Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Hungary in Brussels!

Our Embassy is in charge of maintaining relations between Hungary and the Kingdom of Belgium and between Hungary and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Given its location, it is more than a traditional bilateral Embassy.

The capital of Belgium has undoubtedly become the central scene for European politics and public life in recent decades. In addition to boasting the highest number of Embassies among capitals around the world (186 bilateral embassies in total), Brussels is also the centre of the European Union, NATO and more than 1.000 international organisations, and hosts the European headquarters of more than 2.000 multinational companies. The Heads of State and Government, Ministers of the 27 EU Member States are regular visitors to the city, with the highest number accredited diplomats in the world (amounting to around 66.000 people carrying diplomatic IDs). Brussels is also home to the largest corps of international civil servants, not to mention the lobbyists and journalists attempting to influence and monitor their work.

Although at a smaller scale, the same is true for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and its capital, Luxembourg, where several major EU institutions operate as well and where the activity of international financial institutions is especially dominant as the city is one of the most important financial and business centres in the world.

Despite the relatively large geographic distance between them, the peoples of Hungary and Belgium have longstanding ties dating back to the early Middle Ages, which has been reflected in economic and religious relations, overlaps between royal dynasties and population movements.

The turbulent histories of our two countries contributed to our mutual understanding. The constitution of the independent Belgian state was a major inspiration for the Hungarian reform generation of 1848. Through the child rescue operations after World War I and by welcoming immigrants of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, Belgium has become the new home of many Hungarian people. Those Hungarian immigrants, artists, scientists, engineers and other compatriots have preserved their national identity and became respected members of the Belgian society.

Hungary is one of the few countries in the world that have established contractual relationships with all federal entities of Belgium. We have concluded cooperation agreements with Flanders in 1994, with the Walloon Region and the French Community in 1997 and with the German-speaking Community in 2002. Similarly, close ties exist between the Brussels Capital Region and the City of Budapest.

Hungary is an important trading partner for Belgium in Central and Eastern Europe. Investment figures speak for themselves: since the fall of Communism in 1989, Hungary has attracted close to EUR 2 billion of Belgian FDI in a wide range of economic sectors. The favourable weather, the beautiful Hungarian countryside and the many recreational opportunities attract nearly 160.000 Belgian tourists to Hungary every year.

The institutionalized political dialogue within the EU and NATO frameworks has given further impetus to the multi-faceted relations of our countries. The success of the 2010-2011 EU Trio Presidency with Belgium is a prime example of our strategic partnership.

Although the political tasks of the Embassy are focused primarily in Brussels, we strive to extend our commercial, cultural and scientific cooperation beyond the capital, to the Flemish and Walloon Regions and to Luxembourg. Deepening our relations with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is an opportunity not to be missed, especially due to the high added value of the Benelux-Visegrád 4 cooperation in European policy making and the potential of Luxembourg’s innovative economy.

Another important task of our Embassy is performing consular duties and providing consular protection; serving visitors as well as the significant Hungarian expatriate community of nearly 20.000 people in Belgium and Luxembourg, many of them working for European Institutions. Despite the heavy case load, also in comparison with other Western European capitals, our consular service has performed to the general satisfaction of our customers, executing the various matters (e.g. obtaining citizenship, birth register-related tasks, issuing new travel documents, diplomatic authentication) efficiently and swiftly. In this respect, we are delighted to also assist the sizeable community of Hungarians who have relocated to Belgium from the Western European Diaspora and from the wider Carpathian Basin area from countries neighbouring Hungary.

As Ambassador, I would like to make the most of the distinguished position of our Embassy by performing a proactive, quality service. Exercising all forms of traditional and innovative representation of national interest in the noblest sense here in Brussels is a special responsibility and a huge opportunity for myself and my staff.

Beyond the Embassy itself, I will also rely on the cooperation of all colleagues at the Brussels network of Hungarian representations (Balassi Cultural Institute, Hungarian Chamber of Commerce, Hungarian Investment Bank, Hungarian Office of Tourism, Budapest Capital and other Hungarian economic-social advocacy offices) in order to strengthen our bilateral ties not only on the field of political, economic, diplomatic, cultural relations, but in all possible areas of every-day life.

With this aim in mind, we dedicated this renewed and regularly updated website to providing you with as much useful information as possible.

It is an honour to be at the service of all Hungarians as well as our friends from Belgium and Luxembourg. We are at your disposal and welcome any support, constructive feedback and helpful opinion.

dr. KOVÁCS Tamás Iván
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary