packaging is considered nearly as important as the beer itself. While other Eastern and Central Eastern European countries loved the idea of PET bottled beer, Hungarians weren’t open for it. On the other hand, this season’s latest trend featuring lighter, fruity flavored beer, seems to win over 2 0 1 1 J U LY

HEALTHY DRINK SOME NICHE MARKETS HAVE ONLY DEVELOPED in the past few years. Perhaps, particularly noteworthy is gluten free beer, which has been developed because of the extreme reaction by one in a hundred people to gliadin and hordein (together: gluten) that is present in wheat and barley, respectively. Around thirty different gluten free beers are now available worldwide. With more and more people discovering that they have coeliacs, Dermatitis herpetiformis, or other conditions that rule out all "mainstream" beer, this niche is likely to expand dramatically in the near future.

containers, where the sweet beer juice is separated from the marc. After the virgin brew has dripped down, hot water is spilled on the marc to get the rest of the extract. The beer juice is cooked at this point, while hop, the main spice of beer, is added. Its type, quantity, and the timing of its addition to the brew give the typical bitterness and aroma of the beer.

After cooking, proteins, which solidified during the process, are removed, and the beer juice is cooled down. Special beer yeast is placed into the cooled hop-containing brew. It is the yeast (a mass of fungus) that starts the fermentation, which takes place at carefully

the Hungarians’ hearts. So do music and gastronomy fests, so these events are often used to promote beer consumption. Sponsoring sport events is another way to advertise beer.”

The Sales Director reveals that beer is subject to two taxes, GST and excise (levied on the alcohol content), which is one of the highest in the CEE region. “Excise duty rate on wine is almost nothing, comparing to beer.”

Manufacturing Grain is to beer as grape is to wine. The barley is malted in preparation to the brewing process. After the harvest, the two-rowed barley is stored for a couple of months, then, it

> TH E DR EH ER B R EWERY I N KOBANYA: The first Hungarian beer factory was founded in 1854. is soaked in water, until it germinates. It is dried afterwards, and the germs are removed. This way, the proteins present in barley are melt easier, and certain enzymes are created which help starch to turn into sugar during the cooking. The choice and balance of different malt types (Pilsener, caramel and paint-malt are all made using different technologies) has paramount significance in deciding the taste, color, aroma and feel of the resulting beer.

Specially treated water is added to the ground barley, and corn, which makes the brew more smooth and drinkable. The thick soup that results is called the mash. With gradual heating, its starch content can turn to sugar, which is able to melt. The possible alcohol content, color and character of the beer all depend on the used materials (recipe), the length of the mashing and the temperature difference. The mash is placed into filtering

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

27

maintained temperatures. During this process, the beer yeast turns the sugar content of the brew into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The settled yeast is removed from the freshly fermented beer (which is called “green beer” and “lad beer” in Hungarian). At this point, it is placed into even colder conditioning containers, where the mellowing process continues. Once the typical aromas of the beer have properly mixed and grown into harmony, the beer is filtered, and the resulting and clean drink, rich in carbon dioxide, is filled into containers. As beer is best when it is fresh, the packaging takes places as quickly and as effectively as possible. The refreshing liquid is placed into barrels, bottles and cans at high capacity mechanized packaging rows. The beer is pasteurized before it is placed into barrels to ensure that it will retain its quality until it comes out of the tap. The same procedure is also performed on canned and bottled beers, but only after they are placed into their container. The traditional beers are 85-95 percent water. The contents of the water strongly influence the taste of the beer also. The salts in the water come into a chemical reaction with the malt and the other materials in the liquid, and they also influence the process of fermentation. <

BEER PRAYER Our lager, Which art in barrels, Hallowed be Thy drink, Thy will be drunk, At home as I am in the tavern.

Give us this day our foamy head, And forgive us our spillages, As we forgive those who spill against us, And lead us not to incarceration, But deliver us from hangovers, For thine is the ale, The bitter and the lager, Forever and ever, Barmen.

