On 15 September, the European Commission decided not to extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian cereals that had been in place since spring 2023. Following the announcement by the Brussels body, the Government of Hungary extended the ban in question within national competence and extended it to a wider range of products in order to protect the interests of domestic farmers and consumers. In light of these developments, Századvég examined what Hungarians think about Brussels' intention to oblige Hungary and other EU member states to admit genetically modified Ukrainian grain of uncontrolled quality.

Sixty-eight percent of Hungarians consider the Brussels political elite corrupt, and those surveyed consider corruption to be the biggest problem related to the leadership of the European Union in Brussels, according to a June survey by Századvég. The survey mapped the attitudes of the population towards the activities of the Brussels elite.

On 8 June, EU interior ministers – with protests from Hungary and Poland – approved a package of proposals to reform the EU’s migration system, according to which Brussels would distribute illegal immigrants among Member States through a binding EU mechanism. According to the adopted document, countries that do not accept migrants assigned to them under the mandatory quota system must pay a penalty of EUR 22,000 (HUF 8 million) for each migrant not admitted. The next step in the decision-making process is to submit the proposal to the European Parliament. In view of these developments, Századvég has examined the position of Hungarians on the mandatory distribution of illegal migrants according to quotas planned by Brussels.

Continuing the international webinar series, Századvég’s first in person Brussels-based webinar focused on sustainable agri-food systems, with specific attention on the dairy sector.

The European Commission has in its 2023 Work Program, underlined the need for an accelerated green transformation of the agri-food industry with the aim to build a sustainable and resilient food system.

Századvég Konjunktúrakutató’s latest webinar focused on waste related consumer behaviour and the review of the European Waste Framework Directive. The workshop touched upon how waste collection and sustainability objectives could further be streamlined with manifested consumer behaviour and how this could be better reflected in EU-level sectoral rules. Our webinar sits well in with the European Commission’s ongoing revision of the EU Waste Framework Directive and also with the recent modifications of municipal waste collection and management in Hungary.