Hungarians seek work around the EU amid political turmoil

STORY: Every morning, Janos Gyorgy Szeredi leaves his home in Hungary at the crack of dawn to commute to his job in Vienna, Austria.

The 47-year-old chef is used to the drive, as he started making the daily journey more than 20 years ago.

“We were not EU members then, I had to get a visa, I had to go to the Austrian embassy in Budapest and I had to pass a language exam.”

He says the better work conditions and pay in Austria are worth the long commute.

“Here I am treated like a human being, and no one talks to me like to a dog, it is not like back at home. Here there are people from several countries, and they work alongside each other nicely, without any problems, and there are no stressful situations like back at home.”

Szeredi's situation is emblematic of a growing number of Hungarians who are leaving their homeland for better opportunities in other European Union countries, even as Hungary marks 20 years as a member of the bloc.

The trend is prominent among younger Hungarians like David Juhos, who is studying in Vienna.

He expressed concern about the political climate in his home country, under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“You can feel it in the atmosphere in Hungary that there is something not right with the whole thing and it is not going in the right direction, and I think that’s the main reason why so many young people move out.”

Orban has long been at odds with his EU allies over a range of issues, including refusing to send weapons to Ukraine and maintaining economic ties with Russia.

The EU has accused Orban's government of undermining the rule of law, which has led to a strained relationship and the suspension of billions of euros' worth of EU funds for Hungary.

A survey done in December by a non-governmental organization in Hungary indicated that three-quarters of young Hungarians found it hard to find work.

Half of the respondents predicted they would be working abroad in a decade.