The Hungarian company Ganz-Mavag is trying to buy Spain’s renowned rolling stock manufacturer Talgo, but the Spanish government is suspicious of the deal, fearing the Orban government (or even some Russian interests) are behind the bid. Online news site 24.hu found there is indeed a lot of state money (taxpayer money) involved in the 619-million-euro bid, which could ultimately benefit some private companies close to the government. State-owned Eximbank has already granted a 345-million-euro loan to Ganz-Mavag Holding to finance the deal. Ganz-Mavag Europe was only set up at the end of last year specifically for the Talgo takeover project, with Ganz-Mavag Holding Ltd having 55 per cent of the shares and Corvinus International Investment Ltd, a state fund that handles large acquisitions, a minority stake. Corvinus has been involved in major deals such as the 660-billion-forint acquisition of Vodafone Hungary and is set to buy back 80 per cent of the shares in Budapest Airport. Talgo is a successful Spanish company that had a record turnover of 652 million euros last year and international contracts worth up to 4.2 billion euros, but one of its majority owners wants to sell its stake. The Hungarian company officially launched a bid to acquire 100 per cent of Talgo’s shares on the Madrid stock exchange in March. The takeover has met with stiff opposition from Spain’s left-wing government, which would have the final say as Talgo is a strategic company. The Spanish government is trying to mobilise investors from across Europe to block the deal. One of Madrid’s concerns is that Ganz-Mavag was previously owned in part by Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Russia’s Transmashholding, but was then taken over by a private equity fund that hides its real owners. Earlier, Telex.hu reported that the Hungarian government sees good potential in increasing the production of railway carriages in Hungary, but that local companies lack modern technology and know-how. Talgo and a Hungarian railway wagon manufacturer, DJJ, have been in talks before, eyeing a joint production of FlixTrain wagons (a railway version of Flix Bus) for a German company.

Ode to Joy in Czechia; president signs same-sex partnership law

This year’s traditional May Day celebrations in Czechia were accompanied by a host of cultural and political events meant to mark two decades since the country became part of the EU. On Wednesday, President Petr Pavel inaugurated the United Islands of Prague music festival, first held in 2004 to celebrate Czechia joining the EU, by highlighting the benefits of membership: “Things that were previously out of our reach, such as traveling, working and studying freely in other countries, are now completely natural for an entire generation,” the president, who was accompanied by Czech European Commissioner Vera Jourova, said as Beethoven’s Ode to Joy – Europe’s official hymn – played out over loudspeakers. A guest of honour at the special concert organised on Tuesday evening at Prague’s Philharmonic – also featuring Beethoven’s Ninth – was EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who praised the progress made by Czechia over the past 20 years and its active role as an EU member state, including on shaping and strengthening the bloc’s policy in support of Ukraine. “The Velvet Revolution brought you back to Europe,” she said standing alongside PM Petr Fiala, while also paying homage to former president Vaclav Havel. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was also in Prague for a two-day visit earlier this week to attend a conference commemorating EU accession and met with both Pavel and Fiala to discuss bilateral ties. Many political parties also organised their own separate meetings and events to mark Labour Day and mobilise their voters ahead of the EU elections next month.

On Monday, President Pavel signed into law an amendment to the Czech Civil Code that will grant same-sex couples more rights, bringing months of heated debate to a quiet – and for some bitter – end. Under the reform, which was fast-tracked through the Senate last month by sending it direct to the presidential office without debate, gay couples will now be entitled to joint property rights and a widow’s or widower’s pension. They will however continue to be excluded from being granted full adoption rights – adoption of a child will only be possible if one of the partners’ is the biological parent – and their union will only be referred to as a “partnership”, not “marriage”. Describing the new bill, which should take effect next year, as an intermediate measure on the path to full marriage equality, LGBT activists have vowed to continue pushing for more ambitious reform. “This new norm will certainly improve the situation for gay and lesbian couples and rainbow families with children,” reacted Filip Milde, spokesman for the ‘We Are Fair’ organisation. “However, it is important to note that it does not guarantee them equality and full recognition in society.” Polls have shown that a majority of Czechs would support granting full marriage rights to gay couples, but some of the main parties – including the ruling ODS and opposition ANO – remain divided on the issue, torpedoing earlier this year another proposal that would have fully legalised gay marriage in Czechia.

