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Hungary's self-declared illiberal Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sought to strengthen ties with China as part of the "Eastern Opening" policy launched in 2012, but his endeavours to shift Hun- gary’s economic and political focus from Western Europe to Asia have yielded little success so far. Hungary's economy remains deeply embedded in the EU and trade with non-EU members has grown little since his policy shift was unveiled.
The cooperation between CEE countries and China has rattled Brussels and has been met with a great deal of suspicion. There are voices in some EU capitals that say the 16+1 cooperation will weaken the EU by creating new divisions on top- ics like the EU’s single market.
There are concerns among international institutions that Chinese investments are creating mounting debt for East Euro- pean countries without contributing
to their economic growth. The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) said that Chinese invest- ments could drive major investment improvement, securing a much-needed infrastructure upgrade of Eastern Europe, but this comes with high risk.
However, Chinese leaders say the China- CEE platform will only contribute to China- EU cooperation and to the unity of the EU.
Participants underlined that the 16+1 cooperation constitutes an important part of Europe-China relationships and complements the EU-China Compre- hensive Strategic Partnership and the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation, according to the final guideline of the summit.
The next summit will be held in China next year.
Orban on Budapest-Belgrade
railway line
The Hungarian PM said cooperation between China and the CEE region “serves true European values with regard to the deep and comprehensive changes in the global economy and global politics”.
He said construction contracts on the upgrade of the Budapest-Belgrade
railway line could soon be signed. The project is an integral part of the Belt and Road Initiative aimed at promoting free trade, he said.
The planned 350 km high-speed Chinese-funded railway connecting Budapest to Belgrade has the potential to become the main transport route for Chinese and Asian goods that arrive by sea at the Chinese-owned Greek port of Piraeus and head into Europe. The
railway is thus considered a flagship project for China to increase its presence in the region.
Critics of the investment say the entire project lacks economic sense and is disad- vantageous for Hungary. They claim the country is upgrading a 152 km railway for roughly €2.3bn, plus interest, to fulfill China’s economic vision, with the help of Chinese loans, with the majority of the work done by Chinese companies.
Former soldier confesses to murdering Slovakian journalist Jan Kuciak
Nelly Tomcikova in Prague
Former soldier Miroslav Marcek confessed to shooting and killing Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova during interrogation by the National Crime Agency, TA3 TV reported on April 11.
Jan Kuciak was killed in February 2018 alongside his fiancée in their apartment. The murder sparked protests and a political crisis leading to the resignation of long-time prime minister Robert Fico and interior minister Robert Kalinak.
Kuciak is believed to have been killed in connection with his last article for Aktuality.sk covering alleged tax fraud connected to the luxury Five Star Residence in Bratislava and the suspicious activities of businessman Marian Kocner and his links to the ruling political party Smer-SD.
“With regards to the fact that preparatory proceedings are not public, it's impossible to comment on questions concerning the course of taking evidence. With regards to the ongoing investigation, we will comment neither on the course of investigation, nor on individual steps at this stage to avoid marring or complicating the investigation,” said spokesperson of the Special Prosecutor's Office Jana Tokolyova to Slovak News Agency.
Kuciak’s murder was unprecedented in the modern history of Slovakia. Although two other journalists have gone missing – Pavol Rypal since 2008 and Miroslav Pejko since 2015 – a confirmed murder of a journalist had not occurred since 1990.
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