28 cultural events:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:16 PM Page 1

{ what’s on } M O N T H L Y

I N

P R I N T

-

D A I L Y

O N

T H E

W E B

www.dteurope.com

the eight

st. stephen’s day

UNTIL SEP 12 AT MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS This exhibition presents works by the so-called ’The Eight,’ a group of painters > closely associated with the international trends that arose in the fine arts at the beginning of the 20th century. The Budapest show comprising some 200 works adopted a reworked concept of the recently closed The Eight in Pecs, southern Hungary and showcases prominent works selected from the Pecs exhibition. The members of The Eight (Robert Bereny, Dezso Czigany, Bela Czobel, Karoly Kernstok, Odon Marffy, Dezso Orban, Bertalan Por, Lajos Tihanyi) created their own style in the early years of the 20th century, primarily inspired by French Modern art. Their exhibition in Budapest in 1909 marked a turning point in the history of Hungarian art, since this was the first group of young painters whose work closely fitted in with the most modern international trends of that time. The three shows they staged were accompanied by cultural events with the participation of such artists and thinkers as Endre Ady, Bela Bartok, Zoltan Kodaly, and Gyorgy Lukacs. www.szepmuveszeti.hu

ON AUG 20 AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS August 20th is the greatest > national holiday for Hungarians, celebrated with daylong festivities followed by spectacular fireworks throughout the country. St. Stephen’s Day commemorates the foundation of the Hungarian state, as Stephen I, the first king of Hungary was canonized on this very day. Festivities in Budapest usually start at 8.30 AM with the raising of the Hungarian flag in Kossuth Square and continue all day long, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display over the Danube. The main events include the procession of St. Stephen's Holy Right Hand around the Basilica, the Court of St Stephen, a historical playhouse, archery shows, a water parade and an air show along the embankments of the river Danube.

St. Stephen's Day also marks the festival of the new bread celebrated in cities and towns across the country. Traditionally, the first bread from the new harvest is baked on this day. Bread Blessing ceremony will start at 3.30 PM at Clark Adam Square. Cardinal Peter Erdo will bless the craftsmen’s bread at 5 PM in the Basilica.

sziget Festival 2011 AUG 10-15 AT HAJOGYARI SZIGET > Sziget Festival is one of the largest music festivals in the world and certainly the best party-filled week of the year in Hungary. Around 400,000 people come every August to the 'Sziget' for a week of music and entertainment.

Organizers teamed up to present the hottest concerts of the day featuring well known international artists, the cream of Hungarian bands and rising stars.

POP-ROCK MAIN STAGE: Dizee Rascal, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Good Charlotte, Hadouken!, Interpol, Kasabian, Pulp, Rise Against, Skunk Anansie, Smash Mouth, The Chemical Brothers, The Maccabees, The National EUROPE STAGE: Go back to the zoo, Sohne Mannheims, Triggerfinger, Verdena WORLD MUSIC MAIN STAGE: AfroCubism, Bassekou Kouyate, Cheikh Lo, Choc Quib Town, Debout Sur Le Zinc, Djelimady Tounkara, Eliades Ochoa, Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, Gotan Project, Kasse Mady Diabate, Les Hurlements d’Leo, Ojos de Brujo, Rotfront, Socalled A38-WAN2 STAGE: Crystal Castles, Hurts, Marina and the Diamonds, Peter Bjorn and John PARTY ARENA: Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Kid Cudi ROCK AND METAL MAIN STAGE: Deftones, Judas Priest, Lostprophets, Motorhead, Sonata Arctica, Within Temptation

vaJdahunyadvar summer music Festival UNTIL AUG 8 AT VAJDAHUNYAD CASTLE IN CITY PARK Enjoy a great selection of classical, gipsy, swing and klezmer music, old film music and world hits, > couplets and pop music in bar mood in the very heart of Budapest. Performers include the King Saint Stephen Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Ragtime Band, the 100-member Gypsy Orchestra, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (MAV), the Budapest Klezmer Band, the Budapest Bar and the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra. www.vajdahunyad.hu

Jewish summer Festival BETWEEN AUG 27 AND SEP 5 Organized annually by the Jewish > Tourism and Cultural Center, the Jewish Summer Festival in Budapest is a great opportunity to find out everything about the Hungarian Jewish culture.

Klezmer music, cantor concerts, classical music concerts, light music concerts, dancing and kosher cabaret are on the list of programs every year. You can even taste Jewish gastronomic specialties. For programs and venues, check out the festival’s website at www.zsidonyarifesztival.hu

new orleans swing From liszt to ragtime

25th Festival oF Folk arts (mestersegek unnepe)

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

28

2 0 1 1 J U LY

BudaFest summer Festival UNTIL AUGUST 17 AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS > Budafest is a popular summer event celebrating classical music, opera and ballet. Both Hungarian and foreign acts converge in the Opera House to perform for locals and tourists. Other locations include St. Stephen Square in front of the Basilica (Pest, City Center) and the Dominican Court in front of the Hotel Hilton (Buda, Castle Hill).

