Estonia and Hungary

Bilateral relations

Hungary and Estonia share extremely friendly relations and Hungary is an excellent co-operation partner to Estonia. Our ancient kinship is important to relations and provides fertile ground for enlivening bilateral relations. Our connection also leads to joint efforts to support other Finno-Ugric peoples in preserving and developing their identities.

Hungary recognised the Republic of Estonia on 24 February 1921 and accredited Mihály Jungerti as its first Ambassador to Estonia in 1924. From 1924-1928, the Hungarian Ambassador resided in Tallinn, but in 1928 the Embassy was moved to Helsinki.

Diplomatic relations between Estonia and Hungary, which were interrupted in 1940, were restored on 2 September 1991. Initially Hungary was the more active party in developing bilateral relations, appointing an ambassador to Estonia on 10 December 1991. The ambassador resided in Helsinki. Estonia sent a charge d’affaires ad interim to Budapest in July of 1999.

The first Hungarian ambassador to reside in Estonia since 1928 was Béla Jávorszky, who presented his credentials in September 1999. The Hungarian Embassy in Estonia was opened on 30 September 1999. The current ambassador of Hungary Erik Haupt presented his credentials to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on 6 October 2011.

In 1994, Mall Hellam (in Tallinn) and Ago Künnap (in Tartu) started their activities as Hungarian honorary consuls in Estonia. By the present, Mr Ago Künnap has ended his activities as an honorary consul and the new Hungarian honorary consul in Tartu is István Bán, a businessman.

Estonia’s first-ever embassy began working in Hungary in 1999, when Charge d’Affaires ad interim of the Republic of Estonia in the Republic of Hungary Lembit Luht presented his credentials to director general of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry’s Central Europe department György Varga.

Estonian Ambassadors to Hungary have been Toivo Tasa (1995-1999) and Mart Laanemäe (1999-2001), both residing in Vienna; Toivo Tasa (2001-2006) was Estonia's first Ambassador to Hungary residing in Budapest, he was followed by Miko Haljas (2006-2010). Since August 2010 Estonian Ambassador to Hungary is Priit Pallum.

Estonia’s honorary consul general in Hungary since October 1995 has been András Bereczki (in Budapest), who works at the Budapest ELTE University as a senior research fellow in the Finno-Ugric division.

In the Riigikogu, the Estonian-Hungarian parliamentary friendship group has 15 members and is headed by Ester Tuiksoo, with Väino Linde serving as vice-chairman.

There is a Hungary-Estonia friendship group with 10 members established in Hungary’s Parliament. The chairman of the friendship group is Attila Gruber (Fidesz).

As of June 2010, there is also a 10-member Hungary-Finno-Ugric friendship group in the Hungarian Parliament; it is led by János Latorcai (KDNP).

The Finno-Ugric dimension has an important place in the relations between Hungary and Estonia. Hungary, Finland and Estonia are consistently co-operating in supporting the endeavours of our kindred peoples to preserve and foster their identity. In the speeches at the world congresses of the Finno-Ugric peoples, a central theme has been the need to preserve the indigenous language and culture. In August 2004, the President of the Republic of Hungary, Ferenc Mádl, visited Estonia during the IV World Congress of the Finno-Ugric Peoples.

The ambassadors of Estonia, Finland and Hungary to Russia visiting the regions of our kindred peoples has become a tradition. The Finno-Ugric republics have been visited every year since 2004. In September of 2011 ambassadors Simmu Tiik and István Íjgyártó visited the Mari El Republic together.

Although in previous years relations between Estonia and Hungary were dominated by the cultural and educational dimension, Estonia and Hungary’s accession processes to the EU and NATO kept elevating the political co-operation dimension as well.
In June of 2010 Hungary became the 8th nation to join the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, contributing to the centre’s budget and sending a representative to Tallinn.

Visits

Agreements

• The Agreement on Abolishment of Visa Requirements;
• The Agreement on Arranging International Highway Transportation of People and Goods;
• The Agreement on the Bases for Friendship and Co-operation;
• The Agreement on Co-operation in Culture and Education;
• The Co-operation Agreement on the Fight Against Terrorism, Illegal Trafficking with Drugs and Organised Crime;
• Agreement on the Readmission of Persons and its Implementation Protocol;
• Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Income and Capital and on the Prevention of Tax Evasion;
• Agreement on the mutual representation by their diplomatic and consular missions in processing visas and collecting biometric data.

In addition, Estonia and Hungary have concluded a variety of departmental international agreements.

Economic Relations

TRADE

In 2012 Hungary was in 23^rd place among Estonia’s trade partners. Estonia and Hungary’s goods exchange (183.4 million EUR) remained practically the same as in the previous year and made up 0.7% of Estonia’s total trade. Estonian exports to Hungary in 2012 totalled 21.9 million euros, which is significantly less than the value of imports from Hungary, which totalled161.5 million euros. The balance was therefore negative by 139.6 million euros.

Estonia-Hungary trade 2006-2012 (million euros)

All economic figures originate from the Statistical Office of Estonia

Primary articles of export in 2012:

• Wood and wood products – 27.1%
• Machinery and equipment – 23.6%  
• Transportation vehicles – 15.4%
• Other manufactured goods – 8.7%

Primary articles of import in 2012:

• Machinery and equipment – 65.6%
• Transportation vehicles – 12.6%
• Prepared food and beverage products – 5.8%
• Chemical products – 5.1%

INVESTMENTS

Estonia’s direct investments in Hungary in 2012 totalled 0.5 million euros. Investments were made in the following sectors: wholesale and retail trade; real estate activity; and professional, research and technical activity.

