Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Austria’s Freedom Party FPO leader Herbert Kickl and ANO party leader and former Czech prime minister Andrej Babis declared a “new era” as they announced a European Parliament political alliance named Patriots for Europe at a joint press conference in Vienna on Sunday, 30
Hungary will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on Monday, 1 July with the slogan “Make Europe Great Again,” a nod to the populist and nationalist politics of Donald Trump, who will run for US president again in November, during Hungary’s own tenure.
Hungary will not be obliged to participate in military actions outside its territory or send money or troops to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after he met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Budapest on Wednesday, 12 June, ahead of the treaty organisation’s Washington Summit next month.
Pro-European centrist parties performed well in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at the European Parliament (EP) elections held from 6-9 June, in contrast to elsewhere on the continent, where far-right parties surged.
Tusk consolidates lead in Poland
In Poland, the Civic Coalition (KO), led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, gained
The EU elections, which will be held from on 6-9 June, involve nearly 400mn voters across 27 countries deciding on 720 seats in the European Parliament (EP).
The vote will decide who will lead the European Commission (EC), with EC President Ursula von der Leyen vying for a second term,
Hungarian MPs approved a proposal on ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO with 188 in favour and 6 dissenting votes, on Monday, 26 February. Hungary was the last member of the defence alliance to vote through Sweden’s membership.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted “I welcome the Hungarian parliament’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has asked his MPs to proceed with Sweden’s ratification as NATO member “at the first possible opportunity” in a climbdown from the delay tactics seen since the Scandinavian country officially asked to join the defence alliance in May 2022.
Orban earlier pledged that Hungary
As Belgium assumed the EU presidency on 1 January, with a rallying cry of “Protect, Strengthen, Prepare”, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo’s said he is charting the course for a united and resilient Europe. His cautious and diplomatic approach was evident at the launch event of his six-month
EU leaders voted to begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, at a historic summit in Brussels on Thursday 14 December. The EU meanwhile designated Georgia – also a former Soviet republic – as a candidate for membership, a significant shift in the EU’s level of engagement with post-Soviet states.
President
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has reiterated his stance that Russia’s war with Ukraine is insoluble, stoking fears that he could form part of a pro-Kremlin lobby in the EU.
After meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Fico called the war a “frozen conflict” that cannot be solved
The Hungarian Ministry of Finance took the unusual step of issuing a public statement aimed at international investors on Friday. After Sunday’s celebrations, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban woke up to a grim domestic economic reality that includes a plummeting forint, rocketing prices and rule of law disputes that
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán secured his fourth consecutive term with a landslide victory in Hungary’s national elections on Sunday.
Orbán’s Fidesz party secured 53% while the United for Hungary six-party opposition alliance received only 35%. The margin of victory was beyond predictions, as the opposition alliance had
Hungary cancelled a scheduled summit of defence ministers from the Visegrad 4 (“V4”) group of EU member states – Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – on Tuesday. The defence ministers of both Czechia and Poland signalled they would not attend the gathering, scheduled for 30-31 March, due to Hungary’s stance on
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked for almost five hours in Moscow on Tuesday, although only a small amount of their conversation was made public, according to local outlets.
After the meeting, Orban said Hungary aims to negotiate an increase in the volume of natural
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will visit Moscow on 1 February to discuss Rosatom’s expansion of Hungary’s sole nuclear power station in Paks,” his top diplomat revealed in an interview with Russian state news agency TASS.
“We would like to see the two new reactors operational by the