Courtesy pictures

AUG 19-21 IN CASTLE DISTRICT This festival is the most significant forum for > living folk culture in Hungary. The most renowned Hungarian artists and craftsmen from different regions of the country will introduce their skills handed down from many generations. In the archaic atmosphere of the Buda Castle, visitors are welcomed by leatherworkers, candle-makers, beading masters, potters, woodcarvers, egg painters, gingerbread makers. We can get acquainted with such aspects of the village women’s everyday life of the old times as feather cleaning, corn harvesting and embroidering. This year, egg painting, candle making and honey cake making will be in focus. Special guests of this year are the authentic representatives of the Bulgarian folk culture: craftsmen, dancers, musicians. Besides the workshops and fair, there are folk dances and folk music concerts. Gastronomy of the Hungarian countryside will also be introduced.

The Festival of Folk Arts is an ideal family program. www.mestersegekunnepe.hu

PHOTOS BY

AUG 26-28 AT PALACE OF ARTS > This three-day festival, inspired by the jazz city of New Orleans, is enjoying its seventh highly successful year. The event, dedicated to connecting the dots between traditional jazz and swing, will kick off on Friday with the Bohem Ragtime Jazz Band, whose members have been making music for a quarter of a century. They will take the audience back in time to the 19th century in an attempt to demonstrate, with dozens of musical illustrations, how Ferenc Liszt – born 200 years ago – influenced jazz music and ragtime in particular. It is surprising to learn just how much traditional jazz owes Liszt and his Romantic contemporaries. By drawing general musical parallels and highlighting connections between individual numbers, the band reveals that ragtime and early jazz would not have been possible without Liszt and the Romantic virtuosi. The leader of the “Bohemians” is Tamas Ittzes, winner of the Hungarian Radio Piano Competition in 2003. He is joined by guest pianist Balint Zsoldos, who highlights hidden connections from the classical music perspective – in highly entertaining fashion. www.mupa.hu

29 falconguard:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:17 PM Page 1

30-31 restaurants:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:18 PM Page 1

{ best of budapest } T H E

M E A S U R E

O F

Q U A L I T Y

www.bestofbudapest.com

restaurants in the town

ReD anD whiTe:

Polish cuisine

BY I ST VA N B E D O

Square Bistro: a new SquaRe DownTown SQUARE BISTRO JOINS THE CATERING SUPPLY ON BUDAPEST’S LISZT FERENC SQUARE with a new image and new gastronomy. With its culinary style, furnishment and services, it admittedly targets the neighborhood’s audience that seeks a fresh atmosphere. Chef Tamas Palless offers the familiar dishes of international cuisine but with individual orchestration, as well as his own novelties with creative imagination, without any special magic. The main stylistic direction is Europe, from south to north. Perhaps, the Italian-inspired dishes are slightly more emphasized. Foreign guests will find seafood as well as the traditions of Hungarian cuisine.

Everything is prepared fresh from high-quality

>

ingredients. It is worth noting that the chef sometimes also prepares daily creations, not found on the menu. The wine list is a targeted selection of excellent wines from the country's wineries, from light whites to serious reds.

The establishment is also the closest to a French bistro in its decoration with sofas and small tables by the wall. Small recesses, art gallery and a separate dining room are all suitable for smaller or larger groups to gather privately.

The Square terrace, in front of the restaurant, offers itself to late night quiet background music-loving guests sipping coffee or a cocktail. < OPEN: MONDAY-SUNDAY 12:00-23:00 ADDRESS : 1061 BUDAPEST, Liszt Ferenc ter 5.

TELEPHONE: + 36 (70) 375 6376

> COOL CLIMATE HAS LESS FLAVORFUL RAW MATERIALS TO OFFER THAN THE WARMER CLIMATES,

BUT PROPER INGENUITY HELPS TO SERVE UP VERY TASTY DISHES ON THE TABLE. They say the bigos itself is a concentrate of Polish history: everything is conjunct in the interest of the sacred goal... The foundations are laid with sour cabbage and onions, then cunningly layered in a large saucepan with shredded poultry, game, pork shoulder (although, others swear by more bony meat) and sausage. Tomato and garlic are used for flavoring, but the dish is even more credible if wild mushrooms are also included. Sometimes vodka is used to strengthen it, other times with a portion of wine. Every family is said to have their different bigos recipe. So no matter how many recipes we can find, all are authentic.

