Roland Papp

EU correspondent at @Nepszava.
Hungary/ Central and Eastern Europe/ AML/Sanctions/ EU/ Illicit Financial Flows/ | From Budapest, yet an idealist | ex -@TI_EU

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

I stop posting on X.

We know all of the reasons, in short: this is a horrible place.
I will delete the account once more ppl are on other platforms.
Follow me on:
Bluesky (EU/ Hungary news mostly): https://t.co/onGZei7EUZ
Linkedin (AML/sanctions):
https://t.co/Cowi8gyiVP

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

PL Presidency @POLAND25EU wants to adopt conclusions on civil soc.'s role in the RoL reports.
To recap: @Transparency_HU was attacked by Sovereignty Protection Office for writing a shadow report
https://t.co/XrGqej9Cp2

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

russia celebrates Christmas in January and hospitals are not on the frontline, so if Putin only bombs maternity wards on 25 December, he could still qualify for this.🤦

[Zoltan Kovacs @zoltanspox]

🕊️"At least during Christmas, no one should l0se their life on the frontline," said @PM_ViktorOrban during an interview on Kossuth Radio, referencing proposals made to both Russian and Ukrainian parties.

🛑 The Hungarian initiative seeks an agreement for a Christmas ceasefire. PM Orbán added that a prisoner exchange could also bring joy to hundreds of thousands of families. He noted one party has accepted the proposal, while the other has not yet agreed, but there's hope the situation may change in the days leading up to Christmas.

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

https://t.co/xtmWybMRwY
Hungarian homophobic "child protection" law is not helping children, the law was debated at the EP @nepszava says @helenadalli @kimvsparrentak @moritzkoerner

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

Nem segít a gyerekeknek a „gyermekvédelmi” törvény: az Európai Parlamentben és az EU Bíróságon is terítékre került a homofób magyar törvény írja @nepszava
https://t.co/xtmWybMRwY

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

No, they are not safe. Fidesz MEP dares to talk about HU's "well thought out immigration policy" to make women feel safe. Unfortunately, more than half of women experienced psychological/physical and-or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Highest in the EU.

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

https://t.co/PrYPvuMZeN
Hamarosan érkezhet a 15. szankciós csomag Oroszország ellen, amit most a magyar soros elnökségnek kellene tető alá hozni. A fő célpont az árnyékflotta lehet

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

Az 1000 napja indult (három naposra tervezett) invázióra emlékezett az EP
https://t.co/viwG1w7efD

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

@Telexhu translated my article from @nepszava The
@EU_Commission says the questions of the HU national consultation are at times factually incorrect or misleading.
https://t.co/2al6FnCV3D

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

Nem igaz, hogy "Brüsszel" el akarja venni a 13. havi nyugdíjat- cáfolta a @nepszava kérdésére az @EU_Commission a nemzeti konzultáció állításait
https://t.co/FdUFYEeV4m

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

https://t.co/LDpZh13guv
"Ha Amerika Kína miatt aggódik, először Oroszország miatt kellene aggódnia" Mondta @kajakallas a külügyekért felelős biztosjelölt kedden az EP meghallgatásán, írja @nepszava

[Katalin Halmai @eublogo]

I was at the Hungary House in Brussels tonight where @J_Bardella held his book launch. He was greeted by protesters. The🇭🇺state bought the property in 2021 for €10 million & spent as much to renovate it. They said the purchase was needed for the EU presidency.
Well, it wasn't.

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

@nepszava Azerbaijan hosts #COP29Baku, the regime silence its critics. Gubad Ibadoghlu has been imprisoned & tourtured. He is "guilty" of researching the connection of natural resource and corruption and how Russian gas is sold to EU labelled as Azeri said @BayramovaZhala to @nepszava

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

https://t.co/Brf2YXtiid
A klímacsúcs árnyékában azerbajdzsáni rezsim börtönbe zárja a kritikusokat. Gubad Ibadoghlu bűne, h a földgázkincs és korrupció kapcsolatát kutatta #COP29Baku #freegubad írja @nepszava

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

in the future MFF there might be a stronger link between reforms & payments of EU funds according to Piotr Serafin, the next Commissioner for budget. The recommendations from the annual rule of law report might have an important role in that, writes @nepszava

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

https://t.co/fcJsX1YjF3
Piotr Serafin költségvetésért felelős biztos jelölt reformokhoz kötné az uniós pénzek kifizetését, köztük a jogállamisági feltételek is hangsúlyt kapnának, mondta az EP-ben a meghallgatásán

