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Tag: Hungary government

  • Hungary slams hefty fine on bookstore chain over LGBTQ+ graphic novel, says it violated law

    Hungary slams hefty fine on bookstore chain over LGBTQ+ graphic novel, says it violated law

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    BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A government office in Hungary on Thursday levied a hefty fine against a national bookseller over a LGBTQ+ graphic novel, saying it violated a contentious law that prohibits the depiction of homosexuality to minors.

    The bookseller, Lira Konyv, is Hungary’s second-largest bookstore chain. It was fined 12 million forints ($35,930) for placing the popular “Heartstopper” by British author Alice Oseman in its youth literature section, and for failing to place it in closed packaging as required by a 2021 law.

    The Budapest Metropolitan Government Office, which issued the consumer protection fine, told state news agency MTI that it had conducted an investigation into the store’s selling of the title.

    “The investigation found that the books in question depicted homosexuality, but they were nevertheless placed in the category of children’s books and youth literature, and were not distributed in closed packaging,” the office said.

    The fine is based on Hungary’s 2021 “child protection” law, which forbids the display of homosexual content to minors in media, including television, films, advertisements and literature. It also prohibits LGBTQ+ content in school education programs, and forbids the public display of products that depict or promote gender deviating from sex at birth.

    Hungary’s government insists that the law, part of a broader statute that also increases criminal penalties for pedophilia and creates a searchable database of sex offenders, is necessary to protect children. But it is seen by critics of the country’s right-wing government as an attempt to stigmatize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

    In April, 15 countries of the European Union backed legal action against the law in the European Court of Justice, and the bloc’s top executive, Ursula von der Leyen, has called it “a disgrace.”

    The fine against Lira Konyv comes just two days before the Budapest Pride march, an annual event that draws thousands of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters in Hungary’s capital.

    In a statement, the Budapest Metropolitan Government Office said it had ordered Lira Konyv to ensure the lawful distribution of the book, and that it “will always take strict action against companies that do not comply with the law.”

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  • Blinken confident in Finland, Sweden accession to NATO

    Blinken confident in Finland, Sweden accession to NATO

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    WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the United States is confident that Finland and Sweden will be approved soon for membership in NATO despite ratification delays in allies Turkey and Hungary.

    After meeting his Finnish and Swedish counterparts on Thursday, Blinken said both countries had proved their bona fides to join the alliance, notably in joining NATO in providing support to Ukraine to counter Russia’s invasion.

    Nearly all of NATO’s 30 members have already approved Finland and Sweden’s applications to join the alliance, which were made after Russia launched its war in Ukraine. Turkey and Hungary are the only two to not yet have ratified Finland and Sweden’s accession.

    “Both countries have taken significant, concrete actions to fulfill their commitments, including those related to the security concerns on the part of our ally, Turkey,” Blinken said. “As their membership process continues, the United States is fully committed to Finland and Sweden’s accession.”

    But Blinken said he believed Turkey’s concerns, notably with Sweden over its past support for Kurdish groups that Ankara sees as a threat, would be overcome in the near future. Sweden this week extradited a convicted member of the Kurdish PKK militant group to Turkey. Hungary’s parliament is expected to vote on NATO expansion early next year.

    “I’m confident that NATO will formally welcome Finland and Sweden as members soon,” he told reporters at a joint news conference at the State Department with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

    Blinken took the opportunity to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to go to war with Ukraine had backfired if he truly intended to push back on NATO expansion.

    “As Sweden and Finland prepare to join NATO, we know that he’s failed at weakening our alliance,” he said. “Indeed, he’s only made NATO stronger and bigger.”

    Haavisto said discussions with Turkey over the PKK have gone well so far, although there was still not a date for the Turkish parliament to consider the expansion.

    “Of course, our hope is that this decision should come from Turkey rather sooner than later,” he said.

    Billstrom said he would soon travel to Turkey to continue talks on the matter. “I hope that the outcome of that discussion will also bring us forward,” he said.

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  • Austria, Hungary equipping Serbia to curb border crossings

    Austria, Hungary equipping Serbia to curb border crossings

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    BELGRADE, Serbia — Austria and Hungary will help Serbia curb migrant crossings at its southern border, Hungary’s foreign minister said Thursday, citing an “explosion” in the number of people entering European countries without authorization in recent months.

    Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary and Austria would supply Serbia with both equipment and personnel to better secure its border with North Macedonia. He spoke after delegations from the three countries met in Belgrade.

    “It is our common interest to move the defense line toward the south and that is why we agreed to join forces,” Serbian media quoted Szijjarto as saying.

    “There has been an explosion in the number of migrants, and it really can be compared with 2015,” when more than 1 million people entered Europe, he said.

    Thursday’s meeting followed one the leaders of Austria, Hungary and Serbia held earlier in the week on developing a joint strategy to curb migration.

    Migrants from the Asia, Africa and the Middle East who manage to reach Greece from Turkey then move north along the so-called Balkan route toward North Macedonia and further into Serbia before reaching the borders of European Union members Hungary or Croatia.

    The journeys are long and often dangerous. Bodies floated amid splintered wreckage in the water off a Greek island on Thursday as the death toll from the sinking of two migrant boats hundreds of miles apart rose to at least 21, with many still missing.

    Hungary erected a wire fence on its border with Serbia in 2016 to stop unauthorized crossings and faced criticism for its anti-immigration policies. Migrants looking to enter Hungary now seek help from people smugglers to cross. Serbian police reported Wednesday that they detained a number of suspected smugglers following a raid near the border.

    “Serbia, Hungary and Austria share a joint problem because of the migration crisis and huge pressure at the borders,” Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said.

    Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic promised this week that Belgrade would align its visa policies with the EU’s to stop Serbia’s visa-free arrangements with some countries from being used for unauthorized migration.

    Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said his country received 58,000 asylum requests so far this year from people from Tunisia, Morocco, India and other countries whose citizens are not eligible for protection.

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    Follow AP’s coverage of global migration: https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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  • Hungary, Austria and Serbia work together to stem migration

    Hungary, Austria and Serbia work together to stem migration

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    BERLIN — The leaders of Hungary, Austria and Serbia met Monday in Budapest to find solutions on how to stem the increasing number of migrants arriving in Europe, among them many young men from India.

    The three leaders agreed to take joint action to control the new arrivals along the migration route that leads through Serbia.

    Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer told reporters after the meeting that the joint action plan would include increased police cooperation along the borders as well as supporting Serbia when it comes to deporting migrants back to their home countries.

    “We will directly support Serbia to carry out repatriations and not only support technical know-how, but also do everything possible that is necessary, and financially support them,” Nehammer said.

    The Austrian chancellor lauded Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s announcement that by the end of the year Serbia would align its visa policies with the European Union — Serbia is an EU candidate country but not a member yet — so that the visa-free regime with some non-EU countries is no longer used for migration purposes.

    “We will thus prevent the situation when someone uses Serbia as a country of arrival but not because of their real needs but for illegal migration toward the west,” Vucic said.

    Hungarian President Viktor Orban called for an overall political change in how to approach migration and suggested so-called hot spot centers outside the European Union where asylum-seeker requests should be processed. He added that “we are not satisfied at all with the situation that has developed.”

    That procedure would, however, undermine the national laws of some European countries, among them Germany, which has enshrined in its constitution every foreigner’s right to apply for political asylum and have his or her request individually checked while staying in the country.

    Among the migrants recently detained in Austria who have applied for asylum to avoid immediate deportation, Indians accounted for the biggest group in September, according government data.

    Indians are not allowed to enter the EU without a visa but have taken advantage of being able to travel to Serbia which they can enter without a visa. From there, many are trying to reach Western European countries with the help of traffickers.

    Monday’s meeting in the Hungarian capital came after announcements by the Czech Republic and Austria last week that they would launch temporary border controls at their crossings with Slovakia to stop migrants from entering.

    In addition to the meeting in Budapest, the interior ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia called on the European Union on Monday to better protect the outer borders to curb the latest increase of migration.

    “We’re facing problems that affect the entire Europe,” said Vit Rakusan, the interior minister of the Czech Republic.

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    Jovana Gec reported from Belgrade, Serbia. Bela Szandelzsky in Budapest, Hungary, and Karel Janicek in Prague, contributed to this report.

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    Follow all AP stories on migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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