Authors: Tamás Tibor Csontos, Andrea Éltető, Ernő Molnár, Magdolna Sass

In: Series Perspective, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Büro, Budapest

Abstract

This study examines how the co-location of German automotive manufacturers and Asian battery producers is reshaping Hungary’s position in European electric vehicle value chains. Drawing on industry data, stakeholder interviews and case studies, it shows that Hungary has attracted major investments while retaining strong external technological dependence and limited domestic value capture. The authors identify “strategic overshooting”: capacity expansion outpacing infrastructural, environmental and institutional capacities. They argue for a shift from investment volume towards stronger domestic supplier capabilities, innovation, improved labour and environmental standards, and better coordinated Hungarian and European industrial policies.

A Csontos, T. T., Éltető, A., Molnár, E., Sass, M.: EV cluster Hungary? Co-location and co-evolution of German OEMs and Asian EV investors and the transformation of Hungary’s and Europe’s automotive value chains bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Ákos Holányi, Boglárka Koller

In: JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.70143.

Abstract

A growing number of subregional groups influence European Union policy-making as platforms of information exchange, expertise pooling or compromise-building. Yet, our understanding of how they function as policy-making actors remains limited. This article seeks to alleviate this knowledge gap by developing the concept of subregional actorness and proposing an empirical typology based on political will and policy convergence. It uses examples from the Visegrad Group’s activities in the fields of enlargement, foreign affairs and migration to show how subregional co-operation looks like in each of the four proposed modes of actorness. The analysis suggests that the quality of top politicians’ personal relationships with each other and the presence of political differences of strategic importance are the most influential factors shaping subregional actorness, but the impact of policy crises and the history of close co-operation in a given policy field are also important.

A Holányi, Á., Koller, B.: Four Modes of Subregional Actorness in the EU: The Case of the V4 bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Vít Hloušek, Krisztina Arató and Boglárka Koller

In: Foreign policy narratives of Central and Eastern European political parties, European Politics and Society,

DOI: 10.1080/23745118.2026.2717313

Abstract

This article analyses foreign policy narratives articulated by political parties in Central Europe, focusing on Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia across two electoral cycles surrounding Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The study demonstrates the predominance of liberal–internationalist and sovereigntist–isolationist narratives. The analysis confirms that the economic left–right divide is a weak predictor of foreign policy orientations, whereas the GAL–TAN cleavage and the presence of populism – particularly radical-right populism – are more consequential. Overall, the research underscores the interdependence of domestic politics and foreign policy, while highlighting persistent diversity in Central European party narratives.

A Hloušek, V., Arató, K., Koller, B.: Foreign policy narratives of Central and Eastern European political parties bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Petr Procházka, Eva Křenková, Gábor Túry

In: Logistics Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LORE-06-2025-0082

Abstract

This paper examines how automotive manufacturers in Hungary and Czechia have implemented resilience and sustainability measures within new product development (NPD). Building on the resource dependence theory (RDT), it uses data from eleven in-depth interviews triangulated with suppliers’ codes of conduct and non-financial reports. Resilience considerations and dependencies, as expected by RDT, shape the NPD decisions and sustainability is embedded, especially when prompted by customers or company needs for higher efficiency.

The research is limited by the selection of large companies as well as by the sample size, while the case study approach enables us to dive into the strategies. The research pointed to the importance of strategic procurement and the role of original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) and multinationals’ management in the operational process. We contribute to extant literature by linking supply chain resilience and sustainability with NPD in an asymmetric and dependency-driven process.

A Procházka, P., Křenková E., Túry, G.: Integrating resilience and sustainability in new product development by Central European automotive firms: is there synergy or two independent concepts? bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Author: Andrea Éltető

In: HUN-REN CERS, Institute of World Economics, Working Paper Nr. 284 (2026) September 2026

Abstract

Since 2019, the European Union’s industrial policy has been guided by the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality. However, the green and digital transitions have sharply intensified the EU’s dependence on critical raw materials and technologies from third countries, most notably China. The EU is attempting to resolve this tension by enhancing strategic autonomy, encouraging domestic mining, supporting urban mining and the circular economy, and building a European battery manufacturing capacity. This study argues that reconciling environmental sustainability, competitiveness and strategic autonomy represents a theoretical ‘wicked problem’ (Rittel & Webber, 1973). The paper examines current EU industrial instruments, the intense local and environmental conflicts surrounding European mining projects, the structural limits of recycling, and the struggles of the European battery industry. The paper highlights that an industrial strategy relying purely on technological substitution whilst ignoring absolute demand reduction deepens existing socio-ecological trade-offs, concluding that managing this wicked problem requires flexible, adaptive, and truly collaborative governance frameworks.

A Éltető, A.: Green, competitive or autonomous? The contradictions in the EU’s industrial policy bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Author: Veronika Czina

In: ELTE CERS, Institute of World Economics Working Paper Nr. 283 (2026) August

Abstract

What makes a rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU successful? Existing studies have broadly argued that there are objective criteria based on which the performance of the Council Presidency can be evaluated e.g. being an honest-broker, agenda-setter, successful mediator etc. While doing so, they have problematically assumed that all Member States aim to achieve this goal when taking the helm at the EU and they disregarded the fact that renegade, EU-critical Member States might have other goals to achieve during the Presidency period. In this paper, I critically engage with the literature evaluating Presidencies’ success through the case study of Hungary’s Council Presidency of 2024. This is an interesting example because Hungary has been at odds with the EU in many ways in the past two decades, and even more so more recently, therefore, the Hungarian Presidency was a highly contested event, to an extent that some EU institutions even wanted to cancel or boycott some parts of it. Despite the controversy, Hungary held the position of the chair for six months, and it did not fail, especially not from the perspective of its own strategic priorities. Overall, Hungary’s case demonstrates that we need to rethink how we evaluate the rotating Presidency and how we define success. This paper argues that there is a difference between what counts as successful from the perspective of the EU and that of the presiding Member State. Moreover, if a Member State wants to and can exert national preferences during its mandate, then the Presidency can be considered successful, at least from the national perspective.

