Kati Cseres

Our joint letter represents a collective effort to speak up against the politicisation of the DMA as a retaliatory measure against the United States. Many thanks to all who took the time to sign!

The EU’s Chance to Curb Media Capture

After 15 years of Orbán’s rule, media capture in Hungary remains alarming. In @verfassungsblog.de we look at the Blikk acquisition by pro-government Indamedia and explore how the European Media Freedom Act could give the EU more leverage. verfassungsblog.de/curb-media-c...

@alemanno.bsky.social @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social @hmnzngr.bsky.social @direkt36.bsky.social @spiegel.de @derstandard.at @tijd.be @larsbove.bsky.social

Inside the Fall of Viktor Orbán’s Secret Brussels Spy Network - Direkt36 In the 2010s, Hungarian intelligence began spying in Brussels against the EU and tried to recruit Hungarians working in EU institutions for this purpose. However, Hungarian intelligence carried it out...

💥ICYMI: Hungarian intelligence spied on the EU from Brussels in the 2010s, trying to recruit Hungarians inside EU institutions. Their reckless operation backfired—the network got exposed, and now even EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi’s role is under scrutiny. @direkt36.bsky.social @papertrailmedia.de

That HU disrupts the functioning of the EU’s internal market comes as no surprise, nor that it manages state aid schemes flawlessly to the benefit of foreign companies. But that NL investments lend their support to Orbán’s authoritarian regime becomes undeniable when reading this @fd.nl analysis

Slovakia in the footsteps of Hungary: new constitutional amendments impose binary gender, restrict adoption to heterosexual couples, and ban surrogacy, a major step backwards for rights in the EU. #RuleOfLaw #LGBTIQ #Slovakia

The end of a rules-based economic order in sight, time to wake up for the neolib-stuck competition community

In other words, #Ecofin today gives lesson No.1. in EU law and integration to HU: respect market mechanisms and protect "undistored competition"in the internal market.

you could delete your post and repost without my name

, but if it doesn't work then it doesn't

I think you wanted to tag someone else, not me. Could you pls delete my name from your post?

Double nationality has never felt more meaningful than seeing A'dam mayor Femke Halsema and the Dutch ambassador front row on stage at #BudapestPride yesterday
photo Istvan Huszti @telexhu.bsky.social

Csordultig tele az Erzsébet híd, a menet vége még mindig a Deák téren Azért változtattak a meneten, mert a Szabadság hidat a Mi Hazánk foglalta el. Zajlik a 30. Budapest Pride – igaz, most Budapesti Büszkeség néven, önkormányzati rendezvényként. A rendőrség szerint ők m...

#BudapestPride #LoveisLove #Freedomcannotbebanned

telex.hu/belfold/2025...

Hungary’s New “Transparency” bill to Eliminate All Dissent
The draft bill targets civil society and independent media by labeling them as foreign-influenced threats, imposing punitive restrictions. This is not a threat—it’s a calculated move to erase dissent from the HU public sphere.

‘Bij het toetsen van mediafusies loopt Nederland aan tegen een democratisch tekort’, zegt jurist Kati Cseres Kati Cseres | Universitair hoofddocent Europees recht: De consumentenwaakhond ACM heeft geen wettelijk mandaat om te toetsen of DPG’s overname van RTL de pluriformiteit van het medialandschap in Neder...

What can, and should a national competition authority analyse in case of a media merger, this time in the Netherlands concenring the planned merger between DPG/RTL.
#mediaplurality #ruleoflaw #competitionlaw www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Operation Starve and Strangle: Hungary’s proposed “Transparency” Law threatens core European democratic values and attacks independent civil society and media organisations - Hungarian Helsinki Commit... A new legislative proposal marks a turning point in Hungary's erosion of democratic norms. Disguised as a transparency measure to prevent sovereignty threats, the Bill on the Transparency of Public Li...

A dark turn in Hungary’s democracy erosion: disguised as a transparency measure to prevent sovereignty threats, the Bill on the Transparency of Public Life aims to starve and strangle civil society, independent media and any legal entity the government decides to target. helsinki.hu/en/operation...

