Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasized the importance of procuring Covid-19 vaccines as quickly as possible after talks with his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis in Budapest on Friday.
“Those who act quickly will save lives while those who are slow will lose lives,” Orbán told a joint press conference. The prime minister said it was therefore a mistake to wait for Brussels and its “slow” procurement of vaccines.
“We want to learn from each other about how we can speed up vaccine procurement,” the prime minister said after discussing with Babis Hungary’s experiences in purchasing the Russian and Chinese vaccines.
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The Hungarian and Polish governments have frequently been accused of backsliding on democratic standards and the rule of law. Drawing on a new study,
Adam Holesch
Anna Kyriazi
argue that a much overlooked factor in this debate is the extent to which both governments have collaborated in their efforts to revise democratic institutions and norms.
Hungary and Poland have registered a sharp decline in democratic quality over the last decade. According to Freedom House, there has been a continuous fall in democratic indicators in Hungary since 2010, and in Poland since 2015. In 2020, Freedom House demoted Hungary to the status of a ‘transitional or hybrid regime’ and Poland to that of a ‘semi-consolidated democracy’. In both countries, a methodical dismantling of the institutions and norms sustaining democracy has been orchestrated by right-wing nationalist governments: Fidesz in Hungary, and Law and Justice (PiS) in Poland.
Czech PM Babis to Visit Hungary on Friday
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis will pay a visit to Budapest on Friday for talks on handling the coronavirus epidemic and the vaccination campaign, the Hungarian prime minister’s press chief has said, confirming Czech press reports.
Babis will discuss issues concerning the epidemic, including Hungary’s findings about the Russian Sputnik V vaccine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Czech media has said. In addition to the Russian jab, the Czech Republic is also interested in Hungary’s experiences with the American-produced Covid-19 antibody drug bamlanivimab.
According to Czech news portal Lidovky.cz, Babis will be accompanied on his visit by a team of epidemiologists. The Czech and Hungarian experts will reportedly split into three working groups to discuss the vaccination campaigns, the authorisation of vaccines and Covid-19 treatments.
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