Hungary’s direct investments in Estonia in 2012 totalled 4.5 million EUR. Investments were made in the following sectors: the manufacturing industry; wholesale and retail trade; information and communications; financial and insurance activity; real estate activity; and professional, research and technical activity.

According to the Business Register, as of March 2013 a total of 33 companies with Hungarian involvement were active in Estonia.

TOURISM

Tourism statistics show Hungarians’ stable interest in Estonia as a tourism destination. In 2010, 2 800 Hungarian tourists were accommodated in Estonian accommodation establishments. In 2011 Estonia saw 3 694 Hungarian tourists and in 2012 the number was 3 540. In addition to Tallinn, tourists from Hungary were also interested in Tartu County and East Viru County.

Cultural Relations and Education Co-operation

Cultural and educational co-operation have always played an important role in Estonia-Hungary relations. The Estonian-Hungarian Society has been active in Tallinn since 1990. Hungarians residing in Estonia established the Munkácsy Mihály Hungarians’ Association, and the Hungarian Cultural Society UKS is active in Tartu. There is also a Hungarian Culture Representation located in Tallinn, which was established in September 1993 and in 2002 was renamed the Hungarian Cultural Institute (http://www.unginst.org.ee/). On 30 January 2004, Hungarian Minister of Culture István Hiller opened the new space of the Hungarian Institute on Toompea in Tallinn.

There are about 50 Estonians living in Hungary, and there is an active Hungarian-Estonian Society in Budapest led by Honorary Consul András Bereczk. In February 1998, the Hungarian branch of the Estonian Institute (http://www.esztorszag.hu/) was opened in Budapest by Minister of Culture Jaak Allik. The institute is led by Anu Kippasto. It was the second Estonian cultural institute abroad (the first is located in Helsinki).

Estonia and Hungary also have an exchange programme for teachers and students. Estonian language lecturers work in Budapest, Szombathely, Szeged, and Debrecen, while a Hungarian language lecturer teaches at the University of Tartu. The Estonian language can be studied in a fully realised 5-year programme in Budapest’s ELTE University.

There are also Estonians studying at Central European University in Budapest.

An important facilitator of Estonian culture in Hungary is the Estonian Institute in Budapest.

In 2008 the Estonian Institute in Hungary celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia with Peeter Sirge’s photo exhibit “Spherical rooms”, which was opened in the Palace of Arts in Budapest on 25 February. Also dedicated to Estonia’s 90th anniversary was the Estonia Week organised in Hungary, which included concerts, exhibits, film nights, literature meetings and performances. At the 10th International Children and Youth Meeting “The Future of Europe” in Kecskemet, Estonia was represented by the ETV Children’s Choir, which also gave concerts in Budapest. In the 3rd Ménesi photo festival that took place in the city of Szécsény in July, photographers Peeter Sirge, Ly Lestberg and Herkki Erich Merila participated with an Estonia-themed exhibition. Ülle Marks was declared the winner at the 40th Győri International Graphics Symposium.

In May of 2009 an Estonia Week took place once again in Hungary at the initiative of the Estonian Institute, this time with an emphasis on Estonian films. In May, for the first time in a long time it was also possible to see Estonian theatre in Hungary—the VAT Theatre presented its production “Pál Street Boys” ("Pál tänava poisid"). The book-sized (428 pages) special issue of the Hungarian cultural magazine “Pluralica” was also released; it was entirely devoted to contemporary Estonian literature and graphic arts. In Budapest in June the exhibit “Elav ehe” was displayed, which introduced contemporary Estonian and Hungarian artwork (Estonia was represented by Anneli Tammik and Kristi Paap), and in August in the Győr Art Museum the joint exhibit “On My Journey” by Ülle Marks and Jüri Kass was displayed. In Sándor Petőf’s hometown of Kiskőrös, a bust of Ellen Niit was ceremoniously unveiled in July 2009 in the sculpture park of Sándor Petőf’s translators. In September a large-scale Baltic Sea Culture Festival began in Budapest, where Estonia is represented by film, music and design programmes.

In March of 2010 the annual Estonia Week was again held in Hungary and the programme contained Estonian cinema and literature as well as theatre. Photo exhibits were displayed and contemporary Estonian cuisine was introduced. During the EuropeMania Festival held in May in the 2010 European Capital of Culture Pécs, Estonia presented the makers of psychedelic pop-folk Mirabilia and Andres Noormets’s stage production “Vaterland”. Hungary’s cultural life was spiced up in the fall by the group exhibit of young Estonian designers within the framework of a design week that was held together with their Hungarian colleagues in Budapest. Another attention-worthy event was certainly the special edition of the Hungarian literature magazine “Prae” dedicated to contemporary Estonian literature. The novels of Mehis Heinsaar, Andrei Hvostov, Ilmar Jaks, Jüri Tuulik, and Armin Kõormäe and the poems of Jürgen Rooste, Hasso Krull, fs, Kalju Kruusa and Maarja Kangro have been translated into Hungarian by young Hungarian philologists that have learned Estonian at the University of Budapest.

At the end of November an Estonia-themed mini-festival called Estofilia took place in Budapest. Within a short period it offered a diverse array of Estonian experiences, music and literature events. At the end of 2010 the contemporary Estonian art exhibit “Kunst macht frei” was opened within the framework of the programme of Pécs Capital of Culture 2010.

Of cultural events in 2011, one that stands out is the Estonian Cultural Week that has become an annual tradition. It took place at the beginning of May in three Hungarian cities – Budapest, Szeged, and Szombathely – and showcased Estonian film, photography, jewellery design, music, and playwriting. Estonian designers also had success when participating in Design Week in Budapest in the fall.

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