[Roland Papp @rlnd_papp]

Az idei bővítési csomag kritikus hangot ütött meg néhány csatlakozni kívánó országgal. @JosepBorrellF szerint a túl szoros orosz barátság és az EU tagság nem fér össze, Vučić-nak választania kell.
https://t.co/dDDBDRYJJp

[Stefano Bottoni @stefanobottoni1]

It’s the economy, stupid! Fresh Hungarian GDP data are shocking: from EU/FDI fueled sustained growth 🇭🇺 has got to stagflation&bad loans with China and other non-Western actors. Orbanomics is over amidst internal turmoil and increasing ideological radicalization of the system.

[Markétka Gregorová 🦄 @MarketkaG]

Toto je mé video. Lokální pozorovatel žádal, aby před ním byl zkontrolován UV světlem sprej na ruce hlasujícího - ten dokazuje, že člověk nehlasoval vícekrát. Člen volební komise ho kvůli tomu fyzicky napadl. Já osobně viděla člena komise, jak pouze předstírá, že sprej stříká.

[Rasmus Canbäck @CanbackRasmus]

Here's the full speech by @Zourabichvili_S:

Good evening, everyone,

First, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all the citizens of Georgia who voted for our European future. You were many, and you won these elections. No one has the right to take away our European future.

I also want to thank those who, despite extremely unfair and unequal conditions, worked in election commissions to protect your votes. I extend my appreciation to journalists who fought under even more difficult circumstances to document as many violations as possible. However, the number and variety of these violations were so overwhelming that capturing everything in their reports became impossible.

What we witnessed was unprecedented. It was a complete falsification and theft of your votes, using every available tactic we have seen both in other countries and in Georgia. Additionally, modern technologies were employed to cover up these manipulations—a level of deception we had not encountered before.

We were not just witnesses but also victims of what can only be described as a Russian special operation—a new form of hybrid warfare waged against our people and our country.

Several months ago, this government (which I now refer to as a regime, not a legitimate authority) adopted a Russian-style law. This was followed by a series of additional Russian-inspired laws, all of which violate European recommendations and obstruct our path toward a European future.

Today, in this election, we were deprived of our voting rights. What took place was not a democratic election; it was a Russian election. They dismantled the electoral process, making it nearly impossible to imagine how future elections could be held fairly unless drastic changes are made. Our constitutional right to vote was stolen.

Many citizens had their IDs confiscated, denying them the right to vote. Our emigrants were also deprived of participation, as polling stations were not opened, and additional obstacles were put in place. Out of 100,000 registered emigrants, only 33,000 managed to cast their votes, despite the tremendous efforts they made to register. Some traveled thousands of miles in the U.S. or overcame significant challenges in European cities just to vote—only to be denied that right. This issue demands investigation.

There is much to investigate. I am grateful to our international partners and observer organizations who recorded these violations and did not hesitate to report what happened. However, simply documenting these violations is not enough.

As the last independent institution in this country, I must clearly state that I do not recognize these elections. Recognizing them would be tantamount to legitimizing Russia’s takeover of Georgia. I did not return to this country, nor did our ancestors endure everything they did, to accept such an outcome. We cannot surrender our European future for the sake of future generations.

I am not speaking just as an individual—I represent an institution that stands for the people of Georgia. I urge all citizens to stand together and declare that we do not recognize these elections. We will not accept Russia’s infiltration and this new form of occupation. We stand united, and with me now are political parties that participated in these elections, defending both our European future and the Georgian Charter.

I invite you to join us tomorrow at 7:00 PM on Rustaveli Avenue, where together we will declare to the world—and to each other—that we reject these elections. We will peacefully defend every vote and, most importantly, our future. Our goal is to ensure that free, fair, and democratic elections can still take place in this country. We will not surrender this right to anyone. It belongs to us, and we will assert it together tomorrow.

This will be a symbolic gathering—a united declaration to the world. I also appeal to our international partners—Europeans and Americans. While we are grateful for the statements of support made by various officials, it must be understood beyond borders that protecting Georgia and maintaining the geopolitical balance in this region means protecting the people, not collaborating with an illegitimate government. Without your active support, this country’s people cannot be safeguarded.

Just as you stood by the people of Georgia when the regime attempted to pass a Russian-style law, you must now stand by us—the people—again. These elections were not legitimate, and nothing can make them so.

Thank you very much!