Cooked carp is a characteristic Polish fish dish.

Anyone who has tasted meat ‘hunter style’, will welcome as a friend the fish prepared this way. The whole carp is cooked soft in a marinade prepared with lots onions, carrots, turnips, celery, pepper and leeks.

Then, the sauce whose sweet-sour taste is quite a surprising pairing, is made with similar materials but with red wine and lemon, a little vinegar with sugar and raisins added. It makes the sweet-tasting pond fish special.

In this cuisine unifying a wide variety of effects, the national dessert is the donut (paczek or pontshek). It is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with comfiture or other sweet filling. The paczek is made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk. They are usually covered with powdered sugar or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol is added to the dough before cooking; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough.

Tacos Locos: The ReaL Mexico BROUGHT TO BUDAPEST BY RAMON TUMA, TACOS LOCOS OFFERS the fresh and vibrant tastes of real Mexican cuisine, in the heart of the city. The native Mexican owner’s passion for authenticity covers every detail, from the decor, to the menu, to the food presentation. Be warned: don't come to Tacos Locos looking for a thin, white, tasteless version of tortilla. Tacos Loco’s tortillas are small, hearty and baked from corn. Most of the food is made daily on the premises from traditional ingredients, many of which are imported directly from Mexico. The venue has been popular with regulars and tourists alike – in the sizzling summer heat, guests can sit outside on the shady terrace, too. Because Mexico has been influenced over many hundreds of years by Mayan, Spanish, French, West African and Portuguese cuisine , today’s Mexican kitchen has extensive flavors to play with, combining a vast array of ingredients and cooking methods. Tacos Locos effectively channels this diverse Mexican

>

experience, using ingredients that are literally bursting with flavor and also with color. One of the unusual offerings is Mole enchilada, chicken in chocolate and chili sauce, made of 40 spices. You can also ask for the green tomato version of enchilada: folded tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken, oven baked cheese with green tomato sauce, served with sour cream and onion rings on top. Caution: it is very hot! For an old favorite, choose Tampiquena steak. It comes with refried beans, grilled onions, quesadilla and guacamole.

Finish with a flan Napolitano, a sweet custard made from eggs, milk, cream cheese, and sugar, soaked in a delicious caramel sauce. Credit must also be given for an interesting list of home-made non-alcoholic drinks including hibiscus juice and sweetened rice water. Tacos Locos has managed to put Mexico on the Budapest culinary map. < OPEN: MONDAY-SUNDAY 12:00- 11:00 ADDRESS : 1073 BUDAPEST, Erzsebet krt. 37-39.

TELEPHONE: +361 787 8615 DIPLOMACY & TRADE

30

2 0 1 1 J U LY

PHOTOS BY

OVER THE CENTURIES, POLISH CUISINE HAS BEEN INFLUENCED BY VARIOUS NATIONS, Italian and French, and others. Polish food could be defined as a mixture of Slavic and German as well as more exotic styles such as Tartar, Armenian, Lithuanian, Cossack and Hungarian. It is remarkable for its delicious plates of bird and wild meats with preserve. A Polish meal always begins with a soup. Especially recommended is the ‘zurek’, a soup with white sausage and egg, mushroom soup the ‘borsk’ or beetroot soup.

Those with great appetite should try the authentic Polish flavor of ‘flaki’ soup, commonly called ‘tripe’. As for meat, a classic dish is the breaded pork loin chop with potatoes and cabbage. The roast pork loin, baked ham knuckle or black pudding were once part of countryside food, whereas nowadays, they can be found on the menus of the best restaurants. The Polish are especially proud of their lean and full fat curd cheese, which is said to be the best one in the world and also the Podhale, oscypek and bundz cheeses made from the milk of sheep that are born in the mountain huts on the pasture land during the shepherding period.