A Czina, V.: When The Renegade Takes The Wheel: Lessons Learned From Hungary’s 2024 Council Presidency bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Judit Ricz, Andrea Éltető

In: Society and Economy in Central and Eastern Europe, 48(2), 64-91.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14267/1588970X.2026.015

Abstract

The article analyses non-state actor (NSA) agency at the intersection of autocratisation and new industrial policies. We focus on Hungary, an EU Member State that aims to become a leading global player in the electric vehicle sector, particularly in EV battery production. Besides the already functioning South Korean plants, numerous Chinese firms have been attracted to the country by extremely generous state support to build giga-factories. However, battery-related plants face opposition from the local population. Under the Hungarian autocratic regime, the space for NSA agency is increasingly shrinking, yet our focus is narrowed to analysing non-governmental organisations. We ask whether organised civil society can exercise political or domain-specific agency in an autocratising regime. Bottom-up initiatives against the battery factories mushroomed in all the affected Hungarian localities, which increasingly cooperated with each other, and even set up an umbrella organisation at the national level. Some important achievements are documented. To illustrate the causes of the limited non-state actor activism and nevertheless account for how impactful changes have occurred, the article analyses the experiences of two local associations: GÖD-ÉRT (the For Göd Association) and MIAKÖ (the Mothers of Mikepércs for the Environment Association). At the time of study, both have been forced to operate in an increasingly repressive setting.

A Ricz, J., Éltető, A.: The non-state actor contestation of battery factory investments in Hungary: the activism of GÖD-ÉRT and MIAKÖ bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Judit Ricz, Andrea Éltető In: Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 1–29. (2026).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17487870.2026.2680291

Abstract

New industrial policy has (re-)gained legitimacy in scholarly debates recently, as a means to boost and direct development. This article argues that autocratic leaders may exploit this policy to strengthen their domestic and international power position. By combining international and comparative political economy perspectives, we analyse the main logic, instruments, and limits of the Hungarian government’s new industrial policy to promote the electric vehicle battery sector. The case study illustrates how the Orbán regime manipulated the institutional and regulatory setting and applied selective (non-)enforcement of regulations – theorised as autocratic forbearance – to create locational advantages for Asian battery firms.

A Ricz, J., Éltető, A.: Rules for sale: autocratic forbearance, as a new industrial policy tool to promote the Hungarian battery hub bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Authors: Agnieszka Głodowska, Agnieszka Hajdukiewicz, Bożena Pera, Csaba Weiner

In: The World Economy, Early View, (2026) 1–18.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/TWEC.70110

Absztrakt

This article examines the impact of the European Union’s post-March 2014 and post-February 2022 sanctions episodes against Russia on trade between Russia and the Visegrad countries (Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) over 2013–2024. Changes are analysed at both the aggregate level and—based on an original identification of EU sanction coverage—across selected sanctioned product chapters and non-sanctioned reference groups. The empirical framework combines descriptive statistics on the distribution of the selected product groups with two complementary econometric approaches: a gravity-based Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood model (PPML) with fixed effects, estimated in a difference-in-differences design relative to control markets, and a PPML interrupted time-series model used as a robustness check to identify structural breaks and post-intervention trends. Empirically, the effects of EU sanctions on Visegrad exports to Russia were strongly negative already under the post-March 2014 sanctions regime, particularly for highly sanctioned manufactured product groups such as machinery and electrical equipment, and intensified further following the substantial expansion of sanctions after February 2022. Import effects were initially weaker but intensified markedly from 2022 onward, most notably for energy sources. The findings point to episode-specific trade responses, pronounced heterogeneity across product groups, and a clear asymmetry between export and import adjustments.

A Głodowska, A., Hajdukiewicz, A., Pera, B., & Weiner, C.: Trade Effects of EU Sanctions against Russia: Evidence from the Visegrad Group bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.

Author: Boglárka Koller

In: Európai Tükör 2025/1.

DOI: 10.32559/et.2025.1.1

Abstract

War affects most seriously both personal and collective attachments. The ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war poses a direct security threat to the European Union and its citizens, and also has a significant impact on the EU’s economy, politics and society. The ongoing challenges to peace and stability in Europe are prompting a re evaluation of national, regional, and European identities among EU citizens. The study focuses on the Visegrád countries – Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Chech Republic – where historical heritage, experiences as EU Member States over the past twenty years, and proximity to conflict have shaped distinct identity dynamics. Utilising a comparative approach informed by public opinion survey data, we are tracking the transformation of collective identities in the period 2022–2025, capturing long term trends and the effects of the war in Ukraine. What can we learn about the collective identity of EU citizens in the region? Has the war brought citizens closer to, or further away from the European Union? This study aims to present this dual dynamic and highlight the constantly changing interaction between national and European identity in a region that is geographically close to the war and located at the crossroads of historical memory and contemporary geopolitical turbulence.

A Koller, B.: The Collective Identities of Central Europeans in the Shadow of War, 2022–2025 bejegyzés először VGI-én jelent meg.