Eurotopics.net

The election campaign in Hungary is becoming increasingly heated in the run-up to the parliamentary elections on 12 April. While opposition leader Péter Magyar has said that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is capable of nothing more than "incitement" and "threats", Orbán has described Magyar's conservative Tisza Party as a "creation of foreign powers". Orbán has been endorsed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told him: "Your success is our success."

The Board of Peace established by US President Donald Trump in January is scheduled to meet in Washington on Thursday to discuss the Gaza conflict. Trump has announced that its members have pledged around 4.2 billion euros for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged region and security forces. So far the board has 26 member states. Several countries plan to participate as observers.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies' Mandate and Immunity Committee has recommended that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura should not face criminal prosecution. The governing parliamentary majority is expected to confirm the immunity of the two top politicians in March.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered a keynote speech at the start of the Munich Security Conference in which he emphasised that Europe must preserve its own values, actively protect its freedom and build on its strengths. "We must flip the switch in our minds," he said, outlining a sovereign Europe that breaks free from its excessive dependence on the US. Europe's media examine Merz's vision and point to potential flaws.