Flat-earthers and vatniks in Slovakia; a totalitarian trend

If anyone was worried about what the planned reforms by Robert Fico’s government for the public service broadcaster will actually do to RTVS, there was a painful indication this week. Fico’s Smer party and its coalition partners contain an inordinate number of disinformation peddlers, usually spouting pro-Russian narratives about the Ukraine war. But not until this week was there much evidence of flat-earthers. Step forward Lukas Machala. Attempting on the Monday edition of the Reporters TV show to push the line about how biased the mainstream media is for not allowing all opinions to be aired, no matter how wrongheaded or dangerous, Machala – who works at the Culture Ministry, which is responsible for the RTVS reform plans recently announced by the government – used, by way of example, the ‘debate’ about the shape of the earth. “Is it proven that the earth is round? I’m seriously asking, is it substantiated?” he asked the incredulous reporter. Taking a moonshot, Machala then asked: “Have you been in space? You weren’t there, neither was I. I don’t know.” One person who has been into space is Slovak astronaut Ivan Bella, who responded to Machala’s comments by stating that it is a sphere, he’s seen it. Perhaps of greater concern is that Machala, who openly expresses his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Telegram and helped draft the RTVS reform bill, is being touted as a possible successor to head up the public broadcaster. If he makes that leap, then expect to hear more such conspiracy theories aired on RTVS, as he emphasised that every opinion should be given space as long as it does not violate ethics or laws. Among them might be other ideas he has championed, such as that Muslim migrants are being sent to Europe by the Illuminati, and that condensation trails from airplanes are in fact ‘chemtrails’ containing chemical or biological agents sprayed for purposes undisclosed to the public.

“Long live the Slovak republic, long live the European Union,” said PM Robert Fico during a press conference on May 1 that marked 20 years since Slovakia joined the EU. The premier underscored that Slovakia’s EU membership is irreplaceable. “Full stop,” he said in response to criticism coming from the media, the opposition and experts that, according to Fico, try to paint a picture that the government is dragging Slovakia closer to Russia. Nevertheless, Fico noted that the concept of the EU clashes with Slovakia’s sovereign foreign policy. A few days ago, Fico’s friend and Smer MP Lubos Blaha appeared on RT, a Russian television channel, where he blamed the US for escalating the war in Ukraine. Blaha also said that Russia does not want to invade Europe, and that America approved the latest aid package for Ukraine on the day when Adolf Hitler was born. It is not a coincidence, according to the MP. At Wednesday’s presser, Fico described European Council summits in Brussels as military meetings and some of his European colleagues as “war hawks”. “We pretend to be the brightest, the best in the world, but we’ve been incapable of coming up with a peace initiative for Ukraine,” the PM said, adding that all he hears in those meetings is “weapons, weapons, weapons and weapons.” Fico said it will take “years” for Ukraine to join the EU, adding that the EU should be more active in the Western Balkans instead. The premier repeated that abolishing the right to veto in matters of defence, foreign policy and the budget would mean the beginning of the end for the EU. He also warned the bloc against suspending EU funds allocated for Slovakia.

The latest Globsec Trends survey shows that a third of Slovaks would prefer living in a totalitarian regime to a democracy. A similar number was recorded in Czechia and Romania. The survey, carried out by the Bratislava-based think-tank, covers countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The support for NATO among Slovaks remains one of the lowest in the region, but it has increased from 58 per cent in 2023 to 69 per cent this year. Also, only 49 per cent of Slovaks consider Russia to be a threat. In Poland it is 90 per cent. Conversely, only 5 per cent of Polish people think that America is a threat. In Slovakia it is 41 per cent. As for Ukraine, most people in Slovakia are convinced that the country should be neutral and not join the EU or NATO.

Polish farmers end border blockade; Orlen’s reported links to alleged Hezbollah man

Polish farmers ended their protest on the border with Ukraine on Monday, when they opened up a last border crossing point they had been barricading. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky praised the “constructive work” done over the previous months by Poland to end the crisis on the border. For almost a year, either Polish truckers or farmers (sometimes both) have been blocking border crossings with Ukraine in protest at the effects of a free trade deal the EU struck with Ukraine when the war started to help support the latter’s struggling economy. While officials depict the opening of the last border crossing point as the end of a long-running dispute that has soured relations between the two neighbours at a crucial time, some farming representatives are keeping their options open. Adrian Wawrzyniak, spokesman for the Solidarity trade union which has been central to the protests, told Reuters that the unions were continuing negotiations with the Polish government and a protest in Warsaw was still planned for May 10.

PM Donald Tusk announced this week that prosecutors would look into the activities of a Lebanese citizen, Samer A., who is suspected of having links with the terrorist organisation Hezbollah and was responsible for significant financial losses at Polish state energy company PKN Orlen, according to a report from Polish website onet.pl. The report claims that the internal security service of Orlen had warned Daniel Obajtek, the head of the company, against cooperating with Samer A., who was suspected of being involved in illegal oil trading with Iran. Even so, Obajtek reportedly ignored the warnings to proceed with hiring Samer A. to head up the Swiss operations of Orlen, OTS. That in turn reportedly led to a loss of 1.6 billion zloty (about 4 billion euros) for Orlen. On Monday, Tusk met with Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar and Tomasz Siemoniak, the minister in charge of coordinating Poland’s secret services, to discuss the media revelations.