The Polish are very sweet-toothed and enjoy their traditional desserts. After a tasty meal, ‘sernik’ (cheese cake), ‘szarlotka’ (apple cake) or ‘nalesniki’ (crepes) are the most popular items. <

David Harangozo, Courtesy pictures

Popular dishes

30-31 restaurants:Layout 1 7/12/11 2:18 PM Page 2

{ best of budapest } T H E

M E A S U R E

O F

Q U A L I T Y

www.bestofbudapest.com

Average cost for 2 person in HUF ✪ 5.000 – 8.000

✪✪ 9.000 – 12.000

✪✪✪ 13.000 – 25.000

www.bestofbudapest.com

✪✪ MIRROR CAFE & RESTAURANT

✪✪✪ CAFÉ PIERROT RESTAURANT

1053 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos u. 19-21.

TEL.: +36-1 889-6022; FAX: +36-1 889-6090 ✪✪ MÚZEUM KÁVÉHÁZ 1088 Budapest, Múzeum krt 12.

TEL.: +36-1 267-0375; FAX: +36-1 338-4221 ✪✪ SPINOZA CAFÉ 1074 Budapest, Dob utca 15. TEL.: +36-1 413-7488

1014 Budapest, Fortuna u. 14. TEL.: +36-1 375 6971

✪✪✪ VADRÓZSA

21 C ENTURY E VENTS !

ST

H-1101 Budapest, Expo tér 2.

Tel.: +36 1 263 6800 | Fax: +36 1 263 6801 E-mail: info@expohotel.hu www.expohotel.hu

BAVARIAN ✪ HAXEN KIRÁLY 1068 Budapest, Király utca 100. TEL.: +36-1 351-6793 CAFÉS

✪ CAFÉ JUBILEE

1055 Budapest, Szent István krt. 13. TEL.: +36-1 789-3357

1025 Budapest, Pentelei Molnár u. 15. TEL.: +36-1 345-0426 HUNGARIAN-INTERNATIONAL

✪ ARAZ RESTAURANT

1074 Budapest, Dohány u. 42-44. TEL.: +36-1 815-1100

✪ CASCADE 1125 Budapest, Szarvas Gábor út. 8. TEL.: +36-1 392-0007 ✪✪✪ DIÓ 1051 Budapest, Sas utca 4.

TEL./FAX: +36-1 328-0360, +36-1 328-0361 ✪✪✪ GRESHAM 1051 Budapest, Roosevelt tér 5-6. TEL.: +36-1 268-5110 ✪✪✪ GUNDEL 1146 Budapest, Állatkerti út 2. TEL.: +36-1 468-4040

✪✪ NEW YORK CAFE

✪✪ LIZARD

1073 Budapest, Erzsébet krt. 9-11. TEL.: +36-1 886-6167 CHINESE

1092 Budapest, Ráday utca 16. TEL.: +36-1 299-0702

✪✪✪ NOSZTALGIA

1135 Budapest, Béke út 26. TEL.: +36-1 329-7252 1097 Budapest, Gyáli út 3/b TEL.: +36-1 215-1236 FUSION

✪✪ ROSENSTEIN

✪ HONG KONG & TAIWAN

✪✪ SPOON

1051 Budapest, Vigadó tér 3., Kikötô TEL.: +36-1 411-0933 FAR EASTERN

✪✪✪ RICKSHAW

1073 Budapest, Erzsébet körút 43–49.

TEL.: +36-1 479-4855

✪✪ WASABI

1087 Budapest, Mosonyi u. 3. TEL.: +36-1 333-3492 INTERNATIONAL ✪✪✪ ARCADE 1126 Budapest, Kiss János altb. u. 38.

TEL./FAX: +36-1 225-1969

✪ COFFEE HOUSE 1067 Budapest, Terez krt 23. TEL.: +36-1 269-2935

✪✪✪ BARAKA 1063 Budapest, Andrássy út 111. TEL.: +36-1 483-1355

✪✪ PAPIRTIGRIS 1053 Budapest, Veres P. u. 22.

