Szabolcs Panyi

Hello from Budapest, dear readers — and welcome to 2025’s last proper serving of Goulash. I’ve let this one simmer long and slow: a rich cross-border stew of newsworthy scoops, an expert take on the new Czech government, and fresh ingredients from our partners’ latest investigations into Italian organized crime in Slovakia and Russian meddling […]

In this issue, I’m serving up some spicy scoops, including Orbán’s quietly planned Moscow trip and a follow-up on FSB-linked Russian priest Hilarion, plus fresh investigations into Czech-linked cocaine smuggling and a Slovak weapons pipeline feeding Russia.

In Prague, incoming prime minister Andrej Babiš is pushing a “foreign agents” law targeting our friends at Investigace.cz. Between Warsaw and Budapest, former Polish justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro’s possible asylum in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary could spark new tensions.

This week’s stew comes seasoned with flavors from all four corners of the Visegrád kitchen. We’re serving up a new international investigation into doctors banned from practicing in one country — yet somehow still treating patients in another.

Welcome back to Goulash—your Central Europe-flavored mix of investigations, scoops, and the bits in between. This week’s main course is literally explosive: we’ve reconstructed the plot behind the parcel bombs carried on DHL flights, plus arson and other sabotage across Europe.

We’re back! Goulash returns from its summer break with a refreshed format: shorter, spicier, and packed with more substance.

Robert Fico’s White House invitation. Russians trying to incite tensions between Ukrainians and Hungarians in Transcarpathia. What’s ahead for the V4 under its new presidency.

Thunderclouds have been rolling across Central Europe this week—and we’re already bracing for the political storms on the horizon.

We take a closer look at the banned-but-not-really Budapest Pride planned for Saturday, growing Ukrainian concerns over suspected Hungarian spying in Transcarpathia, and the Orbán government’s eyebrow-raising decision to privatize Hungary’s military industry—just days before the NATO Summit.

On the menu: Rafał Trzaskowski’s failed presidential bid; Ukraine–Hungary spy saga; Black Cube-style stings targeting Orbán’s critics.

Welcome to another serving of Goulash — your trusted dish of Central European chaos, slowly stewed with investigative spice and a pinch of political scoops.

Donald Trump’s latest moves are once again shaking up global alliances and markets — and our region is feeling the heat.

The far-right is rising in Poland, while Viktor Orbán has been turning up the heat on his own radical agenda in Hungary—seasoning his rule with yet another alarming far-right shift. Our main scoop this week is particularly spicy: Orbán’s intelligence agency is now cooking up a blacklist of so-called foreign agents, whom he has labeled stink bugs and vowed to “eliminate by Easter”.

As once-unimaginable events continue to unfold, we’re continuing to cover them. We’ve just published a fresh investigation revealing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s secret plan to ensure his chief bodyguard and elite commando could help Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik escape to Hungary if he faced arrest (he didn’t).

As international tensions between the Trump administration and Europe (and most importantly Ukraine) are heating up, Goulash is back on the stove, and I’m back from a short vacation, ready to dish it all out.

In Slovakia, Fico’s government is starting to curdle, as mass protests threaten to spill over. In this edition, we’re stirring up a spicy mix of stories of Slovakia’s troubles, including an exposé on its most toxic propagandist, plus fresh scoops—like how even Orbán has noticed that Fico is, well, a little overcooked.

The political kitchen is heating up: Donald Trump is back in the White House, and Europe is nervously wondering how he’ll handle Russia, which continues to stir up trouble in Central Europe.

From the very first U.S. sanctions against a member of the government of a NATO ally to brewing tensions between Poland and Hungary, the pot has been bubbling nonstop.

This issue is a special treat: a collection of 15 of our best stories from 2024, including collaborations and stunning articles from our core partners. We’ve compiled impactful investigations, featuring highlights from our Kremlin Leaks series, exposés on Viktor Orbán’s influence, Russian espionage, disinformation campaigns, foreign meddling in European elections, and more.

We’re finishing this year with a spicy mix of stories: a bombshell investigation into Hungarian espionage targeting EU anti-fraud investigators (with a side of intelligence infighting) and the sizzling tale of how TikTok was used to hack Romania’s presidential election. In our exclusive scoop section, we dish out piping-hot news connecting Hungary, Russia, and China. The common ingredient in this mix? Trains (but dining cars are not involved).