"Good morning Russia, Fidesz’s spring clean-up bill has arrived" — Telex.hu on HU’s new law enabling the Office for Protection of Sovereignty label foreign-funded organizations as threats to HU's sovereignty, severely restricting their work. telex.hu

Statement Alhambra Press, jointly with another Hungarian media company, file a State aid complaint against Hungary.

You can find the original text of the complaint and the ecopnomic study at Magyar Hang's website: hang.hu/info/stateme...

Statement Alhambra Press, jointly with another Hungarian media company, file a State aid complaint against Hungary.

📢 State aid complaint filed against Hungary over distorted media markets through state advertising.
Today Magyar Hang filed a State aid complaint with the European Commission, concerning HU gov's advertising practicesin HU media markets.
#StateAid #MediaFreedom #Hungary
hang.hu/info/stateme...

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduc...

Attention scientists! The Trump plan to institute Schedule F would destroy expert peer review by permitting politically appointed officials to interfere in grant decisions. Object by clicking on the green "public comment" link here: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

"America’s Future Is Hungary"
a must read by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social

Hungary threatens to expel dual nationals in 'defend sovereignty' push The proposed amendment of the Hungarian constitution could result in the expulsion of Hungarians who hold nationalities from other countries if the government sees them as a danger to sovereignty. #Eu...

Interesting parallel with Hungary who just implemented this possibility in its Basic Law. www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

Megtelt a Ferenciek tere a Pride betiltása miatt szervezett tüntetésen Hadházy Ákos független képviselő kedd késő délutánra tüntetést hirdetett Budapest belvárosába. A beszédek kezdete előtt a környék autós forgalma megbénult, a tüntetők a Szabad sajtó útján is állnak, a...

Hungary finally arising against what should be all's concern: banning Pride today is banning the freedom of assembly to all of us tomorrow. Downtown Budapest now protesting against the law banning pride telex.hu/belfold/2025...

Hungary bans Pride events and plans to use facial recognition to target attenders Amnesty International describes legislation as ‘full-frontal attack’ on country’s LGBTQ+ community

Today Hungarian Parliament voted to ban Pride events.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Huge crowd is now protesting on the streets in Budapest.
444.hu/2025/03/18/a...

Magyar announces 12-point referendum of his own In the Tisza Party's survey, all Hungarians over the age of 16 will be able to express what kind of country they would like to see after Orbán's regime. Magyar also spoke about the main points of his ...

and I am no Péter Magyar fan, but his speech was excellent today telex.hu/english/2025...

Bugs – Orbán's term for judges, journalists, politicians and civic activists he says are funded from abroad The Hungarian Prime Minister used a stronger term than ever to describe judges, civic activists, independent journalists and opposition politicians in his speech on 15 March. He also spoke about the b...

#jesuispoloska
(poloska=in ENG>bug) telex.hu/english/2025...

well, and a few of us with double nationality, too ;)

Benyújtotta a Fidesz az Alaptörvény 15. módosítását A módosítás szerint a férfi és női nemet ismernék el, alkotmányba foglalnák a kábítószertilalmat és alkotmányos alapjoggá tennék a készpénzes fizetést.

also not unimportant: "The family relationship is based on marriage and the parent-child relationship. You are either a man or a woman. The father is male, the mother is female."
telex.hu/belfold/2025...

Here is 15th(!) amendment HU Basic law: Nobody can be deprived of their HU citizenship
"The citizenship of a HU citizen who is also a citizen of another state, with theexception of a citizen of a state with the right of freemovement and residence, may be suspended for a limited period of time."

it is right to say they have not thought about it in any reasonable manner, as they want to target usual suspects, NGOs and ind media. But isn't it the best fit for those Russians who acquired HU citizenship lately?

the problem is, that we, academics can have endless debates on what is a constitution + what form of constitutionalism is being excerised in HU, but when such laws hit the ground, it becomes hard and harsh reality of everyday life,and the sheer lack of protection states should provide to citizens