1051 Budapest, Október 6. u. 5. TEL.: +36-1 317-2987

TEL.: +36-1 235-0490

✪ BUENA VISTA 1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 4-5. TEL.: +36-1 344-6303

✪✪

BOOM & BRASS 1037 Budapest, Szépvölgyi út 15. TEL.: +36-1 430-1056 1054 Budapest, Vigadó utca 4-6. TEL.: +36-1 877-7788 GREEK ✪ TAVERNA DIONYSOS

1056 Budapest, Belgrád rkp. 16. TEL.: +36-1 318-1222 HUNGARIAN

✪✪ 21 A MAGYAR VENDÉGLÔ

1014 Budapest, Fortuna utca 21. TEL.: +36-1 202-2113

✪✪✪ CAFÉ 57

✪✪✪ CYRANO

1052 Budapest, Kristóf tér 7-8. TEL.: +36-1 266-4747

✪✪ CORSO

1052 Budapest, Apáczai Csere János u. 12-14.

TEL.: +36-1 327-6392

1092 Budapest, Ráday utca 4. TEL.: +36-1 219-0696 ✪✪ DUNAPARK KÁVÉHÁZ 1137 Budapest, Pozsonyi út 38.

TEL./FAX: +36-1 786-1009

✪✪ FRESCO

1051 Budapest, Vigadó tér 3.

TEL./FAX: +36-1 266-2010

✪✪ FRESCO CAFÉ & LOUNGE

1061 Budapest, Székely Mihály u. 2.

TEL.: +36-1 877-6210

✪✪ FAUSTO’S OSTERIA 1072 Budapest, Dohány u. 5. TEL./FAX: +36-1 269-6806

✪✪ MILLENIUM DA PIPPO 1062 Budapest, Andrássy út 76.

TEL.: +36-1 374-0880; FAX: +36-1 374-0881

✪ OKAY ITALIA 1137 Budapest, Szent István krt. 20. TEL.: +36-1 349-2991 1055 Budapest, Nyugati tér 6. TEL.: +36-1 332-6960 ✪✪ SYMBOL ITALIAN FUSION 1036 Budapest, Bécsi út 56. TEL.: +36-1 333-5656 TEL.: +36-1 242-0369

✪✪✪ ICON

1014 Budapest, Hess A. tér 1-3 TEL.: +36-1 889-6600

✪ KISBUDA GYÖNGYE 1034 Budapest, Kenyeres u. 34. TEL.: +36-1 368-6402

✪✪✪ KOGART ÉTTEREM & KÁVÉZÓ

1062 Budapest, Andrássy út 112. TEL.: +36-1 354-3830 ✪✪✪ LE BOURBON 1051 Budapest, Erzsébet tér 9–10.

TEL.: +36-1 429-5770 ✪ LUKÁCS CUKRÁSZDA 1062 Budapest, Andrássy út 70.

TEL.: +36-1 373-0407; FAX: +36-1 373-0406

✪✪✪ MOKKA

✪✪ TRATTORIA POMO D’ORO 1051 Budapest, Arany János u. 9. TEL.: +36-1 302-6473 ✪✪ PORCELLINO GRASSO 1024 Budapest Ady Endre u. 19.

TEL.: +36-1 886-7880; FAX: +36-1 886-7837

✪ VAPIANO 1052 Budapest, Bécsi u. 5. TEL./FAX: +36-1 411-0864 JAPAN

1051 Budapest, Sas u. 4. TEL.: +36-1 328-0081

✪✪ FUJI

1051 Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 7-8. TEL.: +36-1 429-9023

1025 Budapest, Csatarka u. 54 TEL.: +36-1 325-7111 MEDITERRANEAN

✪✪✪ ONYX RESTAURANT ✪ REMIZ

1021 Budapest, Budakeszi út 5. TEL.: +36-1 275-1396 ✪✪ SZÉCHENYI ÉTTEREM Danubius Grand Hotel 1138 Budapest, Margitsziget TEL.: +36-1 889-4700; FAX: +36-1 889-4939 ✪✪ XO BISTRO 1088 Budapest, Rákóczi út 5. TEL.: +36-1 411-0111 IRISH PUB

✪✪ A KONYHA

1037 Budapest, Mikoviny utca 2-4. TEL.: +36-1 887-3657

✪✪ ARANYSZAVAS BISZTRO 1013 Budapest, Szarvas tér 1. TEL.: +36-1 375-6451

✪✪✪ ALABÁRDOS 1014 Budapest, Országház u. 2.

TEL.: +36-1 356-0851; FAX: +36-1 214-3814

✪ BAGOLYVÁR

1146 Budapest, Állatkerti út 2. TEL.: +36-1 468-3110 ✪✪✪ KÁRPÁTIA 1053 Budapest, Ferenciek tere 7-8.

TEL.: +36-1 317-3596

✪✪ KÉHLI 1036 Budapest, Mókus u. 22. TEL.: +36-1 250-4241

Peppers!

