U.S. Ambassador slams Hungary over various issues

Hungary and NATO

Addressing the American Chamber of Commerce's Patrons Dinner on Tuesday, David Pressman, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, said that "as a member of the EU and NATO [...] Hungary has thrived", but today, while it keeps relying upon its NATO Allies, it

feels comfortable disregarding the interests of those same Allies and our Alliance, including during a time of war in Europe.

"Alone among our Allies, Hungary’s leadership seems to think of Hungary’s membership in NATO as a contract rather than a covenant," he added.

Pressman reminded how Hungary was taken in by NATO and the EU and how it "prospered and benefited from everything that came with" these memberships.

Hungary's disregard for the interest of its NATO Allies "is evident when the Prime Minister embraces [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, when his government threatens to hold up crucially needed aid to its neighbor, Ukraine [...]. When independent media and civil society organizations are investigated and attacked.  When judges are smeared.  When the nation looks to strengthen ties with Russia at a time when its Allies are isolating it."

Radical foreign policy

Pressman highlighted that just on Monday Orbán described Hungary’s philosophy behind these decisions.  Hungary’s foreign policy, he said, is by design “radical.” 

"As a diplomat, I would submit that it is in our countries’ national interest to sustain a foreign policy grounded in enduring values, shared interests, and long-term strategic commitments among Allies, one that has yielded unprecedented strategic benefits," the Ambassador said.

And as business leaders, I wonder if “radical” foreign policy is consistent with the kinds of long-term commitments your businesses have made – and upon which their health depends – here in Hungary.

Saying he is an optimist, Pressman also stressed that "we are in this together", i.e. Budapest, Washington and the U.S. companies in Hungary.

"Despite sitting Ministers describing the United States as – and I quote – “…a dead corpse with growing fingernails,” the youth of Hungary see it differently.  One need only look at the skyrocketing applications we receive from young Hungarians interested in studying, working, and living in the United States."

U.S.-Hungary partnerships

Pressman noted that bilateral trade in recent years has been valued at nearly 10 billion dollars in merchandise trade and another billion in services. He listed a number of U.S.-Hungary partnerships and U.S. investment that affect " the lives of Hungarians and their communities, and in the ways they most care about."

Imbruvica by Janssen (better known in the USA as Johnson & Johnson) --- This drug therapy changed the lives of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other types of blood cancers in Hungary.

Strategic partnership with Novartis --- Semmelweis University is now one of the only institutions in the region that has access to ophthalmic gene therapies that treat retinal dystrophy, improving the lives of dozens of Hungarian babies by slowing down vision loss and even, in some cases, restoring vision.

Novartis technology --- Because of the U.S.-Hungary relationship, 25,000 Hungarians with cardiovascular disease will benefit from new artificial intelligence-empowered research technology by Novartis in the coming years. (Hungary has one of the highest levels of heart disease in the EU.)

Medtronic and diabetes --- For 4,000 Hungarian children living with Type 1 diabetes, U.S. company Medtronic, the world’s largest medical technology company, stepped in to provide educational support for the parents of these children, teaching them how to manage their child’s condition and training them on how to use their state-of-the-art insulin pumps at 36 dedicated diabetes centers throughout Hungary.

Cisco’s Networking Academy --- There are nearly 90,000 Hungarian students who have now been trained to enter the IT workforce through Cisco’s Networking Academy and 10 schools serving underrepresented and underserved children that now have access to a year-long robotics program through National Instruments.

Because of the U.S.-Hungary partnership and companies like Abbvie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and many others, Hungary is a top pharmaceutical and biotech exporter in Central and Eastern Europe.

Because of the U.S.-Hungary partnership, U.S. companies like Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Cisco, Dell, Kyndryl, and others are empowering Hungarian software developers to do things they otherwise could not.

Pressman compared the "rolling dollars" spoken of by the Hungarian government when creating laws aimed at preventing "foreign interference" in Hungarian elections to the dollars that rolling into Hungary by U.S. companies.

Hungarian policies affecting U.S. investment

"In light of this,

when the Prime Minister declares the United States as one of Hungary’s top “adversaries” or states publicly that the United States Government is trying to overthrow his government, those words land not only in Washington, DC but in your headquarters and in your board rooms.

"When “windfall taxes” are imposed – or Minister Lázár declares foreign companies in certain sectors “persona non grata,” recommending they sell their firms and get out – the impact on foreign investment is real," added the Ambassador.

He also mentioned measures linked to the Child Protection Act, labelled internationally as anti-LGBTQ, such as the obligation to wrap in plastic any book even mentioning "deviant" issues, bookstores fined for non-compliance, the head of the Hungarian National Museum fired for displaying photographs [allowing minors to view a World Press Photo show with some photos showing homosexual people].

[...] imagine the questions being asked in Hollywood about the future of the entertainment industry’s business in Hungary. I don’t have to imagine those questions; I have heard them.

Sovereignty protection law

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party has tabled a Sovereignty Protection Bill that Washington has already frowned upon, and which Pressman now compared to Moscow's foreign agent law.

He reminded that the government proposes to create a new domestic security agency,

armed with unfettered and unchecked investigative powers – including tapping the nation’s intelligence services, issuing subpoenas, demanding documents from and depositions of anyone involved in “democratic debate,” all without judicial oversight, it is alarming.

This authority, he added, would have a mandate with a "breath-taking" breadth.

"As written, it has the ability to reach each of your companies and each of your employees should you be deemed to be involved in “advocacy activities” or “democratic debate.”  Just as it reaches independent media organizations and civil society organizations."

This draft law makes Moscow’s foreign agent law look mild and meek.

Cover photo: MTI Photo/Szilárd Koszticsák