MeDiTeRRanean cuiSine anD chiLi ReD DecoR

Courtesy picture

1026 Budapest, Pasaréti út 55. TEL.: +36-1 275-0049

1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 10.

1036 Budapest, Bécsi út 56. TEL.: +36-1 333-5656

PHOTO BY

✪ ALESSIO

TEL./FAX: +36-1 411-0915

1025 Budapest, Pusztaszeri út 57. TEL.: +36-1 325-6078 ✪ BECKETT’S PUB 1055 Budapest, Bajcsy-Zs. út 72. TEL.: +36-1 311-1035 ✪ CAFÉ KÖR 1051 Budapest, Sas u. 17.

TEL.: +36-1 311-0053; FAX: +36-1 311-0388.

PEPPERS AT THE MARRIOTT IS A HOT ADDITION to the restaurant scene in Budapest. The stylish casual decor, accented in chili red, features an open show kitchen where you can watch Chef Markus Marquardt and his team prepare fine ingredient-based cuisine with simple presentation and clean flavors. He searches for artisanal producers of prime products from Hungary and the Mediterranean region to reflect an emphasis on quality and freshness.

Start with a selection of salami (cured meats) including Hungarian mangalica salami, Spanish Jamon Iberico, or Italian Felino salami. Dip the warm-fromthe-oven crisp Tuscan bread in fine herb-scented olive oil with roasted garlic. Another excellent starter is the grilled scallops with lemon-herb butter on a bed of spinach and white beans. The menu also features fresh pasta dishes, which can be ordered in small or large portions. We recommend the delicious al dente garganelle (similar to penne) with roasted eggplant

INDIAN ✪ SHALIMAR 1072 Budapest, Dob utca 50. TEL.: +36-1 352-0297 ITALIAN

✪✪✪ FAUSTO’S

✪✪ COSTES

✪✪ 220 ÉVES PINCEÉTTEREM

>

ONLINE RESTAURANT RESERVATION

and shaved ricotta. Or try one of the outstanding seafood or fresh fish dishes. Meats are bought from local suppliers who raise free-range animals. Try the succulent Racka lamb chops with a Piquillo pepper stuffed with ground lamb. The Racka lamb is a rare breed with long spiral horns, brought by the ancient Magyars from central Asia, yielding meat that is mild, yet flavorful. Don’t pass up dessert or the selection of cheeses. The Valrhona chocolate soufflé with vanilla sauce is decadent! Or try the intense fruit sorbet for a cool treat. Peppers has a mineral water menu with selections spanning the globe. The wine list offers some of Hungary’s best vintages, along with French and Italian favorites. The new lunch menu offers high quality and great value, with a two-course menu. < OPEN: MONDAY-SUNDAY 12:00-23:00 ADDRESS: 1052 BUDAPEST, APACZAI CSERE JANOS UTCA 4.

TELEPHONE: + 36 (1) 737 7377 2 0 1 1 J U LY

DIPLOMACY & TRADE

31

✪✪ PEPPERS! MEDITERRANEAN GRILL 1052 Budapest, Apáczai Cs. J. utca 4. TEL.: +36-1 737-7377

✪✪✪ RIVALDA 1014 Budapest, Színház u. 5–9. TEL.: +36-1 489-0236

✪✪✪ ROBINSON 1146 Budapest, Városligeti tó TEL.: +36-1 422-0222 ✪ KÉT SZERECSEN 1065 Budapest, Nagymezô u. 14.

TEL.: +36-1 343-1984 FAX: +36-1 343-1983

✪✪ SQUARE BISTRO 1061 Budapest, Liszt F. ter 5. TEL.: +36-70 375-6376 MEXICAN ✪ TACOS LOCOS 1073 Budapest, Erzsebet krt. 37-39. TEL.: +36-1 786-4416 PASTRY AND BAKERY ✪ GERBEAUD 1051 Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 7-8. TEL.: +36-1 429-9000 RUSSIAN ✪✪✪ ARANY KAVIÁR 1015 Budapest, Ostrom u. 19. TEL.: +36-1 201-6737 SPORT PUB ✪ PUSKÁS PANCHO SPORT PUB 1036 Budapest, Bécsi út 56. TEL.: +36-1 333-5656 TEL.: +36-1 242-0369 THAI ✪ BANGKOK THAI 1056 Budapest, Só utca 3. TEL.